In a bid to get officials to take elder abuse more seriously, a conference dedicated to the topic was held yesterday in El Centro, California.
The Imperial County Area Agency on Aging put on the event, which brought together 100 persons involved with social services, behavioral and public health organizations, and law enforcement entities. Persons on hand for the event were able to receive training about spotting and rooting out instances of elder abuse.
A variety of presentations were held, and they looked at numerous topics that safety officials must be cognizant of. Topics discussed included reform of nursing homes as a whole, reporting and evaluation of injuries caused by elder abuse, and prosecuting those persons responsible for the abuse.
The event also looked at types of abuse that probably don’t cross many persons’ minds. Although many people think about physical abuse, other forms of abuse can be just as serious. Physical restraint is still a danger, but there has also been an uptick in instances of so-called chemical restraint, in which the resident of a nursing home might be given a psychotropic drug by an overseer who doesn’t want to deal with their condition in a more passionate, reasonable way. Unfortunately, a whopping 83% of instances where an antipsychosis medication is given to a nursing home patient involve a method of therapy not approved by the FDA.