Hello Everyone,
Evelyn here,
with news from loft to the streets. I have been ill this past week. I have stayed home loading up on antibiotics, sinus and throat medications, and it is now time for me to pick myself up and rejoin life as we know it. I am just a little quirky tonight, but I have an important message to pass along. It is the latest news release from our Attorney General, Bill McCollum.
I am a former health care worker in long-term nursing care facilities, and I know something about the subject of patient abuse. Having worked with the mentally ill and the elderly, I see the abuse and the neglect that these patients suffer as a disturbing and a rising problem. However, one must not think that this is a problem limited to health care facilities.
The abuse committed against the elderly varies in its form as it varies in its perpetrators, who can be the elderly person’s aging spouse, adult children of the elderly person, uncaring neighbors, as well as neighborhood children. General McCollum task force, Patient Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (PANE) is looking to protect the elderly both in and out of the health care community.
General McCollum has written about several important actions that his office has taken to protect our seniors. His newsletter speaks encouraging of the dedicated members of our Patient Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation (PANE) teams who made four arrests in which all four arrests involved individuals who abused and/or neglected elderly victims under their care.
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From the Office of Attorney General McCollum
Newsletter - Volume 5, Issue 8
February 23, 2007
A Message from Attorney General Bill McCollum
As your Attorney General, making Florida a safer place to live, work
and raise a family is my top priority. An important part of realizing
that goal lies in the protection of our senior population. Nearly one
out of every four Floridians is a senior citizen and that segment of
our population is the most rapidly growing in our state. Our seniors
are a true asset to our culture and our diversity and we in turn must
ensure that they are treated with the utmost care and respect.
This week, our office took several important actions in our fight to
protect our seniors. Dedicated members of our Patient Abuse, Neglect
and Exploitation (PANE) teams made four arrests, each involving
individuals who abused or neglected elderly victims under their care.
In one case, the defendant allegedly attacked an elderly resident of a
nursing home, beatinghim with a metal-handled mop. Another defendant
was arrested after her prolonged neglect of an elderly nursing home
facility also resulted in the patient’s death. A third individual was
arrested after it was determined that he was stealing veterans’
disability funds from an elderly resident at his assisted living facility.
Each of these cases is a sad reminder that not everyone shares our respect
for the elderly residents of our state. Our fight against elder abuse and
neglect is carried out primarily through the Attorney General’s Medicaid
Fraud Control Unit and the PANE Project, which plays a key role in
detecting abuse and neglect of elderly and disabled patients. The teams
help ensure that efficient and effective health care is being provided
throughout the state. They also work to protect the rights and dignity of
Florida's elderly and disabled adults.
Since its inception in 2004, the project has fielded more than 20,000
contacts including complaints about patient care at nursing homes, assisted
living facilities, state facilities and hospitals. The Attorney General's
Office has established dedicated PANE teams in Miami, Tallahassee, Tampa
and West Palm Beach and provides investigative services in conjunction
with other state and local authorities.
It is tragic and heartbreaking that anyone would try to take advantage of
our elderly citizens, especially when the abuse results death.
It is our responsibility to care for our elderly population, protecting them from
those who show such callous indifference. This is a responsibility we do
not take lightly, and Floridians can rest assured that the Attorney
General’s Office will not give up this fight.
Thank you
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The link below is The Florida Department of Elder Affairs' website. This site is filled with additional information about health and wellness, long-term care, community-based care, projects and publications for the elderly that you can access.
http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/
Evelyn Out
