I know what you're thinking.
Most people hear the words "elder abuse" and their mind jumps to nursing homes. While many nursing homes need improvement, surprisingly, they are not the number once perpetrator of elder abuse and exploitation.
What is? Dysfunctional families. Got an alcoholic, a gambler or any other addict living in your home with an elder? The risk of exploitation of your senior soars! It's estimated that over 95% of families in America today are dysfunctional. Over 72% of these families have someone present with an addiction issue.
If your family falls in these numbers and your family contains a senior citizen there are factors that make the elderly member "at risk" in your household for exploitation and/or physical and emotional abuse.
Caretakers also get tired, frustrated, have unresolved mental health issues with parents. It's really important, folks, to point out that old age is not a free pass to grind the ax of your ancient history with any senior in your care.
Who else abuses of exploits seniors? Let’s name a few: businesses and corporations. They complicate contracts, terms of service, instructions, etc. Senator Elizabeth Warren's work with credit card companies comes to mind. If you're thirty five and confused by your cell phone contract, imagine what age and declining cognition will do.
Mistakes, errors, confusion, etc. costs seniors millions of dollars and even their lives; most live on fixed incomes where every penny counts. No money=no food, no meds, no care=diminishing wellnes...follow that all the way down an ugly, ugly path. Big pharma: the producers of life saving medications have soaring prices for medications to keep seniors comfortable, well and alive. Try paying for modern meds on a fixed income.
One senior requires a medication for pain in the joints, chest wall and has very limited mobility without a certain prescription drug. In America, the medication is $225 a month. Fortunately, this senior is in the know and gets this prescription med through a Canadian pharmacy for $30 a month. Legislators want that stopped citing they have the best interest of patients in mind. No one is suggesting anyone purchase RX meds on the streets however legitimate pharmacies in Canada deal with legitimate drug manufacturers in other counties where the government mandates that meds are affordable.
Telemarketers: Seniors are at risk from unscrupulous telemarketers simply because they are home during the day. Many are lonely and highly responsive to friendly people or high pressure sales people and scare tactics. Get you senior citizen an answering machine or Caller ID.
We all have unrealistic expectations in today's healthcare system. Seniors, especially, lack the knowledge and coping skills to negotiate a complex system that's dysfunctional as well. Additionally, they don’t question authority figures like doctors, nurses, pharmacists because of their demigod status.
I know from my own personal experience working in medical management my health would seriously suffer from the ramifications of healthcare professionals that are too busy to really do what needs to be done.
I could write a book on the above...in fact, I already did about the death of my father. I saw ugliness, greed, exploitation, conspiracy that still haunts me 7 years after the book was published because I KNOW nothing much is being done to protect seniors and millions of them will die.
June is elder abuse awareness month. Please, get smart about elder abuse.
Irene A. Masiello is the author of Paradise Costs: A Victim’s Daughter Fights Back against Elder Abuse, afterword by forensic and geriatric psychiatrist Bennett Blum, MD. Book available at https://www.etsy.com/listing/128403276/paradise-costs-a-victims-daughter-fights
© Copyright, June 2014, Irene A. Masiello, all rights reserved.
