ELDER ABUSE AND THE DWDA
This article provides information regarding Elder Abuse in the US, Elder Abuse in Washington, Elder Abuse and the DWDA, and Resources for the identification, prevention, and reporting of elder abuse.
Elder Abuse in the US: General Information
Statistics show elder abuse and financial exploitation to be on the rise, both nationally and in Washington State. Contrary to what one might expect, in many cases seniors are financially victimized by trusted friends or family members, rather than strangers. And, like spousal or child abuse, abused persons often don't report the abuse in order to protect the perpetrator. Journalist J. F. Wasik summarizes: "With good reason, financial elder abuse has been characterized by some experts as "the crime of the 21st Century."
The prevalence of the crime of elder abuse was chronicled in an excellent March, 2009 study entitled Broken Trust: Elders, family, and finances. The Metropolitan Life http://www.metlife.com/assets/cao/mmi/publications/studies/mmi-study-broken-trust-elders-family-finances.pdf study is a comprehensive look at a compendium of factors surrounding the abuse of vulnerable adults and the ways in which financial exploitation occur. MetLife found the following:
Elders' vulnerabilities and larger net worth make them a prime target for financial abuse
The increased aging of the population, social changes, and technology advances will lead to a dramatic increase in the opportunity for a growing level of elder financial abuse
The perpetrators of elder financial abuse are typically not strangers and most are people who have gained the trust of the older individual, including business and service professionals and family members
The victims of elder financial abuse come from all walks of life, and this type of abuse affects elders regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity.
Elder Abuse in Washington State: General Information
In Washington State, the abuse of elders is on the rise. In 2007 the Department of Health received more than 13,000 reports of abuse, abandonment, neglect, self-neglect, or financial exploitation of vulnerable adults in private-home settings, as well as 29,000 in long-term care settings. State and federal government data show that from 1986 to 1996, there was a 150 percent increase in reports of elder abuse in domestic settings (National Center on Elder Abuse National Incidence Summary, September 1998).
In an excellent article about Elder Abuse, http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/barnews/jan10-vulnerable+adult+abuse.htmin the January, 2010, issue of Washington Bar Association News, authors Catherine Hoover, Aileen Miller, and Page Ulrey state,
"Abuse and neglect of the elderly and persons with disabilities occurs far more frequently than any of us would like to believe. Each year, millions of vulnerable adults in this country are physically and sexually assaulted, neglected, and financially exploited. Despite how vulnerable these populations are, the laws of our state don't do nearly enough to protect them."
The authors conclude: "the Attorney General's Office, the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), and their allies aim to fix legal loopholes that expose our state's growing population of vulnerable adults to abuse and neglect." Loopholes surrounding the potential for elder abuse and financial coersion in the Death with Dignity Act should be fixxed as well.
Elder Abuse and the DWDA
One hopes that all of those who have died under the DWDA in Washington State have done so as a result of personal choice rather than from subtle or overt coercion, or worse. Unfortunately, the structure of the Act does not assure such choice.
Moreover, since the Act was implemented in March 2009, True Compassion Advocates has received disturbing phone calls which indicate that people are being pressured and coerced to kill themselves. One call concerned a pastor who had been told by several elderly individuals that they felt pressured to kill themselves to accommodate the financial interests of their adult children. In other calls, worried family members have expressed concern for the well-being of ill relatives at risk for subtle coercion or financial exploitation.
Health care professionals, too, have expressed concern that no medical, nursing, or social service protocols exist to try and rule out elder abuse or other coercive elements from suicide "requests" under the Death with Dignity Act. (Elders, like battered women, will not report to protect the perpetrator, due to denial and/or for a multitude of other reasons which cannot be reliably detected.) In fact, health care professionals described how institutions sometimes won't allow staff to assess assisted-suicidal patients for mental competency and coercive elements, maintaining that only the prescribing physician (who may not even know the patient personally) is allowed to assess for either under the Act. It's possible that some of these Washington State hospitals and hospices are misinterpreting or misunderstanding the Act in this respect. If so, the Department of Health should issue guidelines clarifying that health care providers are still mandatory assessors and reporters of suspected elder abuse and neglect under Washington State law, including with respect to the Death with Dignity Act.
The collateral damage to vulnerable adults adversely impacted by the Act looks to be higher than the direct numbers of DOH tallied deaths. With rates of elder abuse and financial exploitation climbing, Washington's legalization of assisted suicide appears to have created a climate of increased pressure on vulnerable adults.
Elder Abuse Prevention Resources
The National Center on Elder Abuse: Administration on Aging
http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/ncearoot/Main_Site/index.aspx has many excellent resources , including information on prevention and reporting. According to the National Center on Elder Abuse's fact sheet, Why should I care about elder abuse? "Relatively few cases are identified, as elders often are reluctant to report the mistreatment. Experts estimate that only one in six cases or fewer are reported, which means that very few seniors who have been abused get the help they need. One thing is for certain: elder abuse can happen to any older individual - your neighbor, your loved one - it can even happen to you."The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA)
The NCPEA is an association of researchers, practitioners, educators, and advocates dedicated to protecting the safety, security, and dignity of America's most vulnerable citizens. Established in 1988 to achieve a clearer understanding of abuse and provide direction and leadership to prevent it, the Committee is one of six partners that make up the National Center on Elder Abuse, which is funded by Congress to serve as the nations clearinghouse on information and materials on abuse and neglect. The mission of NCPEA is to prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older persons and adults with disabilities through research, advocacy, public and professional awareness, interdisciplinary exchange, and coalition building. www.preventelderabuse.org
The Washington State Attorney General
Washington's Attorney General has established the protection of vulnerable adults as a priority in public policy. Please see the following for information about elder abuse reporting and prevention. http://www.atg.wa.gov/VulnerableAdultAbuse.aspx