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Elderly abuse frequent in Maine, says advocate

By David Robinson drobinson@onlinesentinel.com
Staff Writer, Morning Sentinel

FARMINGTON -- There are more than 12,000 elderly Maine residents, age 60 and above, who are abused every year.

But since most elderly abuse, involving everything from physical to financial mistreatment, is done by family members or caregivers, just one out of 14 incidents is reported to authorities.

This lack of reporting is the biggest challenge when it comes to stopping abuse of the elderly, according to Jessica Dorr, a community educator on domestic violence issues.

Something as small as newspapers piling up outside a door can be a red flag for abuse, and an alert neighbor can pick up on this and anonymously report it, Dorr said during a forum Tuesday in Farmington on elderly abuse issues.

Whenever there is doubt about an elderly person's welfare, it should be reported and investigated, according to Dorr, of Safe Voices, an agency that provides domestic violence services to victims in Franklin, Androscoggin and Oxford counties.

"Do not assume someone else is going to call," she said.

Dorr cited the statistics from recent studies by the Maine Attorney General's Office and Office of Elder Services.

Along with two other panel members from law enforcement and Adult Protective Services, she told the small group of elderly care officials, along with a couple in their 70s from Hebron, about what keeps most cases of abuse from being reported.

Most senior citizens don't want to report abuse by relatives because they consider it private family business, Dorr said.

Often the abuser may be a caregiver acting as a gatekeeper, who is the elderly person's only contact with the community, and many victims are also afraid of being placed in a nursing home if they report abuse, panelists said.

The Hebron couple, who declined to give their names for the story, had concerns that other relatives may be taking advantage of the woman's mother, who is in her 90s.

The woman's mother is in a "very nice" assisted-living facility in Massachusetts, but the couple is worried about family members possibly mismanaging the mother's finances.

Farmington Police Detective Marc Bowering told the couple many of the elderly abuse cases are tied to financial disputes among family members.

Financial problems are made more difficult by diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's, where an elderly person is deemed mentally unable to manage their finances, he said.

Other people have to go through legal battles to gain power of attorney, enabling them to manage the elderly person's finances, and some people abuse this power by cleaning out bank accounts, re-writing legal documents and committing other abuses, he said.

"Some of the nastiest civil battles are people fighting over power of attorney -- they tear families apart," Bowering said.

There are cases when people can be prosecuted for fraud and other financial crimes when they abuse elderly residents, even when there is power of attorney involved, he said.

While financial abuse is the most common, with fraud and Internet scams also happening to seniors more than other age groups, there are still a lot of cases where elderly people are physically or emotionally abused, according to Bowering and Dorr.

Red flags for physical abuse can be slap marks, bruises, bed sores, burns and other injuries that seem to be questionable or difficult for victims to explain, according to Dorr.

Warnings signs for other abuse can be poor hygiene, malnutrition and sudden changes in behavior and financial circumstances, she said.

Abuse can be caught by checking on elderly people often, and can be as simple as stopping by to say hello, according to Dorr, and everyone from neighbors and family members to doctors and postal workers should be looking for signs of elderly abuse.

There are also programs in Maine to help senior citizens remain in their homes and provide other services if they have been victims of abuse, according to Lauri Preo, an Adult Protective Services investigator for the Office for Elderly Services.

People can be confident when reporting abuse that there are measures to help alleviate senior citizens' fears about losing their independence, Preo said.

"They get to stay home whenever possible," she said.

David Robinson -- 861-9287

drobinson@centralmaine.com