Elderly abuse for long term care most often unreported

In Oregon for example, the vast majority of people suspected of sexually attacking residents in one of the state’s 2,300 nursing homes, assisted-living centers or other long-term care facilities are never arrested or prosecuted. And in most cases, the state doesn’t even penalize the facilities in question. And since 2005, state workers have received at least 350 reports of possible sexual abuse, ranging from unwanted kissing to rape.

Recently, the Oregonian did some research, and found that workers with the Oregon Department of Human Services determined that about 80% of those reports were unprovable. And in most of these cases, do to the nature of the illnesses of many of the victims, the DHS deemed them unreliable as witnesses. Many couldn’t answer the questions asked, and were crying, or bleeding. But the DHS investigators did believe that of the 350 abuse reports, 73 of them did occur.

When the police were eventually called in, by then too much time had passed. But the investigation by the Oregonian did find evidence of just 14 arrests. Not many, is it? Police failed to interview witnesses or test key evidence. This is a situation, that is full of holes, starting with the failure of some long-term-care facilities to keep vulnerable residents safe from their attackers. The review also found the DHS’ investigation and enforcement lacking at times. And the public, as usual, is left in the dark that these crimes even happened.

There is a website, the DHS has opened, that allows the public to search nursing homes, and long term care facilities, but the abuse cases are not listed.

Bruce Goldberg, who until last month was the director of the DHS and now heads the Oregon Health Authority, ordered scores of additional reports released earlier this year after meeting with The Oregonian. “We as an agency want to be as transparent as legally allowable,” Goldberg said. Oregonian

Even though ordered to release all the documents, the paper never received the ones by attorneys hired by families of victims. And the DHS has an excuse. Administrators say their record-keeping system makes it almost impossible to pull every case of sexual abuse against long-term care residents. Also the state said they don’t have the resources to do a complete study of abuse against the elderly in these homes.

Goldberg said the issue deserves more attention and that more needs to be done to protect vulnerable adults from the people who prey on them: caregivers, strangers and even other able-bodied residents. “We all want to believe it doesn’t happen,” Goldberg said. “We don’t think that seniors are sexual beings. And we’re learning that that’s not true. And that there are some terrible people that do some terrible things.” Oregonian

Experts say that most of the abuses go unreported, nationwide. Although nursing homes and other long-term care facilities are required by Oregon law to report any suspicion of inappropriate sexual contact, many facilities don’t for many reasons. And employees don’t report the abuse, when residents tell them, as they think all is imagined. They don’t think of the elderly and developmentally disabled as susceptible to sexual attacks or they are reluctant to blame the attackers when they themselves are old, mentally impaired or on medication.

Also, reporting the abuse opens the homes up to lawsuits, fines, and bad publicity. When the abuse is reported, it’s only after a guest, or a caregiver walks in on it. Arthur Shorr, of Los Angeles, who consults for hospitals and nursing homes nationally on matters that include sexual violence against residents said, “It’s clear that it’s pandemic,” Shorr said. “It’s happening at a level and volume that’s almost hard to believe.” Oregonian

Residents in these facilities are easy prey, as they can’t fend for themselves. Yet Oregon law requires long-term care facilities to call the DHS and police if they suspect a resident has been criminally abused. And even the DHS by law, is required to notify police in writing within a few days about the status of their investigations. Still even if police are called, that doesn’t mean immediate action.

So what next, you may ask? The most logical thing would be to demand background checks of all workers in the facilities. Oregon checks prospective caregivers for a criminal background only within the state, unless applicants say they’ve lived elsewhere. And latter is how so many abusers go undetected. A potential staffer at the facility can lie, saying they’ve never lived out of the state, thus, they pass through the screening quietly, even though the DHS requires a national FBI fingerprint background check.

But an applicant can lie and escape FBI scrutiny, DHS administrators acknowledge. Oregon also is one of 40 states that don’t check national status of criminal history of those working in the healthcare field. Starting in 2012, Washington state will require some long-term care workers, including caregivers at assisted-living facilities and adult family homes, but not at nursing homes, to undergo a national criminal background check. The state will pick up the tab.

Then again, Oregon doesn’t track every person its investigators believe has sexually assaulted a long-term-care resident to make sure he or she doesn’t work with vulnerable adults again. This pertains according to the DHS, to certified nursing assistants. The agency also doesn’t track residents who’ve sexually assaulted other residents.

In 2007, after a report saying one in five elderly were victims of abuse, the Oregon legislature responded, with the passage of HB2442. Because of this bill the DHS is now to report the number of sexual assaults suffered by the developmentally disabled and the number of caregivers who were criminally pursued or sued for wrongdoing against the developmentally disabled.

But it also went further to add some protection for the disabled and elderly, which includes the DHS right to fine long-term-care facilities at least $2,500 for each instance of failing to protect any resident from sexual abuse – up to $15,000 during a 90-day period. The maximum fine used to be $500 to $1,000 for each failure.

HB 2442

