Protecting senior citizens: Survey gives La. good mark for elder safeguards

A recent WalletHub study ranks Louisiana overall as No. 8 in the nation with the best elder-abuse protections. But even with the best protections, St. Mary seniors are still cautioned to be proactive protecting themselves, even when it comes to family.

Both St. Mary AARP President Bill Darce and St. Mary Parish Council on Aging Executive Director Beverly Domengeaux agree that seniors must keep all their personal information private.

“Basically, what we try to tell everybody is if they get a phone call or message, text message, email, or even postal mail not to give out personal information, such as your home address, cell phone numbers, telephone numbers, email addresses, credit card numbers, social security numbers, any medical information unless you know exactly who you’re talking to on the phone,” Darce said.

“We’ve had some people that were scammed through the internet and phone …,” Domengeaux said. “I tell them to be careful about their Social Security numbers and Medicare numbers and not to give it out to nobody.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, elder abuse is an intentional act, or failure to act, by a caregiver or another person in a relationship involving an expectation of trust that causes or creates a risk of harm to an older adult.

An older adult is considered to be 60 years of age or older.

The forms of elder abuse are:

—Physical.

—Sexual.

—Emotional or psychological.

—Neglect.

—Financial abuse or exploitation.

Most of the abuse situations Domengeaux sees with her seniors are financial and involve family members.

“But that’s a part of the abuse,” Domengeaux said. “We do have a very low occurrence of actual physical but there’s a lot of verbal and financial harassment.”

Reporting the abuse is difficult for seniors.

“The seniors are scared,” Domengeaux said. “And they’re afraid that they can’t tell anybody about it.”

The majority of incidents are family-related, and a small percentage are connected to outside help, such as a sitter or somebody that comes by and cleans the house, Domengeaux said.

“It’s a very sad thing because family ethics aren’t there anymore,” Domengeaux said.

“And some of these grandchildren and the younger generation, because they need the money or whatever they’re doing, they take advantage of the elderly.”

Seniors are cautioned to change daily routines.

“Don’t do the same thing, don’t have the same routine leaving the house at 10 and return at 12 every Wednesday,” Domengeaux said. “Because if somebody is watching the house, they’re going to know when to come in.”

The Council on Aging tries to schedule speakers from the elderly protection services at least twice a year to discuss elderly abuse at each of its sites.

Council employees are also taught what to report, how to report it and what to look for so that we make sure that we are protecting. Because a lot of times, we’re the only people that see it, Domengeaux said.

“So many people are trying to get the elderly right now, just to be able to tap into their savings or checking account,” Darce said. “And we definitely stress that. AARP has several programs right now they offer or we can give them information.”

According to the state’s Office of Aging and Adult Services, there are signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation. The signs are:

—Bruises and skin discoloration.

—Burns, welts, cuts, evidence of bites or bed sores.

—Visitors refused access to the house.

—Withdrawal, refusing to or not allowed to leave home.

—Unclean, smelly, dirty or inadequate clothes.

—Weight loss, appears hungry, begging, or searching for food.

—No utilities.

—Unsanitary surroundings.

—Use of adult’s monies/resources by another.

—Withdrawal of money in substantial amounts.

—Restricted movement, locked in room.

“I know at our age, most of us forget things, and we accidently say things,” Darce said. “I know I’m one of them. And I do that quite well. It’s just a matter of using common sense.

“You don’t want to give out information where somebody can access something personal about you. And today, so many people are looking to get access to banking accounts.”

For more information about the study, go to: https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-best-elder-abuse-protection/28754/