Tag Archives: abuse

New tip sheet offers pointers for reporting on elder abuse

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Pia Christensen

About Pia Christensen

Pia Christensen (@AHCJ_Pia) is the managing editor/online services for AHCJ. She manages the content and development of healthjournalism.org, coordinates AHCJ's social media efforts and edits and manages production of association guides, programs and newsletters.

Photo: Theen Moy via Flickr

Photo: Theen Moy via Flickr

Elder abuse was a key agenda item at this year’s White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA). While much of that panel discussion focused on financial exploitation, this is only one type of abuse that an older person might suffer.

Liz Seegert’s new tip sheet discusses how many seniors have suffered from some kind of abuse – the numbers are alarming – as well as what constitutes abuse, factors that make seniors vulnerable and common signs of abuse.

For reporters, Seegert offers a list of story ideas, resources and contact information for potential sources for those writing about elder abuse.

Congressional update at GSA touches on upcoming stories

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Liz Seegert

About Liz Seegert

Liz Seegert (@lseegert), is AHCJ’s topic editor on aging. Her work has appeared in NextAvenue.com, Journal of Active Aging, Cancer Today, Kaiser Health News, the Connecticut Health I-Team and other outlets. She is a senior fellow at the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement at George Washington University and co-produces the HealthCetera podcast.

What’s really happening with aging policy in Washington? At last week’s annual Gerontological Society of America Conference in New Orleans, a standing-room-only audience was privy to updates from key Congressional committee staffers.

Erika Salway, policy adviser for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, discussed the committee’s work on issues affecting older adults, including federally qualified health centers, primary care, oral health, mental health and the Older Americans Act. Funding for the OAA is $1.8 billion, which may sound high, but she reminded the audience that its programs serve 10 million seniors every year and funding constitutes less than .06 percent of the federal budget. The OAA funds essential services such as Meals on Wheels, job training, caregiver support, transportation and elder abuse services. It expired in 2011 but continues to receive federal funds under the old legislative formula. Continue reading →

Investigation exposes police inaction in face of abuse allegations at Calif. facilities

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Andrew Van Dam

About Andrew Van Dam

Andrew Van Dam of The Wall Street Journal previously worked at the AHCJ offices while earning his master’s degree at the Missouri School of Journalism.

In recent weeks, California Watch’s long-running focus on abuse of the developmentally disabled at state-run institutions has coalesced into a broad indictment of the flawed oversight and enforcement programs at those facilities.

Ryan Gabrielson’s centerpiece is a classic deep investigation which relies on a mix of data and anecdotes to show that, even though the centers are equipped with a state-run police force, in 36 incidences of alleged abuse over the past four years, “documents obtained by California Watch reveal that patients suffered molestation, forced oral sex and vaginal lacerations. But for years, the state-run police force has moved so slowly and ineffectively that predators have stayed a step ahead of law enforcement or abused new victims, records show.”

Beyond that, California Watch has gone above and beyond to make their investigation as accessible and shareable as possible with a share-friendly chart, an 11.75-minute YouTube video, or even an “explainer” companion piece.