News

Senate Approves Resolution Recognizing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

SENATE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVES BLUMENTHAL, COLLINS BIPARTISAN RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING WORLD ELDER ABUSE AWARENESS DAY

Estimates identify more than two million elders– one in every ten adults over 60 – annually are the victims of abuse, neglect, or exploitation 

Financial abuse results in seniors’ loss of $2.6 billion each year

(Washington, DC) – Last night, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bipartisan resolution by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine.), Member and Chair of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, respectively, recognizing June 15, 2015 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The resolution calls attention to the problem of elder abuse around the nation, and honors all those that fight for justice for victims.

“The abuse of our nation’s elders – an unacceptable, unconscionable problem – is  too often overlooked and underreported,” said Blumenthal. “This measure will increase awareness and recognize those that are working every day to help our nation’s elders against these reprehensible crimes. Our elders have worked hard, accumulated savings, counted on security and are depending on us, trusting us, for their safety. The number in this age group will only grow within the next years and I thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for their unanimous support, as well as the President for proclaiming June 15 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.”

 

“As Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, our efforts have brought to light many situations in which seniors have been defrauded out of their hard-earned savings and even suffered physical harm,” said Senator Collins. “Unfortunately, however, many of cases of elder abuse in the United States and around the world are never reported or discovered because the victim is too ashamed to report the abuse, particularly when it involves a family member. As a consequence, the true impact and incidence of this kind of abuse is still largely unknown. To remedy this problem and to raise awareness, organizations around the world and in my home state of Maine have taken action and continue to work tirelessly to raise awareness of elder abuse and to protect the rights of aging adults.”

U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) are co-sponsors of the resolution.

Nationwide, it’s estimated that more than two million – one in every ten adults over 60 – are the victims of abuse, neglect, or exploitation each year; the vast majority of these cases go unidentified or unreported. Financial abuse alone results in seniors’ loss of $2.6 billion each year. This resolution recognizes survivors of elder abuse, and commends those who dedicate themselves to the prevention, response, and prosecution of abuse and exploitation of seniors.

The resolution recognizes that public awareness has the potential to increase the identification and reporting of elder abuse by the public, professionals, and victims, and can act as a catalyst to promote issue-based education and long-term prevention;

In addition to designating June 15, 2015 as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, the resolution:

  • Recognizes judges, lawyers, adult protective services professionals, law enforcement officers, long term care ombudsmen, social workers, health care providers, professional guardians, advocates for victims, and other professionals and agencies for their efforts to advance awareness of elder abuse; and
  • Encourages members of the public and professionals who work with older adults to act as catalysts to promote awareness and long-term prevention of elder abuse by reaching out to local adult protective services agencies, long-term care ombudsman programs, and the National Center on Elder Abuse, and by learning to recognize, detect, report, and respond to elder abuse.

 

You can view, download, and print a pdf of the resolution here.

Campaign Encourages Congress to Move Quickly on Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Patient Wishes

Washington, DC – Today the Campaign to End Unwanted Medical Treatment applauded the introduction of the Care Planning Act of 2015 by Senators Warner (D-VA) and Isakson (R-GA), and joined as original co-sponsors by Senators Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).

The Warner/Isakson Care Planning Act will help ensure that patients’ wishes are respected by providing Medicare reimbursements to health care professionals for voluntary and structured discussions about treatment options with persons with serious illness.

Brian Lindberg, Campaign Coordinator, stated, “In far too many instances individuals face a health care system that ignores their care goals and preferences. We can – and must – do better. The Campaign supports the Care Planning Act because it takes major steps toward ensuring that Medicare supports and pays for advance care planning discussions for persons to discuss and document their end-of-life care wishes with their health care professional team. Congress has an important role in this issue and it should act quickly to enable Medicare and all federal health programs to pay for the these consultations, and put programs in place to measure whether providers are following a documented care plan that reflects patients’ priorities.”

The Campaign, whose 19 collaborators are some of the nation’s leading organizations fighting to improve care for an aging population, believes that care delivered for those with advanced illness or nearing the end of life must be consistent with that person’s goals, values, preferences and wishes. The Campaign to End Unwanted Medical Treatment is dedicated to ensuring patients and consumers receive the medical care they want…nothing less and nothing more.

Please feel free to contact Brian Lindberg at brian@consumers.org with questions or comments.

Amy Berman Speaks at the April End UMT Luncheon

Amy Berman, keynote speaker at the April End UMT luncheon, discusses taking charge of her healthcare treatment plan and living with stage 4 cancer.

End UMT Luncheon, November 20th 2014

0034

 

This luncheon focused on the Institute of Medicine Report, “Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life”, which you can read here.

End UMT Luncheon, June 14th 2014

015015

End UMT Luncheon, April 11th 2014


031

End UMT Luncheon, March 14th 2014

A Place at the Table

NPU-UMT-campaign-3

The first Campaign to End UMT policy luncheon