About this Webinar
Don Melady hosts an expert panel discussion on how EDs are in a unique position to identify and intervene in situations of elder abuse, neglect and mistreatment. This webinar shifts the focus away from purely physical abuse to the neglect suffered by older people. It highlights that neglect is often an outcome of unmet social needs and that EDs have a role to play in both identifying and helping meet those social needs.
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Webinar Details
Expert Panel
Alyssa Elman, LMSW
Supervising Social Worker, Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT)
Department of Emergency Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine
Terry Fulmer PhD, RN, FAAN
President
The John A. Hartford Foundation
Tony Rosen, MD
Program Director, Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT)
Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Geriatric Emergency Medicine
New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Weill Cornell Medical Center
Weill Cornell Medicine
Kristin Lees Hagerty, PhD
Project Director
National Collaboratory to Address Elder Mistreatment
Education Development Center
Moderated By
Goals
- To consider how the Geriatric ED can support older people who suffer abuse and neglect
- To focus on neglect as an outcome of unmet social needs AND to suggest practical interventions that EDs can address those needs
- To introduce a toolkit of resources for improving the ED response to neglect
Supporting Materials
PODCAST | August 26, 2016
Frailty Frontline | How to Identify Frailty, and What to Do Next
Dr. Tony Rosen joins Dr. Christina Shenvi to discuss what constitutes elder abuse, its prevalence, how to identify it, and what to do when you suspect it.
BLOG | January 17, 2017
Identifying Elder Abuse Victims – An Important Component of a Senior-Friendly ED
An emergency department visit offers a critical opportunity to identify elder mistreatment.
JGEM | August 24, 2021
Unmet Needs and Social Challenges for Older Adults During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Opportunity to Improve Care
Volume 2 | Issue 3 | Article 4 – Original Research
Tony, a physician, discusses how abuse differs from neglect and how neglect – often unintentional — is probably a more pressing issue in EDs as it can have a major serious, even lethal, impact on the life of older patients.
Key points
- Elder neglect is often an extreme case of unmet social needs.
- It is more common than other types of abuse and has more associated morbidity/mortality.
- The ED visit is an important opportunity to identify elder neglect and initiate intervention to address unmet social needs.
- Recognizing neglect and effectively addressing it requires all members of ED team to work together.
Alyssa, a social worker, highlights that EDs are often a good place to identify neglect because this may be the one time that the older person leaves their home. They can make direct contact with ambulance paramedics who may have a lot of information about the home situation. She also makes direct contact with community agencies to develop relationships that will benefit subsequent patients.
Key points
- Social workers play a critical role in the assessment of elder neglect and unmet social needs and in offering resources and developing a plan to ensure safety.
- Consider holding older adults in the ED until morning for a social work evaluation and additional collateral.
- For EDs without access to social work, consider developing a local resource guide that may be used to build connections with community partners.
Findhelp.org
Terry, a nurse by training and advocate, reinforces the essential role of an interdisciplinary team in addressing elder neglect: one person can’t do it alone! She also considers the strategies for addressing this challenge in situations of lower resources: what a smaller ED can do once it commits to the challenge.
Key points
- It’s our job to orient ED teams to look for subtle signs of neglect
- Neglect is a lethal issue: people die because of neglect.
- Transitions of care are essential in managing neglect – know your community resources and link to them
We presented four complex cases and suggested possible ways that an ED can respond to intervene. at 36:30.