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Article published Nov 15, 2004
Senior citizen struggles: Health and security are leading
concerns
South Carolina's Silver Haired Legislature, created
five years ago by legislative act to advise the General Assembly on issues
affecting the state's senior citizens, has approved an agenda that unfortunately
paints a picture of an elderly population still struggling with health and
security issues.The group is a voice for the Palmetto State's more than 600,000
senior residents, 40,000 of whom are in nursing homes and many more in other
facilities such as assisted living residences -- an elderly population that is
expected to double by 2020.Among the Silver Haired Legislature's leading
priorities is safety.The elderly are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Many
don't have the physical ability to ward off their attackers and may even lack
the communication skills to report those abuses, and a U.S. Senate committee on
aging concluded that few prosecutions result from those abuses. The committee
further determined that such crimes occurring in nursing homes often don't get
the attention of similar abuses elsewhere.It's no wonder that the Silver Haired
Legislature has emphasized security as one of its leading concerns, particularly
for those senior citizens who must rely on others for all of their fundamental
needs.The Silver Haired Legislature successfully lobbied two years ago to get
lawmakers' support for requiring extended criminal background checks on
employees of nursing home facilities, but as a growing number of senior citizens
stay at home in their golden years, they need that protection at home as well.
Requiring criminal background checks for individuals employed for in-home care
of adults is a logical extension of that legislation.The group also is
advocating a larger pool of ombudsmen to investigate mistreatment of the
elderly. It reports that the state annually gets more than 4,000 complaints,
while many abuses are suspected of going unreported out of fear of reprisal by
abusive caregivers.The Silver Haired Legislature cites a situation that points
to the inadequate number of ombudsmen to investigate complaints -- a nursing
home resident who didn't get medical care for four days after an incident that
took five days for an ombudsman to begin an investigation.That situation alone
is sufficient reason for the General Assembly to revisit a proposal that would
create a volunteer ombudsman program, bringing more bedside advocacy to
facilities caring for those who are most vulnerable to neglect.The Silver Haired
Legislature has other worthwhile goals for the elderly, including affordable
transportation, but their concerns for the health and security of South
Carolina's elderly residents certainly should command the attention of lawmakers
during the upcoming session of the legislature.