Elder abuse comes in many forms and is often accomplished by individuals who ingratiate themselves with their victims. As in any business there are trustworthy professionals and there are those who scam the public. Many elderly have savings that they wish to safely invest for their future needs but they can be swayed by those they trust to give over their savings for investment purposes created by their "friendly" insurance agent. There is an article that was brought to my attention, written by Elizabeth Furnari, Deputy District Attorney - Insurance Fraud Division of the San Diego District Attorney's Office. She points out that being aware of the different types of insurance and annuity scams is the first step in protecting yourself. http://www.sdcda.org/files/conartists.pdf . Also the The California Department of Insurance (CDI) has created a "Senior Insurance Bill of Rights" which provides a list of precautions to take when purchasing any type of insurance policy and the regulations that protect those rights. http://www.insurance.ca.gov.
There is so much information being provided for the protection of the general public but so many times it is ignored or missed altogether. We at Elder Care Guides try to provide this forum as another way to share information and in doing so we can enlighten and hopefully protect someone from becoming a victim.
Thanks for sharing this. I hope this post reaches a lot of families who are leaving the care of their beloved seniors on the hands of caregivers. Sometimes, when someone says "elder abuse", most of us often think of bruises, cuts and other kinds of physical harm. But there's another kind of abuse we should watch out for. Some caregivers come in like wolves in sheep's clothing. They take advantage of the trusting nature most of our elders have.This is what we should look out for. This can put our beloved seniors in more danger than we might think.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. ECG agrees wholeheartedly, which is why we have an extensive recruitment and background screening process that includes professional reference checks, driving records, and thorough criminal background checks from 2 different companies. Further, we have geriatric care managers who work as a team with our caregivers and carefully oversee their day-to-day work to ensure the safest possible environment for our clients.
ReplyDeleteThank you too for your comment. I have had personal experience with "wolves in sheep's clothing" which is why I believe so strongly in geriatric care management. It is this kind of monitoring along with ECG's screening process that works in protecting our clients.
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