Panel focuses on the dangers of elder abuse

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers IMPORTANT ADVICE— Theresa Pollara, a Ventura County deputy district attorney, discusses senior abuse during a seminar at the Goebel Senior Center in Thousand Oaks last week. Esperanza Boggs, 89, lost everything after her son, David Boggs, 51, set fire to their Camarillo home and killed himself on June 11.

Described by his mother as armed and dangerous, David Boggs had been under investigation for alleged elder abuse, accused of holding his mother a virtual hostage for years in their home and embezzling $211,000 from her.

He set the home ablaze shortly after Ventura County deputies arrived at the mobile home to serve him with court papers to move out.

Esperanza Boggs' story, although more extreme than most, is familiar to social workers who deal with the increasing problem of elder abuse in Ventura County.

To help protect the county's growing senior population, a panel of experts recently addressed how the elderly can protect themselves from abuse, financial and otherwise, during a discussion at the Goebel Senior Center in Thousand Oaks.

Marcy Snider, coordinator of Ventura County Human Services Agency's adult protective services, said her agency received 2,100 referrals of elder abuse last year.

"This year, we'll easily surpass that," Snider said.

Social workers with adult protective services investigate neglect or abuse and connect elderly victims to resources in the community. The statemandated program is voluntary, free of charge and available to those 65 and older.

Many referrals to the agency involve caregivers not taking proper care of their elderly charges, Snider said. But financial abuse of seniors has become the No. 1 complaint in the past four months, she said.

Snider described an elderly woman in the East County who was lonely and befriended by a salesperson over the phone. Eventually the salesperson scammed her out of $50,000. Scam artists have duped money from retired teachers, lawyers and other well-educated professionals.

Family members and friends have also taken advantage of the elderly, Snider said. Caregivers have bought groceries for the senior but also for themselves and have filled up their gasoline tank on the senior's credit card. The elderly person may have poor eyesight and not notice the extra charges on the statement. A friend or family member may steal blank checks from the bottom of the senior's checkbook so they won't be missed right away.

Snider said gardeners or handymen have ingratiated themselves with the elderly and ended up moving into the house on the pretext of helping them. But before long, they take over the finances, intercept phone calls from family and friends and convince the senior to change their will, Snider said.

"We see everything in this county," she said.

But most perpetrators of elderly abuse in Ventura County, as many as 70 percent, are family members, Snider said. They often excuse their behavior by reasoning they shouldn't have to wait for their inheritance.

Snider advises senior citizens whose children control their finances to also have a third party oversee their accounts.

Legal advice

Theresa Pollara, prosecutor with the district attorney's elder abuse unit, recommends seniors never give the same person power of attorney over their medical affairs and finances.

Pollara said she aggressively pursues cases of abuse against the elderly and urged the audience to call the police if they suspect they've been the victim of abuse. If the police say the incident is a civil and not a criminal matter, Pollara advised, call her and she'll determine if that's true.

If the perpetrator is a family member, Pollara said, she can help if the senior wants assistance and believes the abusive episode was an isolated incident.

A person convicted of felony elder abuse faces up to five years in prison. A misdemeanor carries a maximum of a year in jail.

The elder abuse unit also has a victims' advocate who helps the elderly navigate the judicial system and will even talk to the judge on their behalf.

Senior care facilities

Only about 5 percent of the county's seniors live out their lives in a nursing facility, said Kathy Terry with the Ombudsman Long Term Care Services of Ventura County. Of those who do, most have no relatives or close friends to ensure they're being cared for, making the ombudsman program vital for them, she said.

The federally mandated watchdog program has 57 volunteers who visit residential care facilities throughout Ventura County once a month and skilled nursing facilities once a week to ensure residents are receiving proper care. Visits are made sooner if a complaint against a facility comes into the agency.

All of its services are free. The ombudsman program also offers pre-placement counseling.

Complaints against skilled nursing facilities in Ventura County are up, with the agency receiving more than 100 a month, Terry said.

Most complaints are about workers who take too long to respond to a resident's call light. Agency volunteers don't take that lightly, Terry said, because the elderly person may need help to the bathroom, and if the worker takes too long it becomes an issue of human dignity.

As for financial abuse, often the perpetrator is in the facility or the community, Terry said. But increasingly, the agency is hearing from facilities on the verge of evicting residents whose children aren't paying the bill, sometimes as high as $60,000, Terry said.

Depressed seniors cut off from the outside world can be more vulnerable to scam artists, said Shawna Atchison of the Ventura County Behavioral Health Older Adults Program.

The older adults program is a mobile clinic that provides in-home behavioral health services free of charge to seriously mentally ill seniors 60 and older. The team of professionals includes nurses, case managers, clinical social workers and psychologists.

Atchison said depression is not a normal part of aging, that seniors may not show obvious symptoms and even doctors may miss the diagnosis. Medication side effects can contribute to depression.

Once detected, however, depression can be treated successfully with medication and psychotherapy, she said.

After the seminar, Kathaleen Patton of Thousand Oaks said it made her feel better to hear from Snider that even the "smartest people" have become victims of con artists.

Patton said she was the victim of identity theft several years ago and as a result has become less trusting of others.

"When people hurt you, sometimes you feel . . . like it's your fault," Patton said. "And some other people treat you like that, too."

To report elder or dependent adult abuse, call the 24-hour hotline at (805) 654-3200.

To talk to Pollara, call (805) 654-2505.