Incident in New Glasgow home may lead to elder abuse policy

The province hopes to develop an elder abuse action plan that would be used by all government and private seniors homes in Nova Scotia, Health Minister Chris d’Entremont said Wednesday. But he stopped short of saying legislation covering abuse of the elderly needs to be drawn up in this province. Mr. d’Entremont was commenting at Province House in Halifax after making a statement on his department’s probe into an incident of elder abuse at a New Glasgow nursing home. In January, two nurses at Glen Haven Manor taped the mouth of a resident and drew a happy face on it. The staffers were suspended without pay. The College of Registered Nurses of Nova Scotia has launched an investigation. Mr. d’Entremont said he’s satisfied his department’s probe has indicated the safety of the female resident involved, and that of other elderly people in the nursing home, are not in danger.

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SF MAN SENTENCED FOR ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE

The San Francisco Police Department reports that a man accused of targeting elderly San Francisco residents in two home repair scams pleaded guilty to charges of elder financial abuse on Jan. 26. Efram "Pudgy" Miller, 44, was sentenced to five years in state prison for his involvement in two cases where, posing as a licensed contractor, he approached two elderly residents in San Francisco's Sunset and Richmond districts after noticing minor repairs needed on the residents' homes. Miller reportedly convinced the elderly residents to contract with him for repairs described by an industry expert as "substandard,'' according to police. The victims paid Miller approximately $25,000 dollars in each case. Police arrested Miller on Dec. 3 after the Police Department's Fraud Section conducted an extensive investigation.

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HUMAN FECES PROMPTS SAN FRANCISCO ELDER ABUSE INVESTIGAITON

Police are investigating a case of possible elder abuse after fire officials responding to a medical call discovered an elderly woman living in a residence littered with human feces, according to a San Francisco police dispatcher. According to police and fire dispatchers, at around 2:10 a.m. police arrived at 780 Pacheco Street in San Francisco and discovered the inhumane living conditions. The woman is said to be physically unharmed, according to the dispatcher. .

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Nurse takes the stand in alleged elder abuse case

A nurse at a San Andreas convalescent hospital testified Thursday that she twice saw Attila Horvath of Sonora ask 98-year-old Ross Anderson to sign blank checks for him. Those checks and others are at the core of the charge of financial elder abuse Horvath faces in connection with the alleged theft of $12,000 from Anderson between January and May 2006. A trial in the case began Wednesday in Tuolumne County Superior Court. Deputy District Attorney Eric Hovatter said Anderson signed 12 checks made out to either Horvath or his wife. They were later cashed and put into Horvath's checking account. Anderson, a frail man who is hard of hearing and can't see well, said he didn't know he was signing checks for Horvath. He has said he thought he was signing checks to pay his bills.

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ROOFING JOB DISPUTE COULD LEAD TO ELDER ABUSE CHARGES

Fairfield police said a local roofing company faces financial elder abuse charges regarding an uncompleted roofing project on a 75-year-old resident's home. Police said Wednesday they have referred their investigation of A-1 Builders to the Solano County district attorney's office. Police said the elderly resident hired the company, owned by Victor Luna, to replace his roof in December 2005 before that winter's heavy rains began. Police said Luna convinced the man the roof could be replaced at a reasonable price and in a short period of time. The resident paid $5,000 in advance and A-1 Builders removed the old roofing material and left the framing but never replaced the roof, police said. The rains that followed caused $50,000 damage to the resident's home, police said.

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Do you suspect elder abuse? How to get help

This holiday season, you may have visited elderly relatives and shared a time of laughter and fun. But amid the light conversation, there could have been some dark possibilities. The National Center on Elder Abuse offers advice on signs of elder abuse. Some of the warning signs of elder abuse are easy to spot, such as bruises, black-and-blue marks and abrasions. Other signs are less apparent. The center says 90 percent of all elder abuse is committed by relatives, so if your friend or loved one lives with a spouse or adult child, be on the lookout for tense relationships and constant arguments. If you suspect a problem, ask the person if he or she is being abused. It puts you in an uncomfortable position, but you may be saving your loved one from a painful situation.

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Nursing home owner acquitted of elder abuse

Footage of an elderly man claiming abuse by a nursing home manager before he passed away was not enough evidence to convict the worker, Canada's top court ruled Thursday. In a 7-0 judgment, the Supreme Court acquitted Ramnarine Khelawon on charges of aggravated assault and uttering threats against people in his care at Toronto's Bloor West Village retirement home. Since all the residents accusing Khelawon had passed away before the trial could even begin, the only evidence against him hinged on one elderly man's video statement. But because the retirement home resident was no longer alive, the high court ruled there were doubts about the reliability of the statement and no way Khelawon's lawyer could do a cross-examination. In light of this, the court concluded there was no way Khelawon could have a fair trial.

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