Sen. Bond holds hearing on abuse of senior citizens

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- U.S. Attorney Todd Graves says he has been able to prosecute elder abuse indirectly, but that prosecutors need to be able to do more.

Graves' comments came during a hearing Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., held Tuesday in Kansas City to discuss abuse of the elderly. Bond is a co-sponsor of the Elder Justice Act, which is pending before Congress.

Among other things, the bill would create two federal offices of Elder Justice, establish programs to help victims, provide grants for education and training, and require reporting of crimes in long-term care facilities and criminal background checks for those facilities that are federally funded.

Bond also held a town hall meeting in Springfield earlier in the day. A hearing in St. Louis and a town hall meeting in Columbia are planned for Wednesday.

Graves told Bond the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri has successfully handled two cases involving "egregious instances" of abuse at nursing homes by using the federal False Claims Act. In both cases, prosecutors claimed that nursing homes could not have provided the level of care needed to receive reimbursement under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

"In other words," Graves testified, "we prosecuted as civil fraud against the government, rather than as actual elder abuse."

However, Graves said, patients need recourse of their own.

"In many cases, it is unlikely that even a deficient quality of care would fall into what the court described as a 'gray area,"' Graves said.

Clay County Sheriff Paul C. Vescovo III told Bond that educating the public about elder abuse could help in stopping and prosecuting it, in much the same way education and media coverage of spousal abuse and child abuse have led people to be more proactive in reporting those abuse cases and has garnered support for funding programs that combat abuse.

Norma Collins, associate state director for advocacy for the AARP, said elder abuse, like other forms of domestic violence, is a hidden problem. Despite underreporting, she said, the number of reports of elder abuse jumped 150 percent between 1986 and 1996, from 117,000 to 293,000.

Collins said members of the AARP, the nation's biggest lobbying group for older Americans, are increasingly concerned about abuse and the Elder Justice Act would help ensure the safety of senior citizens.

"Our members tell us that protecting themselves and their loved ones from abuse and fraud is one of their major concerns," she said.

Bond said cases of elder abuse will only increase as Baby Boomers age.

"No longer can we avoid the problem," Bond said. "We have to confront it and take appropriate steps."