Financial exploitation a rising form of abuse

• Citizens can report abuse anonymously through a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-752-6200.
• The state agency will investigate%2C develop a case plan if they find abuse%2C and provide and monitor services for the victim.

FLORENCE – The fastest rising form of elder abuse is financial exploitation, according to a Thomas More College health care management professor.

"The perpetrators often are family members or people the victim knows," said Dr. John D. Rudnick. "It might be spouses, adult children, other relatives, friends, neighbors and caregivers."

Rudnick made a presentation on elder abuse to the Florence Rotary Club on Aug. 25. He outlined types of elder abuse and advised the Rotarians on how to recognize it and what to do when they suspect it.

Rudnick, chief operating officer of Tri-State Gastroenterology Associates and author of two books on elder abuse, said self-neglect is the most common form of elder abuse. However, financial exploitation is increasing at a meteoric rate and the financial toll has reached $3 billion a year in the United States.

"From 2 to 10 percent of people 65 and older may be victims," he said. "It cuts across all ages, races and cultural divisions."

Warning signs of financial exploitation include sudden changes in the older person's account balance, unexplained transfers of assets or a disparity between assets and living conditions. The abuser may even come to the bank to assist the victim with a financial transaction, giving the impression they actually are helping.

The victim may not report the exploitation for fear of physical abuse, neglect or isolation from the family if the abuser is a family member, according to Rudnick. Others who see the warning signs may not report it, either.

"It often goes unreported because it's an upstanding family" and people dismiss the warning signs, he said. "They also may be reluctant to offend the family, fear they will jeopardize their relationship or lack the knowledge of the signs."

State law requires anyone who suspects elder abuse to report it. Rudnick believes citizens have a moral responsibility to report it, too.

"There is no instance in which you detect elder abuse in which you should not report it," he said. "It is incumbent upon us all to be proactive."

Citizens can report any evidence of abuse to Adult Protective Services in the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The state agency will investigate, develop a case plan if they find abuse, and provide and monitor services for the victim. Citizens can report abuse anonymously through a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-752-6200.

Pat Moynahan is a member of Florence Rotary Club. The club meets at noon Mondays at the Cincinnati Airport Hilton in Florence.