It's an all out epidemic.
"Physical violence, emotional abuse, financial fraud, scams," says Assistant Professor Carolyn Pickering, PhD, RN with Michigan State University's College of Nursing.
Elder abuse takes on many forms, and it's a problem Lansing Police, and MSU researchers want to get a handle on now.
LPD is teaming up with researchers from the MSU School of Criminal Justice and the College of Nursing to contact local seniors who have had an encounter with LPD this year.
"The study itself will ask questions about health care needs, service needs, it will ask a bit about why Lansing Police were at their house," says Pickering.
The goal is to find out what these seniors need and what they are going through. It's hard to get an exact number, but around 1 out of 10 seniors is abused.
"This is really growing exponentially as the baby boomers continue to age," says Pickering.
For LPD, it's a growing problem officers are witnessing first hand.
"We are seeing more officers come across elder abuse and it ranges from physical abuse to emotional, more financial abuse," says Lt. Cherie Ballor with LPD Staff Services.
They undergo training to identify elder abuse.
"To become more familiar with elder abuse, how it happens and what to do," says Ballor.
But, it's often difficult to identify or prove elder abuse is going on at home or at a care institution.
This video can be disturbing. A hidden camera caught an incident in Georgia of a care giver abusing a 69-year old woman last month. The caregiver was arrested.
It's a problem LPD and MSU want to address now, in the hopes of offering the seniors in our community more options.
"Start to learn more about the healthcare and social service needs of older adults," says Pickering.
The researchers are mailing out invitations to the voluntary survey right now. They will interview 60 adults hopefully by the end of the summer or early fall.
If you are a victim or suspect that elder abuse is going on, call Adult Protective Services at 855-444-3911 or Lansing Police.
