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Preventing Elder Abuse Matthew Heaton Central New Mexico Community College

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Preventing elderly abuse

In Charleston West Virginia, on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 the worst case of elderly abuse happened. Peggy Quesenberry reported that her mother, Judy Quesenberry, had shortness of breath and loss of appetite. When paramedics arrived, they said the house had unlivable conditions. The house had human urine and feces throughout it as well as trash piles and bugs. The mother, Peggy, was unresponsive and laying in her bed and covered in feces and urine. The paramedics tried to move Judy’s body, but she was bonded to the blanket and her head was stuck to her arm. Judy was taken to the hospital with severe sepsis, dehydration, multiple areas of skin break down, respiratory failure and pneumonia, according to the court documents. Ultimately Judy died from the injuries and infection, then Peggy Quesenberry was arrested and with neglect and incapacitated adult. This horrific case of abuse was, in my opinion, situational. The Situational theory fits because the daughter benefited from the situation, as she had housing and money which was the moms. However, the situation ended in abuse as she did not want to take care of her mother but needed to agree to it to get what she wanted. The mother was not independent, and no one wanted to take care of her, daughter took advantage of the situation. The elderly and disabled population are the most vulnerable when they cannot successfully go through with their daily activities, these activities include dressing, bathing, using the bathroom, preparing food and managing their finances. Elders are very vulnerable to being exploited for or abused due to psychological /financial issues. Judy Quesenberry could not of prevented this situation from occurring because her daughter Peggy was the only person able

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to take care of her. Judy Quesenberry had limited ways to inform the outside world of the abuse, however if the doctors office would have notified social services of her no longer being seen, or perhaps her bank noted changes in her accounts and contacted adult protective services maybe someone could have intervened and potentially saved her life. If she had been part of a church or community group they also could have noted her absence and been looking out for her. I do think that Peggy Quesenberry deserves prison time and should not have any chance of rehabilitation for this heinous criminal act, especially her own mother. In this situation Peggy could have stopped the neglect and abuse at any time by calling an ambulance, bringing her to a nursing home, asking her doctor for home health care services or reaching out to a community support program, but by not doing anything she literally watched her mom die a horrible death day by day. If the case had been less significant, like she wasn’t being bathed routinely, but was being fed and in a semi clean house you could argue that she was doing her best and just could not provide the level of care that she needed. In that type of case I would think that probation and rehabilitation programs would be appropriate as she would not have intentionally harmed her mother. In 1987 the AOA established the prevention of the elderly, neglect and exploitation program. This program helps strengthen the criminal justice system for elderly justice. The goal for this program is to stop it from happening in the first place. To recognize elderly abuse this program has trained law-enforcement officers, health care providers and other professionals to recognize and to respond to such things. The AOA program distributes money to states based on their population of elderly people 60 and older. This program, along with Adult Protective Services has changed the outcome for many senior citizens and disabled people who may have been abused otherwise. These programs are truly lifesavers for some of these individuals.

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Preventing Elder Abuse - Learn How You Can Prevent Elderly Abuse. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2019, from https://www.nursinghomeabusecenter.com/elder-abuse/prevention/

Elder Abuse Prevention Intervention Demonstrations. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2019, from https://acl.gov/programs/elder-justice/elder-abuse-prevention-interventiondemonstrations

Wchs/wvah. (n.d.). Police: Victim in worst case of elder abuse dies, daughter charged with her neglect. Retrieved March 24, 2019, from https://abc6onyourside.com/news/nationworld/police-victim-in-worst-case-of-elder-abuse-dies

Prevention Strategies|Elder Abuse|Violence Prevention|Injury Center|CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/elderabuse/prevention.html...