Keeping Our Loved Ones Safe Starts With Us

As far as population size goes, Minnesota is not a large state. There are just over 5.5 million people living in the state, which puts it at about the 21st largest state by population in the United States. California, Texas, and New York comprise the top three largest of the states. But Minnesota serves as a good example for the rest of the U.S. because of its average size. It is right in the middle of the list, but it’s doing a lot of things right that both bigger and smaller states are struggling to do. For example, according to the U.S. News & World Report, Minnesota is the second best state to live in, behind only Iowa.

 

However, in terms of senior care abuse, Minnesota’s state government is still struggling, even with many advancements that have been made in the past months regarding updating their reporting and computer systems. They have even enlisted the help of the state’s Department of Human Services to help them catch up on their backlog of reported cases, but this is scheduled to phase out by the end of 2018. Steps are being taken to help overcome this deficit, but there’s still a lot that needs to be done. Furthermore, even when the state is certain that abuse has taken place and knows who is behind it, there’s not always enough evidence to take legal action to protect people. Something more is needed.

 

The state receives about 400 reports of elder abuse per week. These cover all types of abuse, ranging from physical and sexual abuse, to neglect, to financial abuse.

 

States like Minnesota continue to be bogged down by cases of elder abuse. If we want to keep our families safe, we need to act as advocates for them.

 

Minnesota might rank in at #7 overall when it comes to healthcare, but when it comes to caring for those that have suffered from elder abuse, there’s still a really long way to go.

 

First and foremost, it’s important to say that if you have a loved one that you think is being abused, you need to say something. Even if you don’t have the evidence to fully prove your claim, sometimes these intuitions can get the ball rolling and it can be stopped before it grows worse.

 

Second, having your elderly loved one in a safe situation from the start is the most effective way to keep them safe. If you hire someone to provide senior care, make sure that they have a clean record and hold the character traits that you expect in a caregiver. Ensure that they are loving and compassionate and not just there to get a paycheck. Many cases of neglectful abuse occur because of caregivers not following the proper rules, so ensure that any caregiver working with your mom or dad has been thoroughly trained, too.

 

Some states might be getting overwhelmed by cases of elder abuse, which is discouraging on several levels. But by acting as advocates for the people that we love and going out of our way to ensure that they get the very best in terms of senior care right from the start, we can go a long way toward helping to prevent cases of elder abuse before they even start.

 

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