Pa. must be more diligent in monitoring protective service for seniors

ARE PENNSYLVANIA’S SENIORS getting the help they need when it comes to protection from abuse?

The state Department of Aging will be taking sterner steps to answer that question.

Spotlight PA has pointed to failures in oversight of the agencies that work on county levels to respond to neglect and abuse concerns — like a 75-year-old Philadelphia woman diagnosed with dementia who died without needed care and attention.

The response to that case sounds like that in other abuse scenarios. State officials were appalled so people were assigned to investigate. However, there were no consequences.

Pennsylvania contracts with 52 county Area Agencies on Aging to provide services to seniors. Among the most important is protective services — the act of responding to fears of physical, mental, medical or financial abuse or neglect.

It is not an easy job. It can mean showing up in tense situations at a hospital or at home. It can include dealing with confused seniors and overwhelmed caregivers. It can involve judgment calls, late-night visits and heartbreaking situations.

But the Department of Aging’s concern is that up to a third of those agencies are not complying with state regulations each year and that many also are not completing investigations in the required 20 days.

The failure to comply is the agencies’ problem. The failure to hold those agencies accountable is on the state.

It is important for every county agency to take every call seriously. Calls must be investigated in a quick but thorough manner to maintain not only the health and safety of each senior but also the confidence in making the call.

But it is even more important for these watchdogs to be monitored in the same thorough and efficient manner. It should happen with the same transparency and accountability the state brings to its assessments of nursing homes and hospitals, especially as the population ages and more seniors receive services at home.

“Is there a crisis and a problem? No. Is there always room to do better? Yes,” Aging Secretary Jason Kavulich told Spotlight PA.

You can’t really say there isn’t a crisis and a problem until the state steps up to make sure that all county agencies are doing their jobs.