Minimizing Impact Of 'Transfer Trauma' To Residents Of Nursing Homes Facing Closure Among Benefits Of New California Elderly Abuse Prevention Laws

In Sacramento, California, The Associated Press reports:

• Gov. Jerry Brown signed a series of bills into law Friday designed to protect elderly people, including two that require care facilities to notify their residents of possible closures and another intended to expedite reporting of suspected elder abuse.



• AB313 by Sen. Bill Monning, D-Santa Cruz, requires residential facilities to conspicuously post notices for at least 30 days and provide written notices to residents and their responsible parties if the facility's license is in jeopardy. The bill was introduced after a nursing home in Santa Cruz was ordered to close last year and residents were only given two weeks of notice.



• "These protections will ensure residents have enough time to prepare for a move and minimize the impact of transfer trauma," Monning said.



• A similar bill by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, also requires such facilities to provide notices to residents of possible closures. SB897 would protect residents from abruptly have to relocate by requiring facilities to notify them in writing of possible foreclosure or severe financial distress.



• Other legislation is aimed at protecting the elderly from financial theft or abuse. SB718 by Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, would establish a confidential Internet reporting system for elder abuse. The bill was written in response to budget cuts that decreased the number of personnel able to handle calls from mandated reporters or the general public about elder abuse.



• The Internet system requires that people provide the same information they would over the phone but without having to wait to report abuse over the elder abuse phone line. "This effective reporting system will ensure that our seniors' voices are heard and abuses are not overlooked," Vargas said last month.



• A bill by Bob Blumenfield, D-Van Nuys, protects elderly people during financial abuse trials. AB1293 would give courts the ability to seize and freeze a defendant's assets in cases where $100,000 or more is suspected of being stolen or embezzled from an elderly person's property.



• Blumenfield says the bill will prevent people accused of stealing from seniors from using those assets to fund their own defense. It also ensures the seniors have the opportunity for receiving restitution.



• A law passed in 2005 mandating that financial institutions, such as banks, report elder financial abuse has now been made permanent. SB33, by Sen. Joe Simitian D-Palo Alto, eliminates the 2013 sunset date of SB1018 and continues to require loan or credit employees to report financial abuses if they notice them in contracts involving a senior's financial matters.



• The bills are among eight, some technical in nature, that Brown signed relating to elder abuse.

Source: Governor signs bills intended to protect elderly.