Nursing home abuse is a prominent concern for millions of Americans across the country, with 5 million Americans over the age of 60 suffering from some form of abuse or exploitation every year.

Even though this is a widespread problem, approximately 84 percent of these cases go unreported and leave the elderly vulnerable to ongoing nursing home abuse. Class action investigators are encouraging victims or their loved ones to step forward, to see if they qualify for a nursing home abuse claim.

In addition to the class action investigation, some states have started taking hardline approaches to tackling elder abuse and neglect. One of these states includes Pennsylvania, with the Department of Aging identifying 30,000 reports of elder abuse or neglect in the last year, according to a Public Opinion article.

In particular, Franklin County had experienced a surge in reports with residents reporting 77 cases in 2014 and 253 as of December 2017. This means the number of abuse reports tripled in the last three years, prompting the state of Pennsylvania to take a more aggressive approach.

Overview of Elder Abuse and Neglect Report

Franklin County is one of the first counties evaluated under the state’s new grading program, which was designed to help gauge the severity of different care situations pertaining to the elderly.

This system covers potential nursing home abuse, with the new program using colors to indicate how well the county is prepared to handle these cases. Under the new protocol, green indicates good standing, yellow indicating repetitive and significant problems, and red indicating the same problems along with potential danger to the elder.

“After reviewing the report, it appears that most of the challenges that placed Franklin in the ‘yellow’ is related to the documentation/paperwork. The investigations themselves were complete, and at no time were individuals ever in danger as a result of the process,” County Administrator Carrie Gray told Public Opinion.

Pennsylvania has rated 11 counties with this new program so far, with eight counties scoring a “red” score.

While there are a number of contributing factors that may have resulted in the evaluation result, many residents have questioned how county authorities determine how dangerous the environment is or how they proceed with an investigation. If county officials fail to do the job, the state of Pennsylvania will ultimately take over the case.

According to the National Adult Protective Services Association, Pennsylvania had adopted a more aggressive stance against elder abuse, after seeing the number of reports kept increasing and the level of funding stayed the same. The primary funding source for elderly protection service comes from the state has remained a flat rate for over a decade, with protective services demands growing and are forced to compete for money with programs like Meals on Wheels and senior activity centers.

Due to financial issues being a significant burden to state and federal social services, it is important for individuals to report nursing home abuse when they see it. While elder abuse laws differ between states, nursing home abuse can often be exhibited in neglect and physical abuse. Typically sores, bruises, rashes, and odors indicate this behavior is present, which should be addressed immediately for the sake of the elder.