New Law to Help Elders against Theft and Abuse in Nursing Homes

Theft in nursing homes is more common than one might think. In the past year, the California Department of Public Health received over 250 reports of theft or loss of resident property. Unfortunately, many other items, most notably heirloom jewelry, cash, checkbooks, and other valuables are lost or stolen, and these thefts rarely get reported to the authorities. Neither the state nor any counties keep statistics on stolen items in nursing homes.

Additionally, because of the age and poor health of many nursing home residents, they are unaware that their valuables are missing until a relative visits and notices. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease do not even notice that rings are missing from their hands. Adding to the problem is that as many as 60 percent of nursing home residents have no family or friends to visit them to make sure their belongings are not being stolen. Also, nursing homes prefer to address reports of theft internally without reporting them to the authorities because if it leaks that their staff is stealing from residents, their business could suffer. These thefts can also affect private caretakers; it is even legal for felons to get jobs taking care of elders.

However, on January 1, 2009, a new California law will take effect with the hopes that it will encourage people to report such thefts. The state law will require local ombudsmen and police to report cases of known or suspected theft and abuse immediately to the District Attorney’s office. However, the law does not require nursing homes themselves to report the thefts.

Whether this law will be effective is unclear. As discussed in my previous blog entry, the state’s ombudsman program has been cut drastically in the 2008-2009 California budget. This may mean that the ombudsman offices will not have the resources or staff they need to carefully address complaints resulting from the new reporting law.

Elders’ families can do several things to try to prevent their valuables from being stolen:

• Store valuables for elders at your home or in your safe deposit box
• Visit often and watch your relatives’ possessions closely
• Limit how much cash the elder has at any time
• If you notice your relative is missing something, report it to the nursing home immediately; if the property is not found within 24 hours, report it to the police.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you have a comment or question, please feel free to reply to this posting, or send me an e-mail. If you suspect that a loved one has been the victim of nursing home abuse or theft, contact me to schedule a confidential consultation and for immediate assistance.