"Elder abuse is public safety" long term care ombudsman tells Measure Z committee

In between a full day of court, I stopped in for a bit at the Measure Z Committee meeting being held this afternoon.

Newly appointed Humboldt County CAO
Amy Nilsen, Fire Chief Bill Gillespie, Eureka Police Chief Andrew Mills were among the 30 people attending the Measure Z meeting which was held in the Board of Supervisor Chambers.

Committee member Lora Canzoneri asked representatives from the Area Agency, after their presentation on funds request, what fundraising they did this past year because she was not aware of any fundraising events. "I am very much on the fence for funding this,request."

Area Agency on Aging Director Maggie Kraft said the agency did one fundraiser, and said they would see how they could publicize it to a larger crowd. She also mentioned the challenges of fundraising and providing services they do, and responded to Ms. Canzoneri, "We are only asking for $10,000", and went on to say that this was a lot less than other requests from those who were not being asked to fundraise or the same question and she didn't know what more she could add to their presentation..

Before questions, Ms. Kraft and Susie Fregeau, long term care ombudsman, gave a presentation on how many volunteer hours were put in, what kind of issues they were working on with the funds and handed a letter to the Committee about a man who locally owns several nursing homes and others nationwide. This owner has complaints filed regarding elder abuse and is now looking to expand into assisted living.

Ms. Kraft spoke with me after the meeting and she mentioned that locally, volunteers cover the nursing homes and they see the problems but the hours and need coverage is greater.

She also mentioned that this owner was now moving into a business that is non-medical and not as well monitored as other facilities.

Ms. Fregeau pointed out to the Committee that when intervention was made by the Area Agency on Aging, it saved them money for the Sheriff's Deputy salary who would answer a call which could initially be dealt with by the are a Agency on Aging and they could assist and report to law enforcement.