Nearly 5 million seniors are abused, neglected or exploited each year, according to the Administration for Community Living.
As the senior population continues to grow, the incidence of elder abuse can be expected to increase as well.
“Seniors Aging Safely” is the theme of a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Conference, to be held on Friday, June 15, at MAC, Inc., the Area Agency on Aging.
The conference will begin with check-in and a continental breakfast from 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m., followed by various presentations. The conference will conclude at 1 p.m. with the presentation of a proclamation from Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan’s office.
Topics will include Medicaid fraud, types of abuse, addiction and its effects on the elderly, and scams and financial exploitation.
Presenters at the conference will include:
- Arthur Winn, education and outreach coordinator of the Medicare Fraud Control Unit, Maryland Attorney General’s Office
- Shannon Simpson, RN, with the Atlantic General Hospital SAFE Program
- Lori Brewster, health officer, Wicomico County Health Department
- Richard Wiersberg, Special Operations Bureau, Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office
- Lydia Williams, program manager, guardianship, legal services and elder abuse programs, Maryland Department on Aging
The deadline to register for the conference is June 1. The cost is $20 for professionals and includes social work CEUs; $10 for community members. To register, visit www.macinc.org.
No registration will be accepted at the door.
Sponsors of the conference are: MAC, Inc., the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, the Wicomico County Department of Social Services, and the Wicomico County Commission on Aging.
For more information on elder abuse or how to report it, call Cheryl Senkbeil, director of the Ombudsman program at MAC, Inc., at 410-742-0505, ext. 104, or call the National Center for Elder Abuse at 1-855-580-3537.
The wearing of purple is encouraged on June 15, to show support for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
MAC is a member agency of the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore.
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MAC, Inc., the Area Agency on Aging, serves senior citizens in Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties. MAC’s mission is to provide programs and services that preserve dignity, health and independence for an aging population.
