Alabama residents with elderly family members have good reason to be concerned about their care and safety. Elder abuse and neglect is a serious problem that can happen in people’s homes as well as in care facilities. People deserve to be safe from these problems and should be able to rely on the help of the state along the way in making that happen. But, a new survey indicates that Alabama is not doing such a great job in protecting its senior citizens from abuse and neglect.
The survey conducted by Wallethub evaluated multiple factors to determine each state’s ultimate rank and placed Alabama in position number 42, with number one being the best position of all. Alabama’s rank was worse than any of its neighboring states. Florida came in at number 38 and Mississippi at number 28. Georgia and Tennessee were ranked relatively high in the number 13 and six positions, respectively.
Among the factors evaluated, some of those in which Alabama scored the lowest include the number of certified volunteer ombudsmen, the number of organizations and services for seniors and the total funding for long-term care ombudsmen. For general expenditures spent per senior to prevent elder abuse, the state ranked number 27, one of its higher rankings but still in the lower half of the scale.
Alabama residents who are concerned about the safety of their relatives may wish to speak with a lawyer. This can help clarify what is elder abuse or neglect and what steps are able to be taken if such things do occur.
Source: Alabama Today, “Alabama ranks 2016’s 10th worst state in elder-abuse protections,” Elizabeth Lauten, Dec. 7, 2016
