Milwaukee, WI — Monday, in front of attendees at the annual National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) conference, Attorney General Brad Schimel announced the creation of the Attorney General’s task force on elder abuse.
“We must prevent our friends family and neighbors from becoming the target of financial, physical, emotional and sexual abuse," Schimel said.
His call to protect is aligned with the development of his office’s new task force and national efforts. The goal of the task force comprised of law enforcement, health officials, and many others is to study the impact of elder abuse in Wisconsin and assess ways to improve outcomes for this growing population of citizens.
"We need to share ways, develop ways, [and] develop firewalls to help prevent that kind of exploitation," Schimel said.
The initiative may be Wisconsin focused, but the issue of elder abuse especially in nursing home facilities is a problem nationwide.
On Monday, the Office of the Inspector General in the Department of Health and Human Services released an alert regarding inadequate procedures in place to ensure incidents of potential abuse or neglect of Medicare beneficiaries in nursing facilities are identified and reported, which is the exact kind of issue the attorney general is trying to address right here at home.
“I am so energized and excited about the tremendous potential this group has to address the needs of our seniors and vulnerable adults not just now, but for the decades to come," Schimel said.
The first official task force meeting is in October, from then on the group will meet quarterly.
