These include a variety of professionals including banking staff, accountants, clergy, credit unions, financial planners, lawyers, nurses, physicians, psychologists, senior service providers, social workers, mental health counselors, home health agencies, residential facilities for the aging, and more.
A number of those professionals joined with local agencies and governmental agencies locally in 2014 to establish a the Clark County Elder Interdisciplinary Team (CEIT), a safeguard to protect vulnerable seniors within Clark County.
CEIT consists of representatives from an array of agencies, organizations and governmental entities who appoint representatives from a diverse group of professional backgrounds to address systemic problems and review elder abuse cases that exceed the boundary of one discipline or agency. Other goals are raising community awareness and advocacy for systemic changes at the state and local levels.
Adult Protective Services, United Senior Services, the Clark County Combined Health District, Clark County Developmental Disabilities, Mental Health Recovery Board, Probate Court, Project Woman and the Clark County Sheriff’s Office are all part of CEIT.
Jody Gump, of WesBanco in Springfield, is involved in the CEIT efforts and considers it a major service his institution can provide.
“The bank branch is the first line of defense and plays an active role,” Gump said. “We a smaller, community bank, so we get to know our customers, and if something is unusual, it’s very important for us to catch it.”
“It really starts with the bank tellers, who are trained to notice any suspicious activity.”
WesBanco offers quarterly staff training on spotting scams and recognizing red flags to protect customers.
Tellers are trained to look for any unusual or repeated transfer of funds or new interactions with distant financial services who do not usually engage in business with local bank branches.
They may also note if unusually large amounts of money are being withdrawn by an elderly person who is being accompanied by someone unknown to bank employees.
“Those always prompt a closer look,” Gump said. “As a community banking institution, we emphasize having relationship based interactions with our customers, not just a transactional approach.”
Gump said there are so many scams and ways that seniors can be exploited that family members, institutions and professionals all need to be alert to risks and take steps to protect against them. The local financial institution offers several pages of information about such risks a www.wesbanco.com.
The CEIT group suspended meetings during COVID but has resumed meeting quarterly. There are smaller groups within CEIT that are assigned specific responsibilities, including case reviews, that meet monthly or as needed.
According to United Senior Services CEO Maureen Fagans efforts of the group include building public awareness and offering education about abuse and exploitation; informing the community about the signs and symptoms of abuse and who to contact for assistance; and providing case review when a victim is identified, sometimes taking action within 24 hours to get people to safety and provide the support needed to ensure continued safety.
“If people are not in immediate danger, members of the group also work together to identify resources and address situations before they escalate to a crisis situation,” she said.
If a senior citizen feels vulnerable and fearful that someone is abusing them or taking advantage of them, USS and some of the other CEIT organizations can address their concerns.
“We want them to know we can help them find a safe living environment if needed, or assist in closing a bank account or relocating it to another bank to protect those assets,” Fagans said. “We can help set up supervision of Social Security payments to prevent family members from accessing accounts.”
Most importantly, if someone is facing imminent danger, they can receive immediate assistance to escape their situation by asking for help.
Ohio is observing Elder Abuse Awareness Day today. Elder abuse occurs when someone intentionally acts in a way that harms an older adult according to the Ohio Department of Aging.
Information about warning signs of abuse, neglect or exploitation is available at the Clark County Department of Jobs and Family Services website, https://www.clarkdjfs.org/222/Elderly-Protection
Assistance is available locally by calling Adult Protective Services, 937-327-1748 or 1-800-516-3463. After hours assistance is also available by calling 937-328-2560.
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