Assembly bill targets abuse of seniors

     Associated Press
      CARSON CITY -- Advocates for seniors told horror stories of mistreatment and retirees described financial swindles during a legislative hearing Friday on a bill to boost penalties for elder abuse.
      Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, introduced Assembly Bill 9, which would increase the minimum prison term for felonies involving seniors from one to two years. Felonies such as exploitation, physical or mental harm and murder would be punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
      "There is great concern in our state about senior protection," Manendo said during an Assembly Judiciary hearing. "It shook me up a little bit to hear that there are people who seriously prey upon those people who made this country what it is today."
      Among those testifying was Pam Roberts, deputy attorney general with the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.
      Roberts told the committee that her first elder abuse case occurred at a Henderson nursing home. A 94-year-old woman was left outside in the August heat for so long that she had second-degree burns on her feet and eventually developed gangrene.
      "Many people wrongfully assume that the death of an elderly person is by natural causes," said Roberts, who told the committee that seniors are often cremated before her department can investigate their deaths.
      Roberts recommended several amendments to the bill, including a requirement that funeral home directors, bank tellers, insurance agents and others report suspected cases of elder abuse.
      Roberts also asked that law enforcement officers be added to the list of those who can review seniors' financial and health records.
      Las Vegas police Lt. Stan Olsen said his department supports the bill, particularly if it's amended to allow law enforcement to review records.
      AB9 joins several other bills in the 1997 session dealing with elder abuse. AB240 requires those convicted of exploiting seniors to pay some restitution before their release from prison. AB242 makes it a crime to intentionally isolate seniors or physically restrain them in an attempt to keep them from others.
      On the Senate side, SB80 would triple damages in civil cases dealing with the elders, including loss or damage of property.