OASIS Alert

You may be the patient's last hope.

Home health agency clinicians working with the elderly play a critical role in stopping elder abuse and neglect.

The patient may not raise the issue, perhaps out of fear of the caregiver's wrath. But every OASIS assessment gives you a chance to detect signs of abuse and reach out to provide encouragement and support. And your outcomes may improve in the process.

The definitions: Elder abuse is any form of mistreatment that results in harm or loss to an older person, instructs the Na-tional Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse based in Washington, DC. It includes the following seven categories, NCPEA says:

1. Physical abuse: physical force that results in bodily injury, pain or impairment. It includes assault, battery and inappropriate restraint.

2. Sexual abuse: non-consensual sexual contact of any kind with an older person.

3. Domestic violence: an escalating pattern of violence by an intimate partner where violence is used to exercise power and control.

4. Psychological abuse: the willful infliction of mental or emotional anguish by threat, humiliation or other verbal or nonverbal conduct.

5. Financial abuse: the illegal or improper use of an older person's funds, property or resources.

6. Neglect: the failure of a caregiver to fulfill his or her caregiving re-sponsibilities.

7. Self-neglect: failure to provide for one's own essential needs.

Note: For more information, go to http://www.preventelderabuse.com.