Robert and Lily Lee raises awareness for elder abuse

June 15, 2016 was World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a day that is internationally recognized to bring awareness to the issues facing older adults around the globe. Staff at Robert and Lily Lee Community Health Centre wore purple to mark a commitment to combat elder abuse in their communities and the neighbourhoods they work in.

Many older adults face issues of ageism and abuse, many by their own family members and caregivers. Abuse is defined by the VCH ReAct website as  “the deliberate mistreatment of an adult that causes physical, mental or emotional harm, or causes damage to or loss of assets. Abuse may include intimidation, humiliation, physical assault, theft, fraud, misuse of power of attorney, sexual assault, overmedication, censoring mail, invasion or denial of privacy or denial of access to visitors or other basic human rights.”.

Vancouver Coastal Health is an agency designated to recognize, report and act on reports of abuse, neglect and self-neglect of vulnerable adults. Community Health Centres such as Robert and Lily Lee have appointed designated responders that are trained to investigate reports of abuse, neglect and self-neglect. Sheela McLean is one of those designated responders and believes that “seniors built this country and they deserve to live comfortably and safely in a way that they choose. When someone crosses that line and hurts them, it’s wrong and we need to do what we can to help them out of those situations.” At VCH every employee has a responsibility to act if they believe an adult is being abused. Please contact your unit social worker, mental health therapist, continuing care case manager, program manager, practice consultant or licensing officer if you suspect an adult in your care is being abused.