Spotlight On Assaults At Minn. Long-Term Care Centers: 97% Of Cases Never Investigated
A series by the Minneapolis Star Tribune examines how state officials handle the hundreds of assaults, rapes and robberies at senior care centers.
The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune:
Abused, Ignored Across Minnesota
Every year, hundreds of residents at senior care centers around the state are assaulted, raped or robbed in crimes that leave lasting trauma and pain for the victims and their families. Yet the vast majority of these crimes are never resolved, and the perpetrators never punished, because state regulators lack the staff and expertise to investigate them. And thousands of complaints are simply ignored. State records examined by the Star Tribune show the scale of the failure. Last year alone, the Minnesota Department of Health received 25,226 allegations of neglect, physical abuse, unexplained serious injuries, and thefts in state-licensed homes for the elderly. Ninety-seven percent were never investigated. (Serres, 11/12)
The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune:
Families Wait Years For Answers
On the afternoon of June 14, 2014, Grayce Braaten was napping in her bed at the Cedar Cottage home in Bemidji when a nurse’s aide spotted an elderly man kneeling beside her, fondling her genital area underneath her sheets. A manager at the home called Braaten immediately. He expected swift justice. Yet weeks passed, and then months. Nothing happened. ... That excruciating wait for justice is common in such cases across Minnesota. (Serres, 11/13)
The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune:
When Roommates Are The Abusers
Minnesota is failing to investigate thousands of cases every year of what is now the most widespread form of physical abuse in senior care homes: resident-on-resident violence. The state Department of Health has received more than 20,000 complaints in the past five years alleging aggressive behavior by residents, including head-butting, punching, shoving and sexual groping. Most of them were never investigated by the agency charged with protecting vulnerable seniors in licensed care facilities, state records show. (Serres, 11/14)
