There are many ways that home health aides and nursing home workers can help older adults. They administer medications and assist with keeping living spaces clean. They help vulnerable adults dress themselves and perform hygiene tasks, like showering, that can be dangerous to manage alone.
They may also take over certain recurring responsibilities, such as grocery shopping. Relying on a professional for grocery shopping can reduce an older adult’s risk of illness due to pathogen exposure in public and also their risk of injury because of a car crash or a slip-and-fall. Unfortunately, relying on others for shopping tasks may increase the likelihood of financial abuse.
Access to accounts may result in misconduct
Some people simply cannot overcome the temptation created by having control of a debit card or credit card. They might use the card for a small personal purchase occasionally. They may try to pass those purchases off as necessary shopping conducted on behalf of their client or the resident who requires their support. Back-to-back expenses at the same business or unexpected purchases at unrelated businesses can be indicators of shoppers using resources for personal enrichment.
Small indulgences add up to major losses
Many people who might never consider physically or emotionally abusing older adults see nothing wrong with acts of financial abuse. Especially if they keep individual violations small, they may view their actions as ultimately harmless.
Instead of conducting entire transactions on their own behalf, they might instead just add one or two items to an older adult’s shopping list that they keep for themselves. They might buy two dozen eggs and keep one in their car when they bring the groceries into a client’s home, for example.
Individual items purchased for the shopper may not be worth much on their own. However, one or two small items every shopping trip over the course of multiple years can add up to be worth thousands of dollars. For those living on a fixed income, the diversion of their resources for the enrichment of caregivers can cause financial instability.
Older adults should be able to trust that those taking over some of their daily tasks do so in an ethical and appropriate manner. Families concerned about the possibility of financial abuse may need to monitor the accounts of loved ones. Checking receipts and verifying their shopping habits can also help.
Those who suspect financial abuse may need to report issues to home health service providers or nursing home facilities. In scenarios where misconduct has persisted for some time, legal action may be necessary. Recognizing that financial abuse of older adults can involve regular, smaller forms of misconduct can help people hold professionals accountable for unethical and inappropriate financial practices.
