Elder Abuse Prevention
The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention At The Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale
An elder abuse prevention and intervention program for elderly living in the community
The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, established by the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, is a comprehensive regional prevention and intervention program for victims of elder abuse living in the community.
The Weinberg Center provides the nation’s first and only long term care based shelter dedicated to elderly victims of emotional, physical and financial abuse. The Center also offers training programs to educate the public, law enforcement officials and health care professionals about the signs and symptoms of elder abuse.
The staff of the Weinberg Center is available to provide training and technical support at no cost to other organizations interested in replicating this model. If you are interested, please call 1-800-56-SENIOR or send an e-mail to jsolomon@law.pace.edu.
BACK TO TOP
Prevention
For many years the Hebrew Home has partnered with the Bronx and Westchester County District Attorneys to help prevent abuse by providing informational and training programs for the community, social service and law enforcement professionals. These programs have helped to heighten professional and public awareness about elder abuse and identify at-risk older people.
Expanding upon that tradition, the Weinberg Center conducts outreach to those most at risk, as well as those who are in contact with older people by visiting senior centers, retirement communities and shopping centers to disseminate information about the Center and to familiarize those in need about available services and how to access them. The public is encouraged to make referrals for shut-ins who may be abused, neglected or at-risk. Printed material, including palm cards listing resources and emergency numbers, are distributed in all outreach efforts. A key component to prevention is training. In collaboration with its partners, the Hebrew Home offers a wide range of training programs to educate the public, law enforcement and health care professionals about the signs and symptoms of elder abuse.
BACK TO TOP
Intervention
A call to 1-800-56-SENIOR provides prompt access to the Weinberg Center where the need for services and/or emergency elder abuse shelter is assessed.
If civil legal assistance is required, the Pace Women's Justice Center (PWJC), a Weinberg Center partner provides legal support. PWJC legal services may involve obtaining orders of protection, securing temporary financial maintenance, or any other necessary civil legal responses.
For every client entering the Weinberg House, professional and medical staff of the Hebrew Home develop a plan of care. Following their stay, the client either returns home if safe with community support services, and oversight by ElderServe; transfers to an apartment in RiverWalk, the Hebrew Home's senior housing community; or is admitted to the Hebrew Home¹s long-term care facility. In some cases, with the help of staff and community services, other safe alternatives are found.
BACK TO TOP
Research
The Research Division of The Hebrew Home at Riverdale tracks and documents all Weinberg Center cases. Research data for this innovative program will help to identify the prevalence and incidence of elder abuse as well as serve as a vital resource for those interested in replicating the program. Research .ndings are disseminated through professional articles and presentations at conferences and seminars.
Weinberg Center Partners
Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College
Cornell University
Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology
New York University, College of Nursing
Office of the District Attorney, Bronx County
Office of the District Attorney, Westchester County
Office of the District Attorney, New York County
New York City Adult Protective Services
New York City Department for the Aging
Pace Women's Justice Center
Westchester Department of Senior Programs and Services
BACK TO TOP
|
