A recently released survey indicated that Utah ranked the lowest of all states when it came to the quality of care that was received by elderly individuals in need. More specifically, this study focused on elder abuse and the protections that were in place to prevent that abuse from happening.
The study looked at three different categories of care: prevalence, resources, and protection. Prevalence refers to the amount of abuse that occurs in care facility settings, the amount of reported fraud that occurred in the state that involved seniors, and the general number of complaints about senior care that were categorized within the state. Resources referenced the amount of money that was spent combating elder abuse, the amount of money that was spent in preventative measures, such as education for caregivers and families, as well as jobs that were in place that helped to prevent abuse from happening and tracking down those that were guilty of committing it. Finally, protection referred to the quality and quantity of the laws and safeguards that were in place to protect seniors and punish those guilty of perpetrating abuse.
The study found that combined scores placed Utah at #51 in the country, including the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. California came in at #46.
The survey was published by WalletHub and was certainly not a comprehensive one by any means. Still, it does shed some light on areas of improvement that we face as a country and shows a few ways that abuse can be further prevented. Protective measures such as laws and resources can go a long way toward enhancing the overall care infrastructure.
One of the main reasons why California ranked so poorly on this list was because of the number of abuse cases and complaints that have been reported in the state. And this makes a lot of sense. California has the largest population of any state in the U.S. California also has the largest number of seniors in its population, with an estimated 5.4 million people. That’s more than a million more than Florida, which has the second largest senior population in the country. California tied for the worst prevalence score, along with Nevada and South Carolina.
The state scored really well in the protections category, coming in at number five in the country. This shows just how many steps we have taken as a state to protect the people that we love. While there are certainly some hurdles when it comes to helping a population this large, there are already some great things happening.
However, there’s always more that can be done.
That’s one of the reasons why we continue to do what we do here at Paradise In-Home Care. We believe that high quality care starts with the people that are helping to provide it. For us, that means hiring the best caregivers possible, giving them the best training, and continuing to support them so that they can support the people they work with. When high quality care in a team setting is in place, the prevalence of abuse goes down.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help your family, please get in touch. We will be happy to talk more.
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