On Tuesday, a former nursing home worker was formally charged with financial exploitation. Authorities believe the employee of Hitz Memorial Home in Alhambra Illinois may have made unauthorized purchases with a resident’s credit card and withdrawn money from their bank account.

The employee has been under investigation since December when she resigned from the nursing home. Prior to her resignation, she claimed to have medical conditions that had prompted both local residents and a local church to give her donations. Other employees found these claims suspicious and when confronted about them, the employee chose to resign.

Later in December, a resident discovered several expensive, unauthorized purchases had been made with their credit card. Detectives soon found that not only had the employee purchased furniture and a television with the credit card but she had also forged the resident’s signature to make withdrawals totaling close to $16,000 from several bank accounts.

The National Center on Elder Abuse has found that reports of abuse and exploitation have risen steadily over the last two decades. However, current estimates say that only 1 in 25 cases of financial exploitation are actually reported, suggesting there may be up to 5 million cases of financial abuse each year.

If you suspect that a loved one has been neglected at a nursing home, please call us for a free consultation at 618-426-1077. Someone needs to stand up for your loved one and, at WWF&G, we have valuable experience in nursing home neglect cases.

The Madison County Coroner’s office, headed by Stephen P. Noon, announced last week that it is establishing a multi-disciplinary team to help shed new light on the problem of elderly abuse. Comprised of members from law enforcement agencies, social services, law, and health care, the group is responsible for reviewing cases involving alleged exploitation, neglect or abuse of the elderly.

The coroner’s office believes there are two benefits to such a team: identifying trends and information about abuse as well as examining cases more effectively because of the varying backgrounds of the team members. This team is the first of its kind in the area, and only the second in the state of Illinois. With a large elderly population living in Madison County, it seemed like the ideal place for the next review team.

According to the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA) elderly abuse can come in multiple forms. From physical abuse to psychological abuse, it is estimated that 4-6% of the elderly are abused nation wide.

If you suspect that a loved one has been neglected at a nursing home, please call us for a Free Consultation at 618-426-1077. At WWF&G, we have valuable experience in nursing home neglect cases, and aggressively pursue these cases on behalf of those injured. Our firm currently has numerous neglect claims pending, including cases involving bed sores, disabling injuries from falls, and other injuries from neglectful treatment.