Bullying among senior citizens getting more common

Social workers, recreation-center officials and others who work with the elderly say bullying among senior citizens is getting more common.

As the retirement population increases and more people enter care homes and retirement centers “it’s a pretty big deal,” said Melanie Starns, an assistant Arizona Department of Economic Security director overseeing the Aging and Adult Services Division.

“The mean girls were there in school and as we get older, they are still around,” she said.

Robin Bonifas, a gerontology expert at Arizona State University, estimates that 10 percent to 20 percent of older people in care homes experience some type of abuse from fellow residents.

Doris Lor, 76, said despite repeated complaints to the director of her homeowners association in Chandler, Ariz, she still can’t get a seat at a card table, gets the cold shoulder at the women’s club and has been chased away from seats at the community pool.

“No matter where you go, even if you pay for the activity, the clique saves all the seats,” Lor said.

Gannett News Service

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/3054488-418/mean-retirement-girls-among-arizona.html

Elderly Couple Dies of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Reported by: Cristina Rendon

BROWNSVILLE - Police are releasing the identities of an elderly man and a woman found dead in their Brownsville home.

Authorities believe Adan and Rosario Salinas died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Police say the 69-year-old couple was found dead in their bedroom Thursday evening. They tell us a family member got worried after repeated phone calls had gone unanswered. They went to check on them and that’s when they discovered the victims unresponsive.

The couple's 37-year-old son and 15-year-old grandson were also in the house. The son is in the hospital in critical condition. The grandson is in stable condition.

Authorities say their investigation points to high levels of carbon monoxide in the home. We're told an appliance, possibly a water heater, is to blame.

http://www.krgv.com/news/local/story/Elderly-Couple-Dies-of-Carbon-Monoxide-Poisoning/-7rL79x0Lk2JhPNsMr4QcQ.cspx

The large majority of bankruptcy filings from senior citizens stem from credit card debt

Sunday, December 26, 2010
By William Davis

Only 7 percent of all bankruptcy cases filed in the U.S. between 1991 and 2007 were entered by people aged 65 and older, however, the demographic was the fastest-growing age group observed in a new study from the University of Michigan Law School. About two-thirds of these elderly consumers were forced to file for protection because their credit card debt was unmanageable; their debt was roughly 50percent higher than it was for bankrupted consumers in other age groups.

There were a number of causes for these filings, the most common being senior citizens' reliance on credit cards to pay for medical expenses as their incomes decreased and became fixed, the report said. In addition, others had to deal with the death of a spouse who provided a secondary income.

In recent months, fewer Americans filed for bankruptcy as a result of insurmountable credit card debt. Fewer filings may signal improvement in the economy and rising consumer confidence.

http://www.creditnet.com/credit-news/credit-cards-a-major-cause-of-bankruptcy-among-senior-citizens-800310826.php

Lockboxes give rescuers keys to ailing seniors' homes in a crisis

By MEGHA SATYANARAYANA Free Press Staff Writer

Alta Giles fell last month in the hallway of her Center Line home and called for help using her medical alert bracelet. It was the 93-year-old's third medical call to police in a year.

Previously, police struggled to get to her inside her house. This time, they used a key.

Giles is participating in a lockbox project sponsored by the city's joint police and fire department. On her front door is a thick metal lockbox with a key inside. Only police and family members have the code. The lockbox, Giles said, makes her feel safe.

FOR MORE http://www.freep.com/article/20101222/NEWS04/12220395/Lockboxes-give-rescuers-keys-to-ailing-seniors--homes-in-a-crisis#ixzz18ruoNppu

Another Great Customer Testimonial

"On behalf of my family, I would like to take a minute to thank Guardian as a whole, as well as the operator Norma Demott who were there to help my Papa this weekend. He had been experiencing discomfort through the night, not realizing he was having a heart attack, and pushed his button around 2:40 the morning of December 18th. It was such a comfort to my Nana and Papa to have Guardian there to help in such a scary moment, contact my Aunt to let her know they were on their way to the hospital and they loved the fact that Norma stayed on the line with them until EMS arrived. He is now recovering in the hospital and we truly feel this is in part due to the quick, compassionate and professional response that they received when he pushed his PERS button. Thank you to all for providing my family with peace of mind!"
Jennifer, MI

Hello world!

Mary Grant, October Employee of the Month

The Medical Monitoring Division would like to nominate Mary Grant as our October Maximum Achiever! Mary is a loyal team member who has been with Guardian for more than 20 years.

Mary is highly valued here in our Med Mon family as well as the Guardian family. She is truly a hard and dedicated worker, who is willing to work until the job is complete. She works closely with all Med Mon SIA team members to help develop creative ways to streamline many of our daily tasks.

Mary took it upon herself to initiate an Action Queue task schedule to fulfill her goal of becoming more efficient and more productive. One of Mary’s favorite tools is the egg timer that sounds when it is time to move on to the next task. There is no down time in Mary’s world.

Mary is also our go to person for covering vacations. She is the back up scheduler for Indiana and is trained in all areas of SIA. Lately, she has been very instrumental in organizing the Med Mon File Room. She has been working with the team to determine what files need to be condensed and re-filed and she has taken it upon herself to make filing part of her daily processes which has helped reduce unnecessary duplicates and lost files.

Mary is truly our MAXIMUM ACHIEVER!

Booming Senior Citizen Population Will Bring Social Security to Its Knees: Deficit Committee

Significant changes in seniors’ security blanket program detailed by committee in ‘The Moment of Truth’ report
By Tucker Sutherland, editor, SeniorJournal.com
Dec. 3, 2010 – Most of the initial reactions to the proposal on December 1 by President Obama’s special committee seeking ways to reduce the U.S. deficit focused on changes to Medicare as being the most dramatic of the adjustments recommended. Medicare, no doubt, is critical to senior citizens but the program closer to the hearts of millions of seniors is Social Security – the security blanket. The committee’s report does urge drastic changes in this program to and says unless the nation acts the booming number elderly will “bring the Social Security program to its knees.”
FOR THE REST:
http://www.seniorjournal.com/NEWS/SocialSecurity/2010/20101203-BoomingSenCitPopulation.htm

Guardian GM, Dave Crawford Featured on NBC Detroit News Story

http://www.clickondetroit.com/video/26001152/index.html