The Development of a Community-based Elder Death Review Team: Mission, Goals and Strategies

• In Event: Roundtable: How a Foundation’s Response to Elder Abuse Impacted Systems Change (Medical Examiner, District Attorney, Police)

Abstract

The Plough Foundation sponsored the Coordinated Response to Elder Abuse (CREA) initiative in Shelby County, Tennessee. A diverse group of participants worked together to improve recognition of and the response to cases of elder abuse in Shelby County. Due to the inherent complex and often challenging nature of elder abuse death investigation and lack of aggregate epidemiological data for Shelby County on elder abuse deaths, some members of the CREA group recognized the need for a coordinated multi-agency team dedicated to elder abuse death investigation. The Shelby County Elder Death Review Team is the dedicated multi-agency team. The mission is to examine deaths associated with suspected elder abuse and/or neglect. The group recognizes that a careful examination of the fatalities provides the opportunity to develop education, prevention and, if necessary, prosecution strategies that will lead to improved coordination of services for families and our elder population.

Author

• Paul Benson, West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center