Conference Aims To Prevent Abuse Against Elders, Dependent Adults

Riverside, CA – Abuse occurs across every demographic – no one is immune. Riverside County is once again raising awareness about elder and dependent adult abuse Wednesday, June 5 at the 5th annual Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Symposium.

WHAT: 5th Annual Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Symposium
WHEN: Wednesday, June 5, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
WHERE: Riverside Convention Center — 3637 Fifth St., Riverside, CA
MORE: Find the symposium’s program here.

Riverside County Adult Protective Services (APS) handles more than 20,000 calls of abuse and neglect to the APS hotline annually. However, the rate of abuse is estimated to be much higher than this.

“As many as 1 in 10 older adults are abused or neglected each year, and only 1 in 14 cases comes to the attention of authorities,” said Ryan Uhlenkott, Deputy Director of Operations for DPSS’ Adult Services Division. “Older adults are vital to our community. Their abuse diminishes us all.”

Elder abuse is any act which causes harm to an older person, and may be physical, social, financial, psychological or sexual and includes mistreatment, neglect, and self-neglect.

This year’s symposium at the Riverside Convention Center will focus on early intervention strategies to prevent further abuse and neglect. Keynote speaker Dr. Wael Hamade, M.D., specializes inGeriatric Medicine at Riverside University Health System, Medical Center. He’ll discuss practical early intervention strategies and how the health of our aging population poses both challenges and opportunities for our community to promote healthy aging.

Roughly, 450 people are expected to attend, including city and county leaders, community agencies, law enforcement, medical providers, financial institutions and those who work directly with the elder and dependent adult community.