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. 2022 Nov;70(11):3260-3272.
doi: 10.1111/jgs.17967. Epub 2022 Jul 21.

Vulnerable Elder Protection Team: Initial experience of an emergency department-based interdisciplinary elder abuse program

Tony Rosen  1 , Alyssa Elman  1 , Sunday Clark  2 , Kriti Gogia  1 , Michael E Stern  1 , Mary R Mulcare  1 , Lena K Makaroun  3   4 , Elaine Gottesman  1 , Daniel Baek  1 , Morgan Pearman  1 , Michelle Sullivan  1 , Kelly Brissenden  1 , Amy Shaw  5 , Elizabeth M Bloemen  6 , Veronica M LoFaso  5 , Risa Breckman  5 , Karl Pillemer  7 , Rahul Sharma  1 , Mark S Lachs  5
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Vulnerable Elder Protection Team: Initial experience of an emergency department-based interdisciplinary elder abuse program

Tony Rosen et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Background: An emergency department (ED) visit provides a unique opportunity to identify elder abuse and initiate intervention, but emergency providers rarely do. To address this, we developed the Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT), an ED-based interdisciplinary consultation service. We describe our initial experience in the first two years after the program launch.

Methods: We launched VEPT in a large, urban, academic ED/hospital. From 4/3/17 to 4/2/19, we tracked VEPT activations, including patient characteristics, assessment, and interventions. We compared VEPT activations to frequency of elder abuse identification in the ED before VEPT launch. We examined outcomes for patients evaluated by VEPT, including change in living situation at discharge. We assessed ED providers' experiences with VEPT via written surveys and focus groups.

Results: During the program's initial two years, VEPT was activated and provided consultation/care to 200 ED patients. Cases included physical abuse (59%), neglect (56%), financial exploitation (32%), verbal/emotional/psychological abuse (25%), and sexual abuse (2%). Sixty-two percent of patients assessed were determined by VEPT to have high or moderate suspicion for elder abuse. Seventy-five percent of these patients had a change in living/housing situation or were discharged with new or additional home services, with 14% discharged to an elder abuse shelter, 39% to a different living/housing situation, and 22% with new or additional home services. ED providers reported that VEPT made them more likely to consider/assess for elder abuse and recognized the value of the expertise and guidance VEPT provided. Ninety-four percent reported believing that there is merit in establishing a VEPT Program in other EDs.

Conclusion: VEPT was frequently activated and many patients were discharged with changes in living situation and/or additional home services, which may improve safety. Future research is needed to examine longer-term outcomes.

Keywords: elder abuse; emergency department; intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest:

  1. Personal Conflicts: The authors have nothing to disclose.

  2. Full or adequate disclosure: Other than the funding listed above, the authors have nothing to disclose.

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Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Evaluation Model for Vulnerable Elder Protection Team (VEPT) Program
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