AARP in SC Pushes for Increased Funding to Help Vulnerable Adults

In 2016 alone, according to AARP, close to 7,100 vulnerable adults were neglected, abused or exploited in South Carolina. Those statistics represent a 140% increase since 2010.

The state agency responsible for providing care to these disabled and elderly adults has not received an increase in funding in almost two decades, according to the director of AARP South Carolina, Teresa Arnold. In fact, since 2001 funding for Adult Protective Services has been reduced by about 50 percent.

As a result of this stark reality, AARP is promoting a request for appropriations within the state legislature that would give the state Department of Social Services (DSS) approximately $2 million in additional funds to care for this vulnerable population. This would increase the current budget to a little over $5 million.

The current lack of viable options to help vulnerable adults

According to Kelly Cordell, director of adult advocacy for DSS, with insufficient state funding, it is extremely difficult to adequately take care of the state’s vulnerable adult population. Adult Protective Services clients simply have no foster care program akin to foster homes provided for children in the state.

Typically, Cordell said, vulnerable adults such as confused elderly individuals wandering in the street or others who look unkempt and hungry are taken to the hospital emergency room.

She said, “They’re there because we don’t have a place to put them.” Hospitals would rather not hold people who don’t require medical attention. DSS doesn’t see it as appropriate either, but they have no choice with a current the current unavailability of viable alternatives.

Emergency rooms are often serving as custodial care

Dr. Matthew Bitner, chair of emergency medicine for Greenville Health System, says that around 250 vulnerable adults are seen by Greenville Memorial Hospital each year.

These individuals do not qualify for admission, but they spend a considerable period of time in the emergency department. It is not safe to discharge these individuals – they simply need custodial care.

Bitner explains that the hundreds of vulnerable adults spending time in the ER drain the resources and time of the hospital’s ER department which is actually designed to treat sick patients. It is simply not best practice to leave these individuals in the emergency department, according to Bitner.

Cordell explains that many of these individuals stay for an extended period of time in the hospital, even as long as a month or more. “We should have a place to put them,” she said.

Change in the system is needed

The charge of the DSS is to stabilize clients, locate the resources they require, and then remove from their lives.

However, without proper placements available, clients are sometimes placed in the care of sitters or in hotels on a temporary basis. The agency also will search for a Medicaid bed if the client has no income but requires nursing home care. However, Medicaid eligibility usually takes six months and there is a waiting list for Medicaid beds. If the client is placed in nursing home care, it is vital to ensure he or she is placed in a facility in which appropriate care is provided and nursing home abuse and neglect does not occur.

A change in the system is required, according to Arnold.

Arnold explains how a change in the system would benefit everyone: “Vulnerable adults receiving the right APS services at the right time could save taxpayer dollars, as they would be less likely to end up in expensive nursing home beds paid for by Medicaid.”

The needs involve additional staffing and funding, according to Cordell. The agency’s current 85 caseworkers are required to care for both adults and children. The new funding would add 33 additional caseworkers and 15 temporary emergency beds statewide where DSS could house clients until better placements can be found. A waiting list would still exist, but the situation would improve.

State Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Oconee, who originally requested $2.6 million for the appropriation says that $2 million is a positive step to address the problem.

Alexander explains that vulnerable adults have provided so much to their communities and society over the years. Now, when they need help during the most vulnerable time of their life, we have an obligation to make sure we meet them in their time of need.

If you or a loved one has suffered nursing home abuse or neglect in a South Carolina facility, Johnny Felder and the team at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC are available to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have about your loved one’s injuries, pain and suffering, and losses. We want to know about your situation. To arrange a free, no obligation consultation to discuss your options, call us today at 803-327-7800 or send us an email through our contact form. We offer services throughout South Carolina from office locations in Rock Hill, Columbia, Anderson, Charleston, Georgetown, and Sumter, as well as in Charlotte, NC.