More than two hundred elder abuse prevention advocates from all
walks of life - attorneys; members of law enforcement; financial
industry representatives; private fiduciaries, social workers,
psychologists, state, county and city government employees, and
individuals from community based organizations - met at the Hilton
Oakland Airport on May 5 and 6 to participate in Legal Assistance for
Seniors' fourth annual conference.
The agenda included a welcome by Kamala Harris, San Francisco
District Attorney, who emphasized the importance of the conference in
bringing together a multidisciplinary group interested in learning from
each other to better address the issues associated with the growing
elder abuse problem, and twenty-nine workshops covering a huge variety
of topics.
The Opening Session, entitled “Elder Abuse Forensic Centers: A Step
Forward,” was a panel discussion introducing the three Elder Abuse
Forensic Centers in California, including the newly inaugurated center
in San Francisco. Forensic Center participant perspectives from
geriatric medicine, law enforcement, neuropsychology, social work, and
the district attorney were represented by: Solomon Liao, M.D., Director
Geriatric Medicine at U.C. Irvine; Alan Kennedy, Assistant District
Attorney, San Francisco; Carol Mitchell, Program Manager Adult
Protective Services Orange County; Dr. Susan Bernatz, Forensic
Neuropsychologist, Los Angeles; Greg Ovanessian, San Francisco Police
Department Inspector–Fraud Unit. The panel was moderated by Mary
Twomey, Co-Director, UC Irvine Center of Excellence in Elder Abuse and
Neglect. Laura Giles, Program Manager for the Archstone Foundation,
discussed the Foundation's interest in developing these centers.
The May 5 luncheon presentation was made by guest speaker Dr.
William Frey, Director of the Alzheimer's Research Center at Regions
Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, discussing intranasal insulin delivery
as a means of treating Alzheimer's Disease. On May 6, the luncheon
topic, "Ethnogeriatrics—The field and its applications for working with
ethnic minority elders" was presented by Marita Grudzen, Deputy
Director of the Stanford Geriatric Education Center.
Legal Assistance for Seniors' annual "Leading the Fight for Seniors'
Rights" Award was presented to The Honorable Julie Conger, recently
retired from the Alameda County Superior Court. Judge Conger instituted
the Elder Protection Court of Alameda County, a model that has received
nationwide recognition as an innovative problem-solving court.
The Closing Session on Tuesday afternoon was a rousing call to
action, "The Next Steps Forward in the Fight Against Elder Abuse," by
Paul Greenwood, San Diego Deputy District Attorney and nationally
recognized elder law advocate. In a lively and impassioned
presentation, Mr. Greenwood discussed myths that sometimes hinder
successful investigation and prosecution of elder abuse cases; possible
legislative changes; the need for the Federal Elder Justice Act; and
the importance of multi-disciplinary teams such as the Elder Death
Review Team.
LAS is extremely grateful to the speakers and fifty-five workshop
presenters who gave of their time and expertise, to the sponsors who
made the event possible, and to those in attendance.
