美国国家公共电台 NPR Health Workers Still Aren't Alerting Police About Likely Elder Abuse, Reports Find

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It can be hard to quantify the problem of elder abuse. Experts believe many cases go unreported. And this morning their belief is confirmed by two new government studies. Those found in many cases of abuse or neglect severe enough to require medical attention, the incidents were not reported to enforcement agencies as required by law. We've gotten more now from NPR's Ina Jaffe.

INA JAFFE, BYLINE¹: One of the studies focuses on the possible abuse of nursing home residents who end up in emergency rooms. It looked at claims sent to Medicare for treatment of head injuries, body bruises², bedsores - all diagnoses that might indicate physical or sexual abuse or severe neglect. Gloria Jarmon is the deputy inspector³ general in charge of audits⁴ for the Department of Health and Human Services. She says her team found that, in 2016, nursing homes failed to report nearly 1 in 5 of these potential abuse cases to the state inspection⁵ agencies charged with investigating them. That's even though the law requires them to do so.

GLORIA JARMON: Some of the cases we saw, you know, a person's treated in an emergency room, they're sent back to the same facility where they were potentially abused and neglected.

JAFFE: But the failure to report possible cases of elder abuse is not just on the nursing homes. Jarmon says in five states where nursing home inspectors⁶ did investigate and substantiate⁷ cases of abuse...

JARMON: Ninety-seven percent of those had not been reported to local law enforcement. That's required.

JAFFE: Nursing home inspectors who participated in the study appear to be confused on when they were required to refer cases to law enforcement. One agency said that it only contacted the police for what it called the most serious abuse cases. But elder abuse occurs in many settings not just nursing homes. The second report released this morning, also from Health and Human Services, looked at 18 months of Medicare claims, beginning in 2015. The study projected that out of more than 30,000 potential cases of elder abuse and neglect, health care providers failed to report nearly a third of them to law enforcement or adult protective services, even though the law requires them to do that.

JARMON: It's very important that the first person who notices these - this potential abuse and neglect reports it because then it can begin the investigative process to determine if abuse or neglect occurred. And, you know, if it's not reported, it can't be tracked.

JAFFE: The report says that Medicare could do a better job of tracking the data it has on hand. It recommends that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversee⁸ the health care program for older Americans, should periodically examine claims for treatment and look for diagnoses that suggest possible abuse or neglect and where and when those cases occur.

JARMON: You have to be able to get data to see how bad the problem is. And then when you see how bad a problem is, you need to make sure that everybody who can take action has it.

JAFFE: But the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rejected most of the report's recommendations. The agency declined our request for an interview. But in a written response, it argued that it can take up to a year for Medicare claims to be filed, so analyzing⁹ them would not be a timely enough way to identify and respond to cases of elder abuse and neglect.

Ina Jaffe, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SUZANNE KRAFT'S "MALE INTUITION")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

4 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网

5 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 substantiate   

v.证实；证明...有根据

参考例句：

• There is little scientific evidence to substantiate the claims.这些主张几乎找不到科学依据来证实。
• These theories are used to substantiate the relationship between the phenomenons of the universe.这些学说是用来证实宇宙现象之间的关系。

8 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

9 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句