I was pleased to contribute to an article led by Elizabeth Bloemen, MD, MPH and recently published in the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect that explores the complex, nuanced ethical issues that arise in providing ED/hospital care for older adults experiencing elder mistreatment -- and suggests approaches to address them. This article was a collaborative effort between the elder abuse response teams and clinical ethics consultation teams at University of Colorado School of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medicine and includes in-depth discussion of 4 cases studies. Core ethical frameworks discussed are: allowing patients the dignity of risk, considerations around a harm reduced discharge, involving abusers in surrogate decision making, and providers' experience of moral distress when dealing with patients experiencing mistreatment.
Contributing co-authors to this work included: Elaine Gottesman, Kristin Furfari, Jackie Glover, Ezra Gabbay, Sarah Cox, Daniel Lindberg, Sarah Tietz, Danny Baek, Alyssa Elman, and Barrie J. Huberman, PhD HEC-C.