Person-Centered Care Can Help Prevent Elder Abuse
With the rising numbers of people over 65, more help will be needed
February 3, 2016
While serving as an associate dean at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, Dr. Laura Mosqueda co-founded the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center. Its goal is improved prosecution of elder abuse cases through cooperation among police, doctors and others who encounter the problem. Today, Mosqueda serves as co-director of the National Center on Elder Abuse, a federal resource where professionals and the public can go for statistics, reports, and information on signs of abuse and neglect. In 2014, she was named chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Professor of Family Medicine and Geriatrics at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. A popular speaker on elder abuse and geriatrics, Mosqueda advocates training for law enforcement, social workers and others who work with the elderly to spot abuse. She also works with Adult Protective Services to help investigate possible cases of abuse or neglect.