-A A +A

Abandonment

Some state statutes include abandonment as a form of elder abuse.  The National Center on Elder Abuse defines abandonment as the desertion of an elderly person by an individual who has assumed responsibility for providing care for an elder, or by a person with physical custody of an elder.

Signs and symptoms of abandonment include but are not limited to:

  • The desertion of an elder at a hospital, a nursing facility, or other similar institution;
  • The desertion of an elder at a shopping center or other public location; and
  • An elder's own report of being abandoned.