Our society has a greater obligation to protect its more vulnerable members.

An Associated Press report in the Dec. 29 edition of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette shared details about a disturbing trend: Deaths of elderly Pennsylvanians following reported incidents of abuse or neglect rose steeply.

Data reflected a ten-fold increase from 2017 to 2022, with the number steadily increasing each year. While other, similarly-sized states saw increases, none saw an increase as severe or as pronounced as Pennsylvania’s.

The National Institute on Aging’s website notes that elder abuse can happen anywhere — in the victims’ homes or the homes of family members, in assisted living facilities or nursing homes.

“Mistreatment most often affects those who depend on others for help with activities of everyday life — including bathing, dressing, and taking medicine,” the website states.

Officials caution that the data does not prove any correlation between the incident reports and deaths, and some officials further suggested the data could also reflect better, more detailed records of such incidents.

We find the idea that the data only reflects that agencies are gaining better insight into the issue to be, at most, a small comfort. Regardless, the challenge for our state now is to determine how to protect elderly Pennsylvanians from abuse and what resources need to be allocated so that can happen.

We encourage state lawmakers and county and municipal officials to study this data closely and to carefully, conscientiously develop the tools and training so that police and prosecutors can hold those responsible for abusing or neglecting the elderly accountable.

— Williamsport Sun-Gazette