Latest news with #VisitingAngels
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Protecting the Vulnerable: Raising Awareness of Elder Abuse and Exploitation
Waco, TX (FOX 44) — June is Elder Abuse Awareness Month, dedicated to shining a light on the mistreatment of older adults. Elder Abuse Awareness Month encourages communities to take action against caregivers who may subject seniors to neglect, exploitation, and abuse. It looks different in every case – abuse can mean any neglect, physical, financial, or emotional mistreatment. One of the most common forms of elder abuse appears in telephone scams. Due to cognitive decline, the senior population is more susceptible to believing misinformation. 'They're talked into, maybe, giving away some money, giving access to their accounts,' Visiting Angels Care Coordinator Manager Sarah Hargrave said. 'And that puts them in a tight spot. They don't realize that they're talking to someone who's insincere.' Hargrave said many elders who have been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease are because they are most vulnerable. It's important that seniors are assisted in protecting their sensitive information, because they are often targeted in cybercrimes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Celebrating senior citizens of the Basin
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – The The Area Agency On Aging Of The Permian Basin brought out the red carper for senior citizens of the Permian Basin for Older Americans and Older Texans Month. Citizens and senior care facilities of the area were awarded for their commitment and impactful roles of the community. 'Well it's great because, you know, we're getting older but we're getting better,' said Mary Pallan, a senior resident at Midland Senior Center. Hundreds of residents gathered with friends and loved ones to celebrate their wisdom and friendship, and many of them look forward to the event growing even more in the future. 'My second year doing this and I love it,' said Esmeralda Abalos, with Visiting Angels. 'Each year it seems like its growing more and more, and its nice that our community comes together to help and celebrate them.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Immigration plans a 'devastating blow'
A care home owner has said the government's proposed changes to immigration rules were a "devastating blow" for the sector. The Prime Minister's proposals to cut immigration include scrapping a visa scheme, set up by Boris Johnson's Conservative government, that allowed firms to hire health and social care workers from overseas. Mike Padgham, managing director at Saint Cecilia's Care Group in Scarborough, said by 2040 the sector would need 500,000 more workers and asked where they would be coming from. Sir Keir Starmer said the plans, which tackle legal migration to the UK, would ensure a "selective" and "fair" system, where "we decide who comes to this country". "It is another devastating blow that this government has put upon us," Mr Padgham said. As part of the new system, firms will be required to hire British nationals or extend the visas of overseas workers already in the country. Home Office figures estimate this change will cut the number of workers coming to the UK by between 7,000 and 8,000 a year. Mr Padgham has previously said without overseas staff his firm could not continue and he does not believe the change in rules will help recruit British nationals. "The key thing is we want to recruit people from England, we are doing everything we can to recruit local people," he said. "But sadly the pay is not great, we want people to come in but they don't want the work and we want people in social care who want to work in it, not forced to work in it." Dan Archer, who runs the Sheffield home care company Visiting Angels, said he had taken a different route, though he said he understood the issues facing many providers. "There's been a dependency for the last few years on overseas workers," he said. "I took the decision that if we started from a position of paying better, using proper contracts, then we would find it easier to find UK workers." He said the firm now had 1,600 staff. "The solution works," he said, but added that the challenge was how it was funded. PM promises migration drop as he unveils plans for 'tightened' visa rules Labour's immigration plans at a glance Cimma Menone is from Nigeria and has been sponsored as a care worker for the past three years in Scarborough. She said the announcement from the government made her feel unwelcome. "When you feel unsafe, when you begin to feel not supported by the government, when you are here to contribute to the healthcare sector, then I don't think it's a welcoming policy," she said. The proposed changes come after the government tightened the rules restricting the ability of workers to bring their loved ones to the UK. The time immigrants will have to live in the UK before they can apply for the right to stay indefinitely will be doubled - to 10 years - under the proposals. Isabel Santos, deputy manager at St Cecilia's, said these changes meant homes would become dependent on agency staff, which she said was bad because it impacted on "continuity of care" for residents. "Overseas staff want to learn and progress their careers," she said. "With these rules maybe people will go to other countries where they feel more supported." Jordan Stapleton, from the union Unison, said the entire care system was "in trouble" as providers were dependent on contracts with councils that had been dealing with years of cuts. "If care providers can't get the guaranteed level of funding from the council then they can't pass on that wage and security to the worker," he said. The government said its plans for fair pay in social care would boost recruitment in the sector. The Prime Minister said the government immigration proposals would create "a system that is controlled, selective and fair and a clean break from the past" that would "ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. PM promises migration drop as he unveils plans for 'tightened' visa rules The carers crossing the globe to fill UK shortage Labour's immigration plans at a glance
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Immigration plans a 'devastating blow'
A care home owner has said the government's proposed changes to immigration rules were a "devastating blow" for the sector. The Prime Minister's proposals to cut immigration include scrapping a visa scheme, set up by Boris Johnson's Conservative government, that allowed firms to hire health and social care workers from overseas. Mike Padgham, managing director at Saint Cecilia's Care Group in Scarborough, said by 2040 the sector would need 500,000 more workers and asked where they would be coming from. Sir Keir Starmer said the plans, which tackle legal migration to the UK, would ensure a "selective" and "fair" system, where "we decide who comes to this country". "It is another devastating blow that this government has put upon us," Mr Padgham said. As part of the new system, firms will be required to hire British nationals or extend the visas of overseas workers already in the country. Home Office figures estimate this change will cut the number of workers coming to the UK by between 7,000 and 8,000 a year. Mr Padgham has previously said without overseas staff his firm could not continue and he does not believe the change in rules will help recruit British nationals. "The key thing is we want to recruit people from England, we are doing everything we can to recruit local people," he said. "But sadly the pay is not great, we want people to come in but they don't want the work and we want people in social care who want to work in it, not forced to work in it." Dan Archer, who runs the Sheffield home care company Visiting Angels, said he had taken a different route, though he said he understood the issues facing many providers. "There's been a dependency for the last few years on overseas workers," he said. "I took the decision that if we started from a position of paying better, using proper contracts, then we would find it easier to find UK workers." He said the firm now had 1,600 staff. "The solution works," he said, but added that the challenge was how it was funded. PM promises migration drop as he unveils plans for 'tightened' visa rules Labour's immigration plans at a glance Cimma Menone is from Nigeria and has been sponsored as a care worker for the past three years in Scarborough. She said the announcement from the government made her feel unwelcome. "When you feel unsafe, when you begin to feel not supported by the government, when you are here to contribute to the healthcare sector, then I don't think it's a welcoming policy," she said. The proposed changes come after the government tightened the rules restricting the ability of workers to bring their loved ones to the UK. The time immigrants will have to live in the UK before they can apply for the right to stay indefinitely will be doubled - to 10 years - under the proposals. Isabel Santos, deputy manager at St Cecilia's, said these changes meant homes would become dependent on agency staff, which she said was bad because it impacted on "continuity of care" for residents. "Overseas staff want to learn and progress their careers," she said. "With these rules maybe people will go to other countries where they feel more supported." Jordan Stapleton, from the union Unison, said the entire care system was "in trouble" as providers were dependent on contracts with councils that had been dealing with years of cuts. "If care providers can't get the guaranteed level of funding from the council then they can't pass on that wage and security to the worker," he said. The government said its plans for fair pay in social care would boost recruitment in the sector. The Prime Minister said the government immigration proposals would create "a system that is controlled, selective and fair and a clean break from the past" that would "ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right". Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. PM promises migration drop as he unveils plans for 'tightened' visa rules The carers crossing the globe to fill UK shortage Labour's immigration plans at a glance
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Yahoo
Georgia Elderly Caregiver Arrested After Allegedly Stealing From Her Patient to Purchase Shein Clothes, and That's Not All
Georgia authorities are on the hunt for a caregiver who's facing serious charges following a shopping spree. Nah, they're not accusing her of shoplifting. The cops say her shopping haul came at the cost of a very vulnerable individual. Briauna Michelle Powell, 24, is at-large for a series of suspicious transactions that happened over the course of February and March. The Stone Mountain native was described as a healthcare assistant at Visiting Angels who was responsible for the care of an 82-year-old woman who suffered dementia and Alzheimer's, per Channel 2 Action News. A police report says the patient was moved from Visiting Angels in Tucker to another senior living facility upon the advancing of her illnesses. She was also assigned a power of attorney. However, on Feb 8, the power of attorney noticed something suspicious: a fraud alert from Truist for a $236.37 purchase from Shein. The purchase was made on the patient's Mastercard, police said. Following that, the typical steps were taken and both the transaction and the card were cancelled. Though, the investigation into the fraud charge only opened up the discovery of even more fraudulent transactions. Between Feb. 19 and March 6, police found six unauthorized transactions on the patient's account, including one bill of over $1,000 at Lowes, the purchase of a car and rent payments, per FOX 5 Atlanta. There was even an attempt to open a new account in the woman's name. Officers tracked the suspicious activity to the one person who was ordered to care for the woman: Powell. They also found that while working at the facility, she tried to scam two other patients. Police then issued a warrant for her arrest. 'I don't know how she thought she'd get away with it. Maybe she thought, because they were elderly and they couldn't care for themselves, so they wouldn't notice. If you're preying on the people that can't take care of themselves, we take that seriously, and we want to make sure she's held accountable,' said Suwanee Police Capt. Robert Thompson via FOX. Though, she still hasn't been arrested yet. When the cops do eventually find her, she'll be facing multiple counts of ID fraud and elder exploitation. Suwanee police are asking the public for any information to help locate Powell. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
