Press release: Elder Death Review Teams/SB 333

Prior to her death at age 88 on October 12, 1998, Martha Merritt lived a full life and was much loved by family and friends. Alzheimer's diminished the quality of her life in her final days. However, it was in her death that she made a great contribution to the segment of our population which Tom Brokaw refers to as The Greatest Generation. Little could she know that the circumstances of her death would provide the catalyst for the development of an innovative safety net for older Americans: Elder Death Review Teams.

District Attorney Jan Scully announced, "Martha Merritt's death lead me to realize the responsibility we have for building systems to protect those who have spent the best years of their lives protecting us. I pledged to lead the effort to establish a multidisciplinary Elder Death Review Team to duplicate the success we have had with Child Death Review Teams in reducing needless deaths. Some of our elders are as vulnerable as our children and are equally susceptible to deaths at the hands of their caretakers. Because of their weakened conditions, they can be easily overpowered and their deaths can be accompanied with few physical symptoms."

After pledging to form such a team, we encountered legal roadblocks to the sharing of confidential information. As a result, we wrote enabling legislation authorizing the formation of these multidisciplinary teams and the sharing of information. I am pleased that Sen. Escutia lead the effort to pass this legislation and grateful that Governor Davis saw its importance and signed it into law."

"Elder abuse continues to be a serious concern in our society," Senator Escutia stated. "SB 333 will help identify such unfortunate situations and hopefully lead to changes in this difficult problem. Responding to and preventing elder abuse and neglect fatalities lies within the community and not with any single agency or entity."