The Legal and Clinical Front Lines: Why We’re Standing with Community Nurse This World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

Erin Nunes and Surprenant, Beneski & Nunes logo

By Managing Partner Erin L. Nunes, Esq., Surprenant, Beneski & Nunes

In my practice as an elder law and estate planning attorney, my days are spent helping families build safety nets. We draft trusts, establish powers of attorney, and map out long-term care plans designed to protect a lifetime of hard work and preserve an individual’s dignity.

But a legal safety net is only as strong as the boots on the ground.

That is why, ahead of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15th, our firm is standing firmly alongside our trusted friends at Community Nurse. For over a century, their incredible team of visiting nurses, therapists, social workers, dieticians and certified nursing assistants have crossed the thresholds of so many homes across the South Coast. These angels in purple scrubs provide spectacular, compassionate care—but they also provide something just as critical: eyes and ears where isolation breathes.

The Hidden Red Flags
Elder abuse is a quiet crisis. According to global data, roughly 1 in 6 older adults face some form of mistreatment. What we see most as attorneys isn’t physical harm; it is financial exploitation and neglect.

Because elder abuse thrives behind closed doors, a home visit from a home care agency such as Community Nurse is often the very first time that a shift in a senior’s well-being is spotted. While they are tracking vital signs or managing wound care, they are also mandated court reporters who observe the environment that a senior lives in.

This is where our practices intersect. A CNA or a nurse might notice a sudden change in an older patient’s comfort, unexplained withdrawal, or an overbearing caregiver who isolates them. In the legal world, we see the downstream results of that vulnerability: a sudden, suspicious change to a long-standing estate plan, an unexpected transfer of a home’s title, or missing funds that leave a senior unable to afford their medication or food.

Beyond Awareness: Building a Local Defense
This year, the United Nations theme for World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is “Beyond Awareness: Making Elder Abuse Prevention Work.”

To make prevention work here on the South Coast, we have to look past the abstract statistics and take collective action. True prevention is a team sport that bridges clinical expertise, legal protections, and neighborhood vigilance.

Here is how we can move beyond awareness together:

  • Establish Legal Safeguards Early: A robust estate plan is a massive deterrent to exploitation. By proactively naming a trusted, vetted Power of Attorney and a Health Care Proxy before a crisis hits, you put an intentional, legal shield around an older adult’s assets and medical decisions.
  • Support the Visiting Clinicians: When a family member is struggling or burnout peaks, neglect can happen inadvertently. Lean on community resources like Community Nurse to bring professional, relieving support into the home.
  • Be a Watchful Neighbor: Isolation is the abuser’s greatest tool. Check in on your elderly neighbors. If you notice a sudden, uncharacteristic drop in their property upkeep, poor hygiene, or unfamiliar people suddenly managing their affairs, pay attention.

If You Suspect Something, Speak Up
If you believe an older adult in your life is facing immediate danger, always call 911. For non-emergency concerns regarding elder abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation in Massachusetts, you can file a report with the Adult Protective Services system via the state’s Elder Abuse Hotline at 1-800-922-2275.

Here in Bristol County, we are served by a regional agency that investigates reports and provides protective services for adults 60 and older:

  • Bristol Aging & Wellness (formerly known as Bristol Elder Services)
  • Phone: 508-675-2101
  • Service Area: Attleboro, Berkley, Dighton, Fall River, Freetown, Mansfield, Norton, North Attleboro, Raynham, Rehoboth, Seekonk, Somerset, Swansea, Taunton and Westport.
  • Bristol Aging & Wellness also provides protective services for the Coastline area of Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Gosnold, New Bedford, Marion, Mattapoisett, and Rochester.

Additionally, the Bristol County District Attorney’s office, led by District Attorney Tom Quinn, investigates and prosecutes all crimes of elder abuse such as physical, sexual, emotional, psychological, and financial abuse, as well as fraud, neglect and/or self-neglect. The D.A.’s office has established an Elder Financial Abuse Unit and provides education to seniors on how to avoid becoming a victim and how to recognize red flags. For more information, you can visit their website at http://bristolda.com/community-affairs/elder-abuse-prevention/

Our older generations spent their lives building the communities we love and live in today. This June 15th, let’s honor them not just by wearing purple, but by actively looking out for them. We are incredibly proud to support Community Nurse in this vital mission—because every senior deserves to grow old in safety, comfort, and peace.