Pennsylvania lawmakers push to find out causes of death for older adults in abuse or neglect cases

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republican state lawmakers are pushing Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration to do more to investigate the deaths of older adults who are the subject of an abuse or neglect complaint after Pennsylvania recorded a steep increase in such deaths, starting in 2019.

Shapiro’s Department of Aging has balked at the idea raised by Republican lawmakers, who have pressed the department, or the county-level agencies that investigate abuse or neglect complaints, to gather cause of death information from death records.

Getting more information about the cause of death is a first step, Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, the ranking Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said in an interview Friday.

“So you have the information, and then the next step is what do we do to protect them, to make sure they’re not on a fatality list somewhere,” Grove said. “That’s that next step, which is the important aspect. We need to get to it.”

In a House Appropriations Committee hearing last month, Rep. John Lawrence, R-Chester, told Shapiro’s Secretary of Aging Jason Kavulich that it was “unacceptable” that the department isn’t already gathering that information when someone dies.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> ‘Soaring’ over hills or ‘playing’ with puppies, study finds seniors enjoy virtual reality </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> As pandemic unfolded, deaths of older adults in Pennsylvania rose steeply in abuse or neglect cases </bsp-custom-headline>