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World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was observed this past Sunday, June 15, 2025. In honor of this day of acknowledgement of elder abuse, Caroline County’s Department of Social Services organized its annual World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event for the clients of the Adult Medical Daycare Program and Senior Center at the Caroline County Health Department on Friday, June 13. “Building strong support for seniors” was their slogan.
Elder abuse is a lesser-known classification of mistreatment and exploitation. Holly Trice, the Director of Nursing at the Adult Medical Daycare Program, explained that the signs of elder abuse can be subtle, “There's different types of elder abuse, so sometimes it's physical, sometimes it's emotional, and sometimes it's financial,” she said, “we screen a lot of our clients to see if they feel safe at home. We also look for physical signs of abuse, as far as bruising, unexplained accidents, things along those lines.” Financial elder abuse involves an individual taking money or seizing bank accounts of seniors, either without their knowledge or through manipulative tactics, “we do see individuals who no longer have access to their accounts or they come in and say that they can't afford food when we know that they may be getting X amount of dollars a month.”
Trice said that if her team at the Medical Adult Daycare is suspicious that a client is suffering from any manifestation of elder abuse, they are “able to collaborate with the Department of Social Services and Adult Protective Services” to look into the situation. Not only does the information shared at the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event help attendees recognize the ways in which they may be facing elder abuse, but it can also lead them to advocate for someone they may know, and feel more informed about avenues for help, Trice explained.
According to Trice, the problem is that many elders are unaware that they are vulnerable to this kind of abuse. “Not everybody understands that they might actually be a potential victim of elder abuse,” she said. This is why the World Elder Abuse Awareness event is held at the Health Department each year.
RonQuel Friend and Yolanda Waldo work with the Department of Social Services to host the event. They said that observing World Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Caroline County has been a tradition as long as they can remember. “We want to educate our seniors about what's going on in the community, let them know what things may make them vulnerable; we want to make sure we protect them as best we can,” Friend said. Waldo said that they “invite community partners to come and fellowship” as well, “ the opportunity for our seniors to recognize community partners that they may not be aware of, that are out there in the community that can be beneficial to them.” Some examples are programs that offer transportation, respite, information about long-term care options, and more.
“The biggest thing is we want to come to them,” Friend shared, “because we were doing it in the community, and what we were finding was that a lot of people had a hard time getting there. We find our attendance is better when we come to them and they're benefiting from it more than anyone else.”
Friend said that those from the Senior Center and the Medical Adult Daycare that attend the event get a lot out of it, “education, socialization, awareness and just kind of fellowshipping,” she said. While the focus of the day is bringing awareness to the signs and symptoms of elder abuse, the attendees enjoy icebreaker games, a “Moving for Better Balance and Mobility” demonstration with Amoni Knight of Encompass Health Rehabilotation Hospital in Salisbury, a catered lunch from Panera Bread, decorating picture frames, and much more. Faron Burns, the Health Intervention Director at the Henson Family YMCA in Salisbury, led the presentation on elder abuse.
For Trice, the event is two-fold, “it draws attention to elder abuse, which unfortunately we see quite frequently in the community… it also brings socialization and activities to our clients.”
The Senior Center and Medical Adult Daycare are both housed in the Caroline County Health Department, located at 403 South 7th Street, Denton. The Medical Adult Daycare is open five days a week and can serve up to 33 clients who have medical needs but are still able to live at home. The program’s intention is to “provide [clients] compassionate care, holistic care, and then also socialization, which a lot of them are very isolated at home, so it's important for them to be able to come in here, and we act as their family,” Trice said. The program also provides transportation, which picks up clients and drops them back off at their homes. Those who do not have a need for medical care during the day but are looking for social interaction can go to the Senior Center.
Cost can be a barrier for many who may benefit from the Medical Adult Daycare’s services. Trice said that Medicaid may cover a certain number of days a week for participants, and veterans are sometimes able to go through the VA for financial help. The program offers a sliding scale system and tries to provide scholarships to lighten the load, but “the funding that we received by no means covers the cost that it takes to run the program. So we are reliant on donations,” Trice said, “We do have a Medical Adult Daycare Foundation, which assists us with fundraising, and we do apply for a lot of grants every year.”
“Everybody is just so genuinely appreciative,” Trice said of the Medical Adult Daycare’s clients. Waldo said they look forward to the World Elder Abuse Awareness event every year. “They have a good time together, and we enjoy spending time with them, and just kind of making it a great day for everybody,” Friend said.
