THE ELDERLY: highest risk for suicide

[AZBlue]

Elderly are at highest risk for suicide
Number expected to rise as baby boomers age, experts say
Associated Press
Updated: 3:56 p.m. MT Sept 18, 2007
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20840726/

Not long after 72-year-old Anne Beale Golsan had retired on disability from her job as a librarian, she put a stack of paid bills out for the mail, hung up a freshly pressed outfit and taped a note to the front of the house.

“Don’t come in by yourself. Get somebody to come with you. Sorry, Love Beale.”

Her niece arrived at the house they shared in Baton Rouge, La., to find police already there. Golsan had killed herself with a gunshot to the head.

(snip)

The elderly are the highest risk population in the country for suicide. But few suicide-prevention programs target them — a result, advocates say, of scarce funding and lack of concern for older Americans.

And mental heath experts say the number of elderly suicides is likely to climb as baby boomers enter their twilight years.

(snip)

Ten states passed laws last year intended to curb suicide among children and young adults. But only two — New Jersey and New Mexico — passed laws addressing suicide among the elderly, according to Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, a national advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

Depression is underdetected at all ages, mental health groups say. But much more funding is available for treating younger people, including $82 million in federal money approved in 2004.

The situation prompted Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, who lost his father to suicide, to propose funding more suicide-prevention programs for the elderly and changing a Medicare coverage rule that forces seniors to pay more for outpatient mental health services than other medical care.

Some advocates and mental health workers say they also have to battle a prevailing notion that depression is a normal part of aging.

“It is not natural and should be treated at all times,” said Dr. Paula Clayton, a psychiatrist and medical director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

(snip)

In San Francisco, Patrick Arbore founded the Friendship Line in San Francisco in 1973 after seeing the lack of understanding some suicide hot line workers displayed for older people.

The line, which lets people call just to talk or get support, now handles more than 3,000 calls a month. About one-quarter of the callers have suicidal thoughts, a staffer said. But most just want a compassionate listener.

“It’s about reminding people that they are still a part of their community,” Arbore said. “Those connections bind us to life.”

I find the lack of care or concern for the elderly in this country disgusting. Most societies treasure and celebrate their elderly - we cast them aside, don't want to listen to them and find them annoying. What's wrong with us?