As pandemic unfolded, deaths of older adults in Pennsylvania rose steeply in abuse or neglect cases

Pennsylvania recorded a steep increase in the deaths of older adults following an abuse or neglect complaint the last few years, as COVID-19 ravaged the nation, complaints grew and agencies struggled to keep caseworkers on staff. The staggering increase shown in state data — from 120 deaths reported in 2017 to almost 1,400 in 2022, a more than tenfold increase — may have had several contributing factors, and the state and county-level agencies that field and investigate complaints gave varying answers explaining why. Mostly, Pennsylvania’s Department of Aging and county-level agency officials speculated that it had to do with a growing population of people 65 and older, an increase in complaints and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults.