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Investigation into stranded at-risk adults getting lawmaker attention

Lawmakers react to the 9Wants to Know investigation that revealed the hidden epidemic of at-risk adults stranded at local hospitals. State lawmakers from both parties are making plans to raise this issue as an important focus during the next legislative session.

KUSA — Editor's Note: 9Wants to Know found burnt-out caregivers sometimes abandon family members with Alzheimer's and dementia at hospitals, leaving dozens of patients stranded. The team has taken an in-depth look at that problem in its series, "Stranded."

Social workers in hospitals across the metro area are working to find facilities willing to take in at-risk adults who’ve been abandoned by families and sometimes other long-term care facilities, like nursing homes.

The findings have caught the attention of state lawmakers, including Republican Senator Beth Martinez Humenik and Democratic Representative Jonathan Singer.

RELATED | Man with Alzheimer's sent on one-way flight to Denver among scores of patients stranded in hospitals

Martinez Humenik said she believes hospitals and nursing homes will need to work together to help come up with a solution - and she doesn’t want to wait until January to get started.

“I would like to get...started now in talking about these issues and what solutions can we come up with, because it shouldn’t just be the legislature that has to find solutions,” Martinez Humenik said. “We need to work together to find the answers that are going work for Colorado and for the people who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

RELATED | Why the state office created to help abandoned at-risk people can't actually help

Singer, who comes from a social work background, said he is eager to start exploring ideas with elderly advocacy groups.

“Well the silver tsunami is coming whether you like it or not,” Singer said. “We can either get a head of it or we can let it crash over us. And so this is a real opportunity that you actually helped with.”

RELATED | A list of resources for caregivers in Colorado

“Channel 9 has [shined] a light on something that we as legislators need to step to plate and start problem solving,” Singer said.

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