October 18th, 1984. Geraldo Rivera for ABC’s 20/20 news investigates the hidden epidemic of drug misuse amongst our nation’s elderly.
“You were doing 20, 30 pills a day?” — Yah.”and how many of those were unnecessary?” — All but one.
At a time when improper medication kills as many as 30,000 nursing home residents per year, we hear that the issue is much more widespread. In this segment some of the elderly themselves, doctors, RNs, family members and other principals discuss their direct experience with this issue.
We also learn how an elderly task force is taking action in the Pittsburgh area to make sure informed decisions are being made.
Has it gotten better in 2025?
This day, Geraldo’s television history.