Respecting Choice: Autonomy, Dignity, and Justice in Later Life

Identifying and Remediating Abuse and Neglect in Long Term Care Settings 

Presenter: 

• Kelly Bagby (Vice President for Litigation at AARP Foundation)

Summary:

Older adults in long-term care settings can face significant challenges in protecting their rights and receiving quality care. Drawing on her extensive litigation experience, Kelly Bagby will discuss systemic issues that contribute to abuse and neglect and highlight legal and policy strategies used to promote accountability. This session will provide insights into current efforts to safeguard residents, strengthen protections, and improve outcomes for older adults in long-term care.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to recognize when older people are at risk of receiving chemical restraints and how to fight against the use of these drugs.

• Learn about the impact of arbitration clauses that are buried in admission agreements and why people should refuse to agree to arbitration.

• Learn about the kinds of class action litigation that AARP Foundation does around the country to address elder abuse and neglect issues.

Guardianship, Autonomy, and Aging: Balancing Protection with Self-Determination 

Presenter:

• Ellen Klem, JD (Executive Director, Guardian Partners)

Summary:

Guardianship can provide important protection for older adults who are unable to make or communicate decisions, but it also involves the removal of fundamental rights and freedoms. This presentation will explore the purpose of guardianship, common challenges and complications within the guardianship system, and the ongoing tension between protection and self-determination. Participants will learn about less restrictive alternatives, emerging person-centered approaches, and the role Guardian Partners plays in supporting courts, guardians, and families through education and monitoring programs designed to promote dignity, autonomy, and accountability.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the purpose of guardianship and identify the rights that may be affected when a guardian is appointed.

• Recognize common challenges and ethical considerations that arise in guardianship cases involving older adults.

• Describe strategies, resources, and alternatives that can help support autonomy, dignity, and self-determination while ensuring appropriate protection and oversight.

Continuing Education Credits

Certificates of Attendance are available free of charge for anyone who attends the entire session. 

This is the fourth of four sessions of OGA's 2026 virtual conference. You can register for individual sessions or, at a discount, for the entire conference series. For an overview of all sessions, please visit the conference page.

Register here!

Kelly Bagby is the Vice President of Litigation at AARP Foundation, managing the office’s work related to health, hunger, housing, and human services.  She specializes in civil rights, disability rights, and health law with an emphasis on litigation.  Kelly has been co-counsel in several cases in which nursing facility residents were administered psychotropic medications without informed consent or were inappropriately evicted from their homes.  She has litigated against many states under the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide people in nursing facilities with the opportunity to move back to their own communities; and is currently co-counsel in a class action lawsuit against a nursing home chain in Illinois seeking to protect residents from neglect due to understaffing.

Ellen Klem is the Executive Director of Guardian Partners, an Oregon nonprofit organization that provides court-connected fiduciary education and adult guardianship monitoring throughout the state. Prior to joining Guardian Partners, Ellen served for more than a decade at the Oregon Department of Justice, where she led statewide consumer protection, financial literacy, and elder justice initiatives. An attorney, educator, and nationally recognized speaker, Ellen has dedicated her career to protecting vulnerable adults through advocacy, education, policy development, and community engagement.

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