Kentucky needs to create an independent panel to review deaths of elderly or vulnerable adults that may be slipping through the cracks, advocates argue.They point to a case last year in which Richard Tardy, 61, died at a group home in Somerset, shortly after being moved more than 100 miles from his former home at the Bingham Center in Louisville.
While no one knows of any wrongdoing, those who knew Tardy, who was blind and profoundly disabled, questioned the state's decision to move him some months earlier, said Carol Mueller, president of the family association at Bingham, a state-run facility for disabled adults.
They were surprised he died so soon afterward and wondered if the move was a factor, Mueller said.
Tardy is the type of individual whose death should get an outside review, said April DuVal, executive director of the Council on Developmental Disabilities in Louisville. With no immediate family to care for him, he had a state guardian. Medicaid paid for his care at the small, private group home where he was placed by the state.
Full Article and Source:
Preying on Seniors: Outside Panel Sought to Review Deaths
See Other Articles in the Series:
Elder Abuse and Exploitation Day 1
Graphics: Incidents of Elder Abuse
Graphic: Relationship to Victims of Alleged Abusers
Seniors Increasingly Face Physical Abuse, Financial Crimes
Resources Limited to Investigate Crimes
Relatives Often Responsible for Physical Abuse, Neglect
Broader Domestic Violence Laws Urged
How to Recognize Abuse
How to Stay Safe
Help Lines
A Trust Betrayed - Elderly Victimized by Family, Friends
CrimeCollege Helps Seniors Identify Scams
Grant Power of Attorney With Care
Relatives Abuse, but Still Inherit
5 comments:
Something doesn't ring right on Mr. Tardy's death especially after reading the following in the article....
Tardy is the type of individual whose death should get an outside review, said April DuVal, executive director of the Council on Developmental Disabilities in Louisville. With no immediate family to care for him, he had a state guardian. Medicaid paid for his care at the small, private group home where he was placed by the state.
Rep. Jimmie Lee, D-Elizabethtown, who sponsored an update of the state's adult-abuse laws in 2005, said he is familiar with adult mortality review panels in other states and believes they can be effective.
But he said he thinks it's unlikely Kentucky lawmakers will approve any initiatives in the 2011 legislative session because of the state's financial condition.
“Any new program that's going to cost money is going to be problematic,” Lee said.
GAPS IN SYSTEM
Rep. Jimmie Lee D-Elizabethtown
needs to push for new reform
immediately ! due to the fact of the rising number of articles being published wide spread across the country about the growing numbers of abuse and neglect happening to our disabled and elders in institutions. If Mr. Tardy was your father or brother wouldn't you want to know what caused his death ? Mr. Tardy's death needs to be looked into. Bare in mind, because your disabled or a senior citizen doesn't mean you have to die at 61 years old. A person with no family could easily fall through the cracks and no one would be the wiser of "What caused his death." Ky better check this one out.
Welcome aboard, Kentucky! You really did a job!
is this a record number of articles related to seniors? deep appreciation to the press without media and press scrutinizing wrongdoing we might as well all dig our graves right now
These review panels should be in all states, starting with New York where Gary Harvey is being held captive at St. Joseph's hospital in Elmira, against his wishes and his wife's wishes.
The problem with this series, as informative as it is, is it lays the blame mostly with families, which opens the door to guardianship.
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