Preparing Americans for Death Lets Hospices Neglect End of Life

With his mother wheezing and losing consciousness in a California nursing home, Robert Rogers wanted her moved to a hospital. Vitas Healthcare, her hospice provider, said that wasn’t in the plan.

“Our job is not to prepare them to live,” a Vitas nurse told Rogers on the phone, according to a deposition he gave in April. “Our job is to prepare them to die.”

Rogers called 911. At the hospital, an emergency-room doctor removed 11 maggots from an open wound on his mother’s big toe. Five days later, in September 2008, 91-year-old Thelma Covington died of a sepsis infection brought on by gangrene in her toe and poor circulation, her death certificate said.

Rogers is suing Vitas, a unit of Cincinnati-based Chemed Corp. (CHE), in a California court for alleged elder abuse and wrongful death. Vitas, the biggest company in hospice care, has denied negligence and said that Covington and Rogers knew the risk involved in entering hospice. Ninety-five percent of Vitas care gets positive family ratings in surveys, said Kal Mistry, a company spokeswoman.

As hospice care has evolved from its charitable roots into a $14 billion business run mostly for profit, patients like Covington and their families have paid a steep price, according to lawsuits and federal investigations. Providers have been accused of boosting their revenues with patients who aren’t near death and not eligible for hospice -- people healthy enough to live a long time with traditional medical care. In hospices, patients give up their rights to “curative” measures because they are presumed to be futile.

Widespread Neglect
“By admitting these folks to hospice, they are denied access to routine medical and rehabilitative care that they need to extend and improve their lives,” said Cristen Krebs, executive director of Catholic Hospice of Pittsburgh, a non- profit. “A vulnerable and voiceless population is preyed upon for money.”

At the same time, patients are being neglected, according to the claims in the lawsuits, government court filings and interviews with more than 30 people who have worked in the industry or had relatives in hospice. In 2009, a Medicare oversight report found nearly a third of hospice patients were not getting services in care plans that describe the treatment and visits providers promise to give them.

Full Article and Source:
Preparing Americans for Dealth Lets For-Profit Hospices Neglect End of Life

Elderly Man Who Lived With Wife in Car Dies

An elderly man who had been living with his wife in what police called a “squalid” and unsafe car, died Tuesday at a Vermont veteran's hospital.

Roger Maguire, 79, died at the White River Junction hospital of cancer, said his wife, Beverly. He was an Air Force veteran of the Korean War and worked in construction before his retirement, she said.

Beverly said she was in an Exeter Hospital social services program, placed there by a court-appointed guardian, when her husband died.

“I never got to say goodbye to him,” she said.

After his death, Beverly was transported to White River Junction by a veteran's organization, which also paid for her to stay in a hotel for the night, she said.

Beverly, 72, was arrested July 28 on a charge alleging she failed to report the poor conditions in her car where she and Roger were living. Police Chief Lou Ferland said at the time that the arrest was the only way to get the couple the help they needed.

The Maguires were living in their car last winter when police were working with state agencies to explore various guardianship options, said the police chief. But they left the area and legal papers expired, he said.

They were brought to police attention again on July 28 when they were involved in a car crash in a McDonald's parking lot, said Capt. Mike Schwartz. Their car is “ridiculously unsafe,” so it was towed, he said.

Full Article and Source:
Elderly Man Who Lived With Wife in Car Dies at VA Hospital

Police Use Arrest to Get Help for Elderly Couple Living in Car

'Sara! Sara, Come Back! Don't Leave Me Here!'

Tragically, Gary Harvey of Horsehead, NY fell down the basement stairs in January of 2006 and received a traumatic head injury. Since that time, he has either been in a nursing home or in the hospital and is under the guardianship of the county. Ironically, the county, who claims to be looking out for their ward’s best interest, was involved in a so-called ethics committee decision that Gary Harvey should be starved and dehydrated to death. The judge over-ruled the call for execution of an innocent man, though a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) remains in effect. Sara Harvey, Gary’s wife, is desperately fighting to get him home. One can only wonder how much he knows of what is going on around him. The following could be what he is thinking as he lays alone in that room, so isolated from the world he knew and the wife and friends he so loves. * * *

It’s so quiet. I think I hear someone walking down the hall. Do they know I am here? Where is my Sara? Why isn’t she here? I miss her voice and the special sound of her laughter. I miss her gentle touch. The gentle and tender touch that tells me she loves me and that everything is going to be okay. Why can’t I feel that now? Where is she? Why doesn’t she come to see me? Is she tired of me? Am I too big a burden? Is there someone else in her life now? How long have I been here? How many days have passed?

I’m sure of it. I hear someone walking down the hall. Are they coming to see me? Is it Sara? Why do they keep walking by? Don’t they know I’m here? Why doesn’t someone open the door and just say, “hi” and tell me that it is okay? Can’t someone tell me when my Sara will be here? When will she come to see me? I wonder if they would call her, if I ask?

I hear someone again. I hear them walking away. I want to call out. I’m trying to call out. Why can’t I? Why is there only silence? Am I dead?

No, I can’t be. If I were dead, I wouldn’t be able to hear them. I wouldn’t be able to hear their footsteps and the rattling of carts. I wouldn’t be able to hear their laughter and sometimes their whispers. So, why can’t they hear me? Why can’t I hear me? Why are there no sounds beyond the thoughts that ramble and torment? Sara! Sara, why aren’t you here? I need to talk with you. I need to know everything is okay and you still love me. Did I do something wrong? Did I make you hate me so much that you have left me here alone with them? Left me wherever this is? Left me alone to hear the echo of their footsteps and the isolation of such aloneness as I never knew was possible?

Sara, it’s cold here. It’s dark and there is no laughter to touch the moment. There is no you to say we are going home soon and that you love me still. You do love me, don’t you? We will be going home, won’t we? Is that you, Sara? Is that you that I hear walking down the hall? Is that you coming to take me home or to tell me when you shall?

Why are they whispering? Why are they saying I’m gone? I’m not gone. I’m here waiting for you. Sara! Sara, come back! Don’t leave me here. Don’t leave me in this darkness without you. I love you! I’ll always love you! I promise, I will be a better husband, if I wasn’t a good one before. Please, Sara, please don’t leave me here with them. I’m scared. I think they want me to die!

Source:
Sara! Sara, Come Back! Don't Leave Me Here!

See Also:
JOIN Rescue Gary Harvey on Facebook

HelpBringGaryHome

IN: Disabled Advocacy Group Responds to Critics

The South Bend area business community is being pressured like never before to comply with the A.D.A., or the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“In California, they’re doing, they’re doing very well with it and they’ve moved it inland, so it’s time that it got here, took it 21 years but it is here now and we’re not going away,” said Ruby Brower with the National Advocacy for A.D.A. Compliant Businesses (NAACB).

Earlier this week, News Center 16 talked to some business owners who were upset with the tactics of the advocacy group.

Today, two members of the local NAACB chapter offered comments in rebuttal.

The NAACB has been going door to door—business to business—citing alleged A.D.A. violations on forms that “guarantee” a lawsuit.

Ruby Brower admits that in her two months on the job, she has yet to visit a business that was in full compliance with the A.D.A.

“I have never been to a business that did not have an A.D.A. problem,” Brower said.

While nobody but nobody is in compliance, nobody seems to care—or at least—care as much as Brower who now wears a “badge” that labels her an A.D.A. Enforcement Agent. “Everything is legal, I’m not extorting, I am enforcing a law, okay,” said Brower.

Full Article and Source:
Disabled Advocacy Group Responds to Critics

Crime Does Pay

Former Probate Register John Buonomo - now serving jail time for swiping coins from copy machines and stealing campaign donations - is entitled to collect his retirement pension from the city of Somerville, a judge has determined.

Buonomo's Boston attorney, Nicholas Poser, argued in Lowell District Court that the Somerville Retirement Board illegally withheld Buonomo's pension after he was convicted of several crimes in the fall of 2009. Buonomo was collecting pension from the city because he once served as a Somerville alderman.

In a ruling issued May 28, Judge James H. McGuinness rejected the retirement board's decision to withhold Buonomo's pension.

"In essence, the judge adopted both of my major arguments," Poser says. "I expect that any appeal will be rejected because it is a proper decision. "

Poser had argued that the retirement board was wrong in withholding Buonomo's pension because he did not steal public money - the copy machines were privately owned - and he did not commit a crime while working for the city of Somerville.

Full Article and Source:
Judge Finds Jailed Register of Probate Should Receive Pension From City of Sommerville

Adults With Autism Losing the Safety Net

What happens to autistic children when they grow up and leave the educational system where federal law requires they get the services they need? We visit two families struggling to provide a future for their adult sons with autism.

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

Source:
Need to Know on PBS

Man Dies After Transfer to Group Home

An advocacy group for the developmentally challenged says the death of a 54-year-old man, less than a week after he was transferred from the state-run Templeton Developmental Center, bolsters their argument to keep state facilities open.

David Kassel, spokesman for the nonprofit Massachusetts Coalition of Families and Advocates Inc., said he has been in contact with the deceased man's guardian, who is concerned about a possible medication error leading to his death after he was transferred to a state-operated group home in Tewksbury run by Northeast Residential Services.

The man died of a blood clot to his lung four days after he was transferred, Mr. Kassel said.

The guardian does not want the deceased man's name published, Mr. Kassel said. The medical examiner is awaiting toxicology results.

Full Article and Source:
Mentally Challenged Men Die After Transfer to Group Homes

ND Legislative Report District 13: Committee Addresses Variety of Studies

The interim committee meetings of the North Dakota Legislature have started to meet and work on the studies assigned to each committee, and the first Human Services Interim Committee was held last week. The studies assigned to the Human Services Committee are as follows: of the Autism Spectrum Disorder, Guardianship Services, Department of Human Services caseloads and Program Utilization, and the States Qualified Service Provider System.

The Study of the Guardianship Services will involve contracting with a consultant to study guardianship services for vulnerable adults. This is a problem for many older citizens that can no longer handle their own affairs. The courts can delegate someone to handle the affairs for them. There are many problems in that the states do not have uniform laws, and it is difficult to find or appoint a guardian unless the individual can afford to pay for the services. Often, family members are not willing to undertake such a task, and sometimes there is dishonesty involved. The plan includes obtaining information from private and public sources, and receiving the report from the consultant. Again recommendations and possible legislation might result.

Full Article and Source:
Legislative Report District 13: Committee Addresses Variety of Studies

Northshore 'Live' - Cooper's Corner

[C]ourt-appointed guardians have the authority to make judgments about medical care, property, living arrangements, lifestyle and potentially all personal and financial decisions for high-risk adults with cognitive impairments and for disturbed and mentally challenged children who become threats to themselves and others. Absent the monitoring of court-appointed guardians, opportunities arise for abuse and malfeasance.

Individuals associated with ProbateSharks.com, known as Sharks, have found that the Corrupt Cook County Probate Court is indeed proficient in the quick-sales of properties, 6 weeks on the average; placing of wards’ estates into OBRA Special Needs Pooled Trusts (resulting in public aid placement, even for the rich); maintaining cases that are out of Cook County’s jurisdiction (wards live in another county, yet funds are held hostage by OPG (Office of Public Guardian); spending down of disabled wards’ estates with guardian and legal fees; restricting family members from inquiring about their loved ones(s), and restricting family from visiting their loved one when concerns over the spending of the estate are raised to the court.

Distraught citizens are discovering ProbateSharks.com website via the Internet. Subsequent contacts with Beverly Cooper are providing them with opportunities to present their testimonies on Cooper’s North Shore “Live” weekly Comcast TV program. Not all of Bev’s contacts have been from the Chicago area.

So far ten individuals have been featured on North Shore Live “Coopers” Corner, all with stories to tell of the abuse and fraud they experienced in their dealings with Cook County Probate Court, with more to come. These videotaped interviews have already been viewed all over Lake County and surrounding collar counties on community public TV stations. DVD’s can be had by contacting Bev Cooper at Bev.cooperscorner@yahoo.com.

Host Bev Cooper has dedicated these programs to those who are victims of Cook County Probate Court. Live broadcasts are aired in Highland Park on channel 19 Wednesday at 7:30 PM.

Source:
Northshore 'Live' - Cooper's Corner

See Also:
Probate Sharks.com

Note: Many of these shows have been uploaded to YouTube, and NASGA will be featuring them on this Blog!

Florida Caregiver Charged with Exploitation of the Elderly

A Sarasota Bay area man is locked up after he's accused of swindling nearly $600,000 from an elderly woman he was supposed to be taking care of. Detectives say among the things he spent her money on was a 2007 Lamborghini convertible.

97-year-old Depaulis "Anita" Seidel and 69-year-old Joseph "Pino" Cirillo were roommates in an upscale gated community in the Boca Royale Golf and Country Club, which is located in the Englewood area of Sarasota.

[D]ectives say several months before Seidel went into [a] nursing home, Cirillo started transferring money from her accounts into his Bank of America account. Money investigators say he used a portion of in July to buy an orange 2007 Lamborghini Gallardo 2-door convertible from Suncoast Motorsports. It cost $169,900.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office says due to Cirillo's unstable mental state and the amount moved from Seidel's account, Lutheran Services was granted emergency guardianship over Seidel.

The organization is working with an attorney to try to recover her money. But for now the sports car is parked in her garage and could be declared property of her estate.

Meanwhile, Cirillo has been charged with one count of Exploitation of the Elderly.

Full Article and Source:
Florida Caretaker Busted for Stealing Woman's Money to buy Lamborghini

The Struggle to Protect His Father and Guardianship Abuse

On August 24th, I will appear in the appeals court here in Nahville, TN to defend against a charge placed on me by a court in GA. The charge says I harassed my dad's estate before he died earlier this year, and seeks about 30K from me in fees charged to my dad by a father, son and daughter law firm. The story is one that I will spare you but has forever impacted my life and the lives of my wife and kids.

In 2006 I got chose to get directly involved in my dad's care. He was being neglected, financially exploited by a sibling, and physically abused by one he loved. My children, and some awesome care during the 3 months he stayed here with us brought his spirit back from a very sad place. During the time he was with us, he was loved every minute of every day, without exception. It was a blessed time, even though we realized the ALZ and Parkinson's already had a firm grip on his mind and body. The time dad spent with us was priceless, and one little girl in particular got under his skin in a big,awesome way!

In 2007 after I took him back home and he had a terrible accident because his needs were being ignored. As a result, I chose to go to GA and filed in the GA court to take legal responsibility for my dad's care, not his money, just the care of his person. As a result of that action, I was demonized, placed in jail, sued, lied about, lied to, stolen from, but worst of all, my children never saw my dad again, and he never met my now 2 year old son. By legal definition that is elder abuse, but no one or agency in that small community in south GA would lift a finger to intervene. No pastor, family friend, or social agency. My dad was told that something bad would happened to him if he spoke to any of us and that he had to follow the rules or he would be taken away from my mom. The Adult services agency said that my dad did want to see my children, but they were not going to do anything about it. I had things happen to me in that probate court that were beyond believable. A lawyer claiming to be my dad's friend submitted motions and received judgments for his motions on the same day he submitted them, calling me an abuser, asking the court to put me in jail, saying dad was not sick and did not need someone to care for him, etc. He helped himself and his two children attorneys to at least 85K of my dad's retirement with all his filings "defending" my dad's "estate" against me. I wanted not a penny of his money, just proof of excellent care and visits with my kids.

None of us ever saw my dad again, he died in January, placed in a facility we were not allowed to visit with a central feeding line inserted he did not want and his suffering was prolonged when there was no chance of recovery from a stroke leaving him unable to swallow. I offered the entire dollar amount of this judgment and to go to jail for 6 months if they would let us take care of him on our dime or use the money and let him die at home. It was rejected, as was our request to attend the funeral. It is my understanding he was taken from south Georgia to his final resting place in South Carolina in the back of a pickup truck to "save money." My dad was a veteran.....he deserved better (even if he was not a veteran he deserved better).

I spent 2 nights in jail here in Williamson County, TN on a "fugitive from justice warrant issued by the court in GA for failing to attend a hearing in GA I knew nothing about. That was thrown out and expunged, and then this lawsuit for money was sent up here, no coincidence by the father and son attorney team that did everything in their power to make sure a father, son and grandchildren never had a relationship in this lifetime.

I will probably lose this lawsuit not because it is fair or right or just, but because of how the law reads and how lawyers can manipulate the rules at times and ignore or not even follow them at others.

My dad is free now. He cannot be hurt anymore, and this stuff is not about his care or honoring his memory.

I struggle with this knowledge: People that have behaved badly in this maybe even evil) profess to know and serve the same God I say I belong to. I cannot reconcile that at this time, and I am sorry that my struggle with that causes my family and my friends a great deal of pain, especially my spousal unit. I have a lost a few friends over this, wanting me to get over it and get on with it. If my dad was able to take care of himself, I never would have stepped into this madness.

I struggle with the knowledge that I have witnessed such disregard for my dad's rights and my own, and that the abuse and exploitation of our older loved ones is more commonplace than I ever imagined it to be. I wanted to believe that if someone or some regulatory body higher up the food chain reviewed what was happening they would take necessary action. I was wrong.

Regards,
Izzy

Full Essay and Source:
NASGA- Dr. H. Boyd Israel

In the Matter of Glasser

IN RE MATTER OF GLASSER
IN THE MATTER OF LILLIAN GLASSER, a vulnerable adult.
IN THE MATTER OF LILLIAN GLASSER, an incapacitated person.
Nos. A-0500-08T3, A-0505-08T3, A-0509-08T3
Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Argued March 21, 2011.
Decided July 21, 2011.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These three appeals, which we have consolidated for purposes of this opinion, arise from disputes between Mark Glasser (Mark) and his sister, Suzanne Glasser Mathews (Suzanne), over the guardianship and finances of their mother, Lillian Glasser (Lillian).1 The underlying guardianship dispute spawned litigation in Texas and New Jersey. The New Jersey action entailed collateral disputes over the choice of a guardian of Lillian's person, Lillian's December 2002 will, and the right or obligation of assorted parties to either receive or pay counsel fees.

In broad outline, after a thirty-four day trial, Judge Alexander P. Waugh, Jr., then sitting as the Probate judge, determined that Suzanne exercised undue influence over Lillian in a variety of ways, including the preparation of a December 2002 will. He also found that Suzanne violated her fiduciary duty in exercising Lillian's power of attorney (POA). The judge found that while Mark primarily had his mother's best interests at heart, he also acted in ways that were disruptive to her medical care and otherwise counter-productive to her interests. The judge determined that Lillian was incapacitated, but that none of her family members should act as the guardian of her person. Instead, he appointed an attorney who, in the judge's view, could act independently and could adequately protect Lillian's interests in the face of competing, aggressive demands from her children and friends.

All parties agreed that a neutral financial institution should act as guardian of her property. Based on his view of the law and the equities, the judge determined that Suzanne should reimburse Lillian's estate for monies Suzanne took from the estate and spent on her own counsel fees in the New Jersey litigation, and for counsel fees Suzanne spent in creating a family limited partnership in Texas, which Suzanne controlled and into which she improperly transferred almost all of Lillian's assets; he denied Suzanne's application for counsel fees and costs for the Texas litigation and ordered her to reimburse her mother's estate for those expenses as well; he awarded some counsel fees to Mark for the litigation in Texas; and he awarded no counsel fees to Suzanne's children for their effort to involve themselves in the New Jersey litigation. He also removed Suzanne as Lillian's health care representative, except for participation in end-of-life decisions.

Notably, no party to this appeal challenges the judge's finding that Lillian is incapacitated and requires the appointment of a guardian of her person and a guardian of her property. The appeals largely concern money — i.e., disputes over counsel fees and Lillian's will — and the judge's choice of Lillian's guardian of the person and health care representative.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jeffrey M. Pollock argued the cause for appellant/cross-respondent Suzanne Glasser Mathews in A-0500-08 and as respondent in A-0505-08 and A-0509-08 (Fox Rothschild, L.L.P., attorneys; Mr. Pollock, of counsel and on the briefs; Abbey True Harris, on the briefs).
Thomas S. Harty argued the cause for respondent/cross-appellant Eric Smith in A-0500-08 and as respondent in A-0509-08 (Cozen O'Connor, attorneys; Mr. Harty, on the brief).
Jonathan I. Epstein argued the cause for respondent/cross-appellant Joseph J. Catanese in A-0500-08 and as respondent in A-0509-08 (Drinker Biddle & Reath, L.L.P., attorneys; Mr. Epstein and Kristine M. Dress, on the briefs).
Paul F. Cullum, III, argued the cause for respondents Alexandra Mathews, Benjamin Mathews and Roselyn Mathews in A-0500-08 and A-0505-08 and as appellants in A-0509-08 (LeClairRyan, attorneys; Mr. Cullum, on the brief).
Lawrence M. Rosa, Board Counsel, argued the cause for respondent Middlesex County Board of Social Services, Adult Protective Services Unit, in A-0500-08 (Mr. Rosa, on the statement in lieu of brief).
David B. Rubin argued the cause for appellant Mark Glasser in A-0505-08 and as respondent in A-0500-08 and A-0509-08.
Andrew J. DeMaio, argued the cause for respondent Morgan Stanley Trust, N.A. in A-0500-08, A-0505-08, and A-0509-08 (Neff Aguilar, L.L.C., attorneys; Mr. DeMaio, on the brief).
Before Judges Lisa, Reisner and Sabatino.

Source:
In RE Matter of Glasser

Sara Harvey on her Wedding Anniversary...

I did this for you today Gary.

I went to the court and protested to the Judge who gave you to the county.

Source:
Facebook: Rescue Gary Harvey

Two Convicted in Cruel “Practical Joke”

Two women convicted of coating patients at a California nursing home with ointment for a practical joke on colleagues have been sentenced to 20 days in jail.

Monica Rose Smith, 52, and Jennifer Louise Burton, 34, must also serve two years probation, The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat reported. They were convicted of misdemeanor elder abuse at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Home in Ukiah.

Three other employees at the nursing home have received non-custodial sentences for elder abuse or failure to report it. The state has revoked the California nursing assistant licenses for all five, the Mendocino County District Attorney's Office said.

Seven elderly patients were entirely covered with ointment, an action Gov. Jerry Brown, at the time state attorney general, described as "cruel and shocking."

Investigators said it was done so the next shift of employees would have to deal with slippery patients.

Full Article and Source:
Two Convicted for Coating Seniors in Ointment

Man Accused of Kidnapping Mother Arrested

A Great Falls man accused of kidnapping his elderly mother from an assisted-living facility was arrested while trying to secure legal guardianship of her in Lake Tahoe, Calif.

James Wainscoat, 70, was found in Lake Tahoe with his 92-year-old mother Troy Wainscoat and the woman's granddaughter, 18-year-old Ishayah Wainscoat.
James Wainscoat and Ishayah Wainscoat were both arrested. James Wainscoat has been charged with felony kidnapping and is held on a $100,000 bond in California, the Great Falls Police Department said. Ishayah Wainscoat was charged with accountability to kidnapping and was held on a $25,000 bail. She has since bonded out, police said.

Full Article and Source:
Great Falls Man Accused of Kidnapping Mother Arrested in California

Florida Lawmaker Criticizes Assisted-Living Facility Owners

Calling Florida’s lax oversight of assisted living facilities “deadly,” one of the state’s top lawmakers for social issues vowed this summer to pass sweeping reforms of an industry that has sometimes left frail elders and disabled people in filth and peril.

But as a state task force prepares to meet for the first time Monday to develop a blueprint for reform, some advocates for the elderly have suggested the effort may be derailed before it ever begins by a familiar foe: the power of industry groups and their ties to lawmakers and regulators.

“Reaching out to the industry and regulators alone is what put our state in the assisted living mess it is in today,” Brian Lee, a former state long-term-care ombudsman and current head of a Tallahassee-based advocacy group, wrote in a recent letter to a top state lawmaker. “It is due time for this industry to become more transparent and wholly accountable.”

The twin efforts followed a three-part series in The Miami Herald that showed state regulators repeatedly caught homes breaking the law — including sometimes deadly abuse and neglect of frail elders — but failed to shut down or even seriously punish the worst offenders. The newspaper found that administrators with the state Agency for Health Care Administration could have shut down 70 homes in 2008 and 2009 for such violations as abuse and neglect leading to death, but closed just seven homes.
In the days after the series ran, two state lawmakers — Republican Ronda Storms of Valrico, who chairs the Senate’s Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee, and Democrat Nan Rich of Weston,
who serves on the committee — vowed to seek meaningful reforms of the industry as part of a summer-long interim project in their Senate committee. “It’s offensive to basic human dignity and care for vulnerable populations,” Storms told The Herald. “There’s no question.”

But before Storms could hold a single hearing, Senate President Mike Haridopolos assigned the project instead to Republican Sen. Rene Garcia of Hialeah, a healthcare consultant with deep ties to the industry. His Senate district contains one of the largest concentrations of ALFs in the state, including several with woeful regulatory histories.

Full Article and Source:
Task Force to Seek Reform of ALF Facilities

FL Lawmakers Pushed to Slash State Oversight of Assisted Living Facilities

When Sedrek Singleton, a career criminal with a violent past, checked into Nueva Vida assisted living facility, caretakers at the cluster of cottages in Miami-Dade never took steps to protect other residents.

They never had to.

Months after moving in, the 30-year-old man flew into a rampage, beating his roommate to death with a brick — nearly tearing off the disabled man’s ear — before bolting from his new home.

The brutal assault came just weeks after Florida lawmakers rejected a bill that would have put the burden squarely on ALF owners to safeguard people in their homes when accepting residents with criminal histories.
But the defeat in 2008 to bring more protections to vulnerable residents was just the beginning.

Over the next three years, lawmakers rejected sweeping plans to toughen Florida’s ALF law — often at the urging of industry leaders — while stripping away enforcement powers that left hundreds of residents to fend for themselves in dangerous conditions.

While frail residents were dying of abuse and neglect in ALFs across the state — nearly one a month — lawmakers pushed three dozen pieces of legislation since 2007 to cut crucial protections that had been in place for a generation.

Full Article and Source:
Lawmakers Pushed to Slash State Oversight of Assisted Living Facilities

See Also:
Search Currently Active Assisted Living Facilities in Florida