'The Dynamics of Elder Abuse'

The Chesterfield Council on Aging will present “Dynamics of Elder Abuse” from 9 to 10 a.m. on Thursday, May 24, at Lucy Corr Village, 700 Lucy Corr Blvd., Chesterfield.

Participants will look at the overall topic of elder abuse and elder financial abuse.
Bill Lightfoot of Lightfoot Consulting Associates will give an overview of elder abuse legislation on the state and national level. He is a retired police sergeant and has investigative experience in violent crimes, elder abuse and neglect and the abuse and neglect of incapacitated persons.

For reservations, or more information, call 768-7878

Source:
Elder Abuse Topic of Event

FL: VA Guardianship Under Fire

A judge berated Tallahassee lawyer Silas Eubanks for his handling of a Navy veteran's Department of Veterans Affairs guardianship.

The judge said the lawyer took fees from a veteran's income without court approval and threatened to find Eubanks in contempt.

What Eubanks did next angered the family of the disabled Navy veteran whose finances he handled: He got permission from the VA to end the guardianship overseen by the court, Eubanks confirmed. He would continue handling the man's VA income and would be paid, but with one important difference.

The VA, not the courts, would oversee his work.

Source:
VA Guardianship Under Fire

Talk Finances With Your Family

If adult children and their parents are supporting one another financially, how often are they discussing money worries? It turns out, though boomers are much more likely to report that they regularly discuss money matters with their family than they were in 2007 (50 percent vs. 39 percent), these conversations are only scratching the surface. In fact, four in 10 boomers (41 percent) admit they haven’t adequately discussed their current financial situation with their children and one-quarter (27 percent) say they rarely or never discuss retirement. If your family tends to put financial discussions on the back-burner, approaching them now among challenging economic times may be intimidating.

Full Article and Source:
Talk Finances With Your Family

Linda Kincaid Reports: Villa Fontana Under Investigation for Neglect and Elder Abuse

Department of Social Services (DSS) is investigating a myriad of neglect and elder abuse allegations at Villa Fontana.

The San Jose, CA residential care facility for the elderly openly acknowledged they have unlawfully isolated resident Gisela Riordan for over two years. “She doesn’t have the right to make decisions for herself,” said Jennifer Lan of Villa Fontana. Ms. Lan would not acknowledge that the Personal Rights, posted at left, apply to all residents.

Gisela has rarely been allowed visitors or phone calls since being placed at Villa Fontana in 2010. She has been allowed to see her son, Marcus Riordan, only three times in two years.

DSS is investigating the following complaints concerning Gisela’s care.
•Resident not allowed visitors
•Resident not allowed phone calls
•Resident lost substantial weight
•Resident may not receive adequate food
•Resident’s dentures are missing
•Resident’s eyeglasses need replaced
•Resident’s hearing aid needs calibrated
•Resident is denied access to hearing aid
•Resident has inadequate furniture in her bedroom (no chair or table)
•Resident has damaged furniture in her bedroom (dresser drawer broken)
•Resident has inadequate lighting in her bedroom
•Resident has no towels in her bathroom

On May 10, 2012 DSS visited Villa Fontana and began their investigation. Regulations require DSS respond to the complaints within ten days. Citations may or may not be issued, depending on cooperation from the facility.

Source:
Villa Fontana Under Investigation for Neglect and Elder Abuse

See Also:
Elder Abuse - Isolation by Public County Guardian in Santa Clara County, CA

NASGA - Gisela, California Victim

Prepare for the Financial Impact of Alzheimer's

In drawing up your financial plan for retirement, you may be setting aside money for new hobbies or extensive travel. But perhaps you also should prepare a financial contingency plan for Alzheimer's disease.

That may sound somewhat alarmist, but consider this: A decline in the ability to handle financial matters is one of the early signs of Alzheimer's. Seniors with mild symptoms -- forgetting to pay bills or struggling to balance a checkbook or calculate change -- are easy prey for fraudsters. And the cost of caring for someone with dementia can devastate even a healthy nest egg.

The risk of at least one spouse developing Alzheimer's disease is fairly significant, which makes creating a financial plan so important. According to the Alzheimer's Association, 13 percent of people 65 and older have Alzheimer's, and 43 percent of those 85 and older have the disease. Longer life expectancy among baby boomers will increase the prevalence of dementia.

As boomers age and the number of seniors grows, financial advisers and physicians are beginning to come to grips with the financial impact of dementia. AARP and the Financial Planning Association have released a guide for financial professionals on the special issues related to older clients. And in a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February 2011, researchers instructed physicians on recognizing signs of impaired financial capacity.

Full Article and Source:
Prepare for the Financial Impact of Alzheimer's

How to File a CMS Freedom of Information (FOIA) Request

Step 1 -In order to make a FOIA request, simply e-mail to: FOIA_Request@cms.hhs.gov or write to the CMS FOIA Office or the appropriate CMS Regional Office. The addresses and fax numbers for the CMS FOIA Office and the addresses, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses for the CMS Regional Offices are available at the "Where to File" link below.

Step 2 -For the quickest possible handling, please mark both your letter and the envelope "Freedom of Information Act Request." You should identify the records that you seek as specifically as possible in order to increase the likelihood that the CMS will be able to locate them. Any facts that you can furnish about the time, place, authors, events, subjects, and other details of the records will be helpful to us in deciding where to search for the records that you seek.

We have provided several sample FOIA request letters that you may want to use as a guide based on the type of information you are requesting from CMS.

Step 3 -Please note that if you are requesting medical records for someone other than yourself, you will need to complete a Medicare Authorization To Disclose Personal Health Information form along with your request. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorization form can be found in "Downloads" as Medicare Authorization To Disclose Personal Health Information. If the individual signing the valid authorization is not the beneficiary, then a Power of Attorney must be provided along with your request.

Step 4 -If you are requesting medical records for a deceased person, you must either A) include a copy of the document authenticating your authority as the executor, administrator, or other person authorized to act upon the behalf of the person for whom records are sought (such as probate court document, or orders of administration and/or executorship); or B) if you are not the executor of the estate, you must include a signed release authorization from the legal representative of the deceased, as well as the document authenticating the representative's authority (such as probate court document, or orders of administration and/or executorship).

Source:
ProbateAbuseManual: How to File a CMS FOIA Request

See Also:
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

A Proposal to Expose Judges' Unaccountability and Consequent Individual and Coordinated Wrongdoing

What you can do to expose wrongdoing judges during a presidential campaign, when they are most vulnerable to the people, journalists, and politicians,and launch a process of judicial accountability and discipline reform that is forced forward by an academic and business venture so as to increase the chances that you and the rest of We the People, the source of government by the rule of law and of, by, and for us, obtain from public servant judges what is our right Equal Justice Under Law.

By Dr. Richard Cordero, Esq.
Ph.D., University of Cambridge, England
M.B.A., University of Michigan Business School
D.E.A., La Sorbonne, Paris

Read the Proposal

Linda Kincaid Reports: Elder Abuse at UCLA

Note: A video can be seen by clicking the source link below. View discretion is advised.

The video shows an elderly patient at UCLA. Her thighs and buttocks were covered with sores and stool. A visitor asked the nurse if the patient was clean.

Visitor: “Her underwear does not need to be changed?”

Nurse: “No, she’s clean.”

Visitor: “Okay.”

Nurse: “I don’t put on a diaper, because it make a rash.”

Visitor: “I didn’t hear.”

Nurse: “I didn’t put a diaper–“

Visitor: “Oh. Okay.”

Nurse: “—Because when I saw her when I cleaned her this morning…”

Visitor: “Yeah?”

Nurse: “…it’s too red. So we put cream on her, we put powder and antibiotic on her. No diaper.”

Visitor: “I see.”

Nurse: “So I put the chux on it. The paper. She don’t need it. She had one time only poopoo.”

Visitor: “Oh.”

Nurse: “So now she’s clean.”

Visitor: “Ok, thank you.”

Nurse: “So. Better to leave it like that. Not get rash.”

Twice, the nurse insisted the patient was clean. Video taken moments later documented raw inflamed skin. Stool was left on the inflamed area, leading to further irritation of the skin.

“They hadn’t cleaned her for five hours before the video”, said the visitor.

No soiled bedding was removed. No soiled wipes were in the waste can.

Neglect of the patient meets the definition of elder abuse. California Welfare and Institutions Code Section 15610.07 defines elder abuse:

"Abuse of an elder or a dependent adult" means either of the following:

(a) Physical abuse, neglect … or other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or mental suffering.

The patient is a conservatee in Los Angeles County, CA. A professional conservator is responsible for her care.

Source:
Elder Abuse at UCLA: Patient Covered with Sores and Stool

Son of Former Judge Accused of Financial Exploitation of Grandmother's Estate

A Louisiana man faces a felony charge after authorities said he illegally diverted money from his deceased grandmother's estate for personal use.

William Ray Vance Jr., 49, has been charged with misapplication of fiduciary property of an amount between $20,000 and $100,000. That is a third-degree felony punishable by between two and 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Vance is the son of former judge Bill Vance, who served on the 10th Court of Appeals in Waco from 1991 to 2008. The elder Vance has also been Brazos County judge and worked as an assistant district attorney.

Court records show that William Vance Jr. was indicted by a Brazos County grand jury on April 26. He turned himself in to the Brazos County Sheriff's Office on Monday, but posted $15,000 bail within an hour and was released.

His indictment alleges that he took money from the estate of Florene K. Grace through a scheme that lasted from February 2007 to February 2009. Details about how much money he allegedly took or how he used it were not included in the indictment, other than that it was "in a manner that involved substantial risk of loss of the property."

But court documents indicate that Vance has been involved in a legal dispute with his mother, Carolyn Vance, for years. Carolyn Vance filed suit against her son in 2009, alleging that she owned 66 percent of a radio station in Nacogdoches that he operated. She said in the suit that her son failed to notify her that he received $725,000 from a "facilities modification agreement" for the radio station.

The suit also says that a disagreement arose between Vance and his mother over the ownership of the family's radio company and complains that he was improperly named the executor of his grandmother's will, of which Carolyn Vance was the sole beneficiary.

Full Article and Source:
Son of Former County Judge Allegedly Abused Grandmother's Estate

Jackson Co. MO Tackles Growing Probate Case Load

Jackson County has seen an increase in the number of its probate cases and expects the caseload to grow as baby boomers age.

The Probate Division of the Jackson County Circuit Court says in 2011, 3,608 probate cases were filed at the court. The court says 325 of those cases involved adult guardianship and conservatorship, a 37% increase over 10 years ago.

The court expects the numbers of cases to continue increasing, because the U.S. Census Bureau says the number of people aged 65 or older in Missouri is expected to increase by 72% in the next 20 years. The division also handles guardianships of minors and those cases have also gone up.

The division on Friday [dedicated on 5/5] a new $225,000 courtroom to accommodate the growing caseload.

Source:
Jackson County Tackles Growing Probate Caseload

Witherspoon Conservatorship Proceedings Being Held in Judge Randy Kennedy's Courtroom

Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon and her parents appeared in a Davidson County courtroom Friday for an emergency hearing on whether her father should be placed in a conservatorship.

But the outcome remains unknown. At the request of the family, Davidson County Seventh Circuit Court Judge Randy Kennedy, who handles conservator cases and rules on mental competency, closed the proceedings to the public and sealed the court record.

The hearing came the same week Betty Witherspoon filed a lawsuit saying that her husband, John D. Witherspoon, had married another woman even though they are still married.

In the lawsuit, Betty Witherspoon said her husband suffers from early-onset dementia and has problems with alcohol, hoarding and overspending. She is seeking to have that new marriage annulled.

Andra Hedrick, an attorney for the family, told the judge that the conservatorship case dealt with personal details about Betty Witherspoon’s marriage and finances.

Full Article and Source:
Reese Witherspoon, Family Go to Court, Proceedings Closed

Retired Superior Court Judge Censured by State Board

Clark County Superior Court Judge Edwin Poyfair, who retired this week, was censured by a state judicial board — a discipline that the judge says forced him to leave office early.

In a statement outlining the sanction, the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct said Poyfair, 68, violated judicial canons in his handling of two parental custody cases last year. The sanction, which is the strictest punishment short of seeking suspension or removal of a judge, was imposed at a public meeting Friday.

Poyfair, who left office April 30 and has moved to Arizona, did not attend the hearing. He was aware of the board’s investigation for the past year and a half.

He said he initially agreed with the judicial board’s charges but then notified board members last month that he was retracting his stipulation because of his retirement. He said the board went ahead with the discipline, anyway.

Another Superior Court judge, John Wulle, is currently charged with conduct violations relating to his courtroom demeanor in four hearings. He has a hearing June 18 before the commission to determine whether he should be disciplined.

Full Article and Source:
Retired Superior Court Judge Censured by State Board

Former AZ Attorney Grant Goodman Disbarred for Two Years

An Arizona attorney has been suspended from practicing law after an investigation by the State Bar.

During the investigation, the three-member panel, led by the Acting Presiding Disciplinary Judge of the Supreme Court of Arizona, found that Grant Goodman exploited protected individuals, knowingly made false statements to the court, opposed counsel and failed to respond to the State Bar's request for information.

Prior to the disciplinary hearing, Goodman was placed on an interim suspension on July 21, 2011, at the request of the disciplinary judge.

The State Bar ruled this week to suspend Goodman for two years, retroactive to July 2011.

Both Goodman and the State Bar can appeal the panel's decision.

Source:
AZ Attorney Suspended for Alleged Misconduct

See Also:
Former AZ Attorney Grant Goodman Loses Case

Bill Targets Senior Financial Fraud

As the nation [observes] Elder Abuse Awareness Month in May, Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) has introduced legislation to help protect vulnerable seniors from financial scams. The Senior Financial Empowerment Act of 2012 (H.R. 4846) will help stop abusive mail, telemarketing and Internet fraud targeting seniors.

"I became aware of the seriousness and scope of fraud targeting seniors when I helped my own grandmother in her later years," said Congresswoman Baldwin. "These crimes can have severe financial and emotional consequences for older Americans and their families. My bill will educate the public, seniors, their families, and their caregivers on how to identify and combat fraudulent activity," Congresswoman Baldwin said.

Although it is difficult to estimate the prevalence of fraud targeting seniors due to severe under-reporting, millions of senior Americans have fallen victim to financial exploitation, including mail, telemarketing and Internet fraud.

Full Article and Source:
Bill Targets Senior Financial Fraud

See Also:

The author is a Florida detective recognized as an expert investigator of exploitation crimes who presents 11 shocking and factual investigations. He dispels the myths of this misunderstood crime while providing specific and practical prevention advice....

How to recognize exploitation, expose exploiters and help them to incriminate them-selves....

Purchase the book

U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Ponders Future of Long Term Care

On April 18, Senator Herb Kohl Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Commmittee on Aging convened a hearing to consider how best provide and finance long-term care services and supports (LTSS) for millions of Americans. In his opening remarks, Sen. Kohl recited sobering statistics: current cost for LTSS is more than $300 billion a year and Medicaid alone projects $1.9 trillion in costs over the next 10 years with an annual average increase increase of 6.6%. He noted that America is going to have to do more with less: finding more efficient ways to provide care because (Federal and state) money will not be there.

Two themes emerged from the testimony given by a distinguished panel of experts: innovation is critical to expanding the capacity and efficacy of the LTSS infrastructure, yet encumbered by the Medicaid program's exclusive reliance on skilled nursing care (by design), and secondly, stakeholders are uncertain as to how to encourage Americans to take responsibility for funding their future long term care needs.

Full Article and Source:
U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Ponders Future of Long Term Care

Delores DeGrandis Bedin Foundation for Patient and Elderly Rights

Emeric J. Bedin,October 18, 1920 - April 22, 1998

"Our Hero - The Great Fighter for America, Liberty and Freedom" 14th anniversary:
You are not alone now. Your beloved devoted wife, Dolores, took up the same fight of cancer and fought the good fight in the example you gave all of us. Emeric did not back down with doctors predictions that he had weeks to live. He lived 2 and 1/2 years beyond the statistics. He said: "Never give up. Fight for what is right. Know that moment before you go to sleep at night and your eyes are closed review what you did during the day and if you treated everyone right."

Emeric was willing to lay his life down landing in Normandy during WWII for our great country to preserve Freedom, Liberty and Justice and all to be treated equally. When he had 100 Nazi's chasing him he outran them. What has happened 67 yrs later? How did this spirit get lost by those who are to heal us? His widow was forced to fight for her civil rights when she asked questions to a leading Chicago hospital why she did not get results from a CT Scan taken 5 months earlier that she had a mass in her pancreas. The last year of her existence, she was obliged to fight two battles at the same time; not only her cancer, but the dysfunctional medical system that did not allow her any questioning about the crucial mistake.

For that, she was put at risk to be taken away from the loving care and dedication of her daughter. Hospital administrators bullying her that a Public Guardian would be assigned. A paradox that is a call to conscience to those dismissing the elderly and labeling them as incompetent when they aren't, taking their rights away. Emeric fought to keep Liberty with no self interest or bottom line profit. Our hero gallantly reached down and greeted his bride, Dolores, escorting her up the stairway to Heaven.

They fought the good fight, they finished the race, they kept the faith honoring them by asking how we treat the elderly and terminally ill with rights and dignity? And as Theodore Roosevelt said: "It is not the critic that counts. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marked by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasm and great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

We miss you Dad and hold Mom tight in your arms - she fought hard. We honor that young soldier in Normandy who would be furious knowing 67 years later how his widow was treated by hospital administrators trying to take her freedom and rights away. By the Delores DeGrandis Bedin Foundation for patient and elderly rights. "The elderly are people too." For help or to report abuse call 646-262-6200.

Source:
In Memoriam

See Also:
NASGA: Delores Bedin, Illinois Victim

How Boomers' Generosity Hurts Their Retirement

As young adults struggle to find their footing in this economy, often turning to their parents for help, many baby boomer parents find themselves trapped between their own financial security and that of their children. A new survey from Ameriprise Financial found that over half of boomers have allowed their grown children to move back home with them rent-free, despite the fact that their own financial stability has deteriorated over the last five years.

The survey reveals that many baby boomer parents are feeling simultaneous pressure to help their aging parents and struggling children, and shore up their own savings and investments as retirement approaches. Many of them are also unable to work as long as they planned, which further hurts them financially, says Suzanna de Baca, vice president of wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial. "Boomers are feeling significantly less confident that they can maintain their lifestyle and retire on time," she says.

Full Article and Source:
How Boomers Generosity Hurts Their Retirement