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After a Decade of Litigation, Relief for NYC Adult Home Residents
Saturday, May 31, 2014
After a Decade of Litigation, Relief for NYC Adult Home Residents
Full Article & Source:
After a Decade of Litigation, Relief for NYC Adult Home Residents
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5 comments:
Virginia has similar litigation pending filed by Jonathan Martinis, Esquire.
The response from Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services Commissioner James Rothrock?
"I don't think auxiliary grant requires me to pay for housing." Yes, that's what he actually said to the Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board.
Hate to break it to you, Mr. Rothrock, but it's not about you. It's about the hundreds of innocent victims who are forced into these dangerous, filthy adult homes, subjected to rats, mice, bedbugs, malfunctioning heat, no medications, inadequate food,and on and on. All to save money and downsize the state psychiatric hospitals.
Your agency has gone so far off the edge that the usual excuses and cover-ups won't work any more, Mr. Rothrock.
Time to do your JOB, fix these appalling problems, or face litigation and, hopefully, some serious damages for your deliberate abuse and neglect of these residents.
That's apparently what it will take to change things. Sad, but true.
What I am finding in Richmond, VA is that the entire department of Health and Human Services, Department of Aging and Rehabilitation, Department of Health Professionals, and Human Rights Department needs some reform in how they handle things.
Commissioner Rothrock has refused to answer any of my emails after finding out that the owner of a facility has a personal history that would certainly raise questions as to his efficacy as a medical doctor and an owner of a rehabilitation and long term care facility. As a matter of fact, he recently elected the new neuropsychologist to his board on TBI. Recently this facility, along with a facility in Florida that was exposed several years ago in abuse/neglect, along with DARS funded a conference in Fredricksburg.
That doesn't surprise me, Anon #2. James Rothrock's agency, the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, continues its cover up of the involvement of its public guardianship programs, including Jewish Family Service of Tidewater and Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, in Scott Schuett's systematic abuse and neglect of 400 people in six facilities in the Hampton Roads area.
Two attorneys for DARS, Janet James and Amy Marschean, basically responded to these complaints of abuse and neglect by "shooting the messenger," maliciously slandering the person who made the complaints, rather than getting off their well-paid derrieres, leaving their air-conditioned offices, determining the truth, and helping the people they are paid to "protect."
According to these two still-licensed attorneys and officers of the court, complaints against Scott Schuett were "exaggerated," people who complained about Scott Schuett were "crazy," and when the awful truth finally came out, Scott Schuett was just a "local problem."
Meanwhile, 400 people continued to suffer for years with inadequate food, no medications, missing medications, or mis-administered medications, disgusting, filthy living conditions, missing clothing, including a man who had no shoes for two full years, bedbugs for three years in a row, no heat or malfunctioning heat two winters in a row, fights, violence, unstable mentally ill people viciously attacking the elderly including a 92 year old lady who died after a savage beating and an 88 year old lady with broken bones, etc., etc., etc.
What do these two attorneys get paid to do, exactly? They seem to be mindless cheerleaders for the public guardianship programs. Their cover ups are an obstacle to improving the lives of the elderly and disabled. Ms. James and Ms. Marschean (and Mr. Rothrock for that matter), if we can make the elderly and disabled more safe, more clean, more happy and secure by eliminating your job, why shouldn't we save money and save lives and do that?
Shameful.
Geez, I am just now getting back to this article and your postings Anonymous #1! This is totally unacceptable!
What about the Long Term Care Ombudsman or Department of Protection and Advocacy? Are their jobs not, also, to protect the elderly and disabled? Have they been called in to do anything about this atrocious situation with these agencies? What about the Governor who appoints many of these people in government offices?
It appears that they are all in bed with each other to leech off our tax dollars and sit around and do nothing. Where is our government? Where is the press in all of this? Certainly SOMEONE cares around here?
I was told that Commissioner Rothrock has a great interest in Brain Injury and yet, he has done nothing in regards to the abuse/neglect and further harm caused my brother and myself (and others at this facility). I had written to the former Governor and told him that the laws in Virginia are designed to protect the ones that are causing harm to our vulnerable citizens. The reply that I got was from another appointee by the former Governor who is in charge of ALL departments in the Health and Human Services, and nothing that he said addressed my concerns!
It is like beating your head against a dead door in Virginia! There seems to be no one at home!
Anonymous #2
Recently I received a notice from the guardian/attorney who is seeking on behalf of the medical doctor his legal fees which will cost in excess of 19,000 out of my severely disabled brain injury brother's estate for my filing with the Human Rights and Medical boards (no hearings and where thrown out by the guardian, so I am told)per the Commissioner and Long Term Care Ombudsman!
From what I am being told this is against the law and in retaliation and extortion/black mail by these parties! I have sent this to the Commissioner, Long Term Care Ombudsman, Human Rights and the Head of Licensing without a word back from any of these people!
Where is the accountability here? Why are these people being paid? This is government waste in our tax dollars funding these state agencies!
Anonymous #2
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