U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren have requested additional information from UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
as part of an investigation into allegations that the health insurer,
in a bid to cut expenses, secretly paid incentives to nursing homes.
In
August, Wyden and Warren, members of the Senate Finance Committee,
launched the inquiry after The Guardian reported that the company paid
thousands of dollars in bonuses to nursing homes to reduce hospital
transfers of sick residents, putting their health at risk.
In a letter to UnitedHealth's (UNH)
new CEO Stephen Hemsley on Wednesday, the Senators noted that,
according to new reporting from the publication on Dec. 17, at least
three nursing home residents had died as the Minnesota-based managed
care giant denied or delayed them care.
Arguing
that the company's responses to their prior inquiries were inadequate
and citing the new allegations, the duo gave Hemsley until Jan. 28 to
provide further details on the matters they previously raised.
“As
new reporting alleges shocking harms resulting from the policies in
question, we expect you to meet the urgency of our inquiry,” the
Senators wrote.
A recent investigation found many nursing homes spend less
than $10 per day on food per resident, raising concerns about
malnutrition and food quality.
There has been an increase in food-related sanctions, dietary complaints, and disease outbreaks in nursing homes.
Residents report unappetizing food and inadequate portion sizes, highlighting a lack of accommodation for dietary needs.
Nutrition plays an essential role in the healthy aging. The American Medical Association (AMA)
reports that healthy eating reduces mortality by 20 percent. Adequate
nutrition is of particular importance for older adults with complex
medical needs who reside in long-term care facilities.
Yet, a recent journalistic investigation
has identified problems with food in nursing homes across the United
States. The report raises concerns that many long-term care residents
are at risk of malnutrition, foodborne illness, and neglect that
manifests as limited access to quality food options.
Many nursing homes — acquired by private equity firms in the wake of
the pandemic — cut food costs, with more than a quarter of nursing home
operators spending less than $10 per day on food per resident and some
spending as low as $4 a day, according to the report published by
NewJersey.com.
Long-term care facility operators may be cutting
food costs because there is no federal minimum standard for food
spending per resident. Operators may see food as a less-regulated area
to reduce spending.
Nursing Homes
Many people rely on nursing homes for 24-hour care, as these facilities provide housing, medical assistance, and meals. The Kaiser Family Foundation (KKF) reports that over 1.2 million individuals reside in nursing homes in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the 15,300 nursing homes in the U.S., 70 percent were for-profit in 2020.
Nursing
homes are expensive, with costs representing a significant financial
responsibility for individuals and their families. In 2024, the national median cost
of a private room in a nursing home ranged from $9,733 ($320 a day) to
$10,645 per month. While Medicaid covers the cost of a
Medicaid-certified nursing home care for individuals who qualify based
on need, these individuals often reside in lower-quality nursing homes,
per research published by the National Library of Medicine.
People
residing in nursing homes constitute a vulnerable population with
complex medical needs that make independent living more challenging.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, almost half — 48 percent — of nursing home residents have Alzheimer’s or related dementias.
Given
the vulnerability of those in nursing homes and the high cost of
long-term care, it is surprising and heartbreaking that food insecurity
is a real concern in nursing homes across the country.
Highlights From the Investigation
Reporters reviewed thousands of federal cost reports filed with the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They worked with Rutgers
University academics and data experts to identify several troubling
findings in addition to low food-spending in nursing homes:
Writeups for food-related sanctions tripled from 2021 to 2024.
Dietary complaints to ombudsman offices increased by more than 50 percent from 2020 to 2023.
Disease outbreaks, such as E. coli, listeria, and salmonella, are
on the rise in nursing homes nationwide. This is worrisome as foodborne
illnesses can be especially harmful to older adults
Residents interviewed commonly complained that the food was
unappetizing — even when it met nutritional standards. One resident
commented that the food in prison tasted better. Another resident
stocked up on canned goods in his room.
Food access was another concern the investigation highlighted, with
facilities offering small portions — such as a single ravioli or a
rationed cup of milk. This is particularly troubling as individuals who
live in nursing homes already face a greater risk of malnutrition and
dehydration.
The investigation also found a pattern of facilities
not accommodating residents’ needs, such as failing to provide soft
food for those without teeth and not providing bananas to a woman who
needed more potassium per her doctor’s orders.
The report
suggests that many nursing homes have significant room to improve in how
they feed residents. For those navigating long-term care options, these
findings are concerning. Older adults considering long-term care and
their families may wish to consider how much a nursing home spends per
resident on food, whether fresh fruits and vegetables are available, and
how the facility accommodates dietary needs and restrictions.
Work With an Elder Law Attorney
If you have concerns about a loved one in a nursing facility, be sure
to reach out to a local elder law attorney or the long-term care
ombudsman in your state.
An elder law attorney can assist
long-term care residents by advocating for their rights and helping to
ensure they receive quality care. They can address issues such as
substandard treatment, lack of access to food, and financial
exploitation. Attorneys also can help navigate complex regulations,
resolve disputes with the facility, and ensure compliance with care
plans. If abuse or neglect is suspected, they can file complaints and
pursue legal action to protect the resident.
IndyStar investigation reveals billions diverted from Indiana nursing homes
State inspection report, Aperion Care Arbors Michigan City, May 20, 2019.
Just
what is essential and exclusive local journalism, you ask? IndyStar
investigative reporter Tony Cook has been delivering it for years.
Cook's latest reporting is a continuation of a 2020 investigation into Indiana county hospitals diverting Medicaid funds meant for the nursing homes they operate.
That scheme has allowed the hospitals to to pad their bottom lines and
pay for construction and other projects unrelated to nursing home care
at a time when nursing home staffing in Indiana is among the worst in
the nation.
A companion piece
published Thursday shows that despite efforts to slash federal spending
in President Donald Trump's second term, there's little appetite so far to address this scheme that's impacting the care of Indiana's most vulnerable residents.
Cook's
dogged reporting is emblematic of IndyStar's commitment to watchdog and
accountability journalism. Our investigative and expanded government
accountability teams have worked independently and in collaboration to
bring readers revelatory reporting about how decisions by Indiana's most
powerful organizations impact our daily lives.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Fayette County family is waiting for answers
after their home health aide was caught on camera snooping through their
things.
That aide is under investigation by her employer, Caring
Mission Home Care, after videos show her with a flashlight apparently
going through the family's things while she was supposed to be caring
for her hospice patient.
"It went on for hours," said Terry
Christopher, the patient's daughter. "She would pace around the kitchen
looking at different things in my home. And then she started going
through my cabinets, my drawers."
Christopher said her father,
Roger Porter, was approved by the VA for 40 hours a week of home health
care after going to hospice. That is when the family hired the home
health aide, who started on July 29, to care for her father overnight.
KDKA-TV blurred her face and has chosen not to release her identity as charges have yet to be filed.
"When she got here initially, I told her I have a camera,"
Christopher said. "They record all the time. There's one right here in
the kitchen, which I showed her, and then I showed her the one in his
room also."
While Christopher and Porter were sleeping, she said
her cameras caught the aide going through their things on her first
night on the job.
"In the video, you can hear a knock something
over and then she looks to see if she woke him up. And she did not. So,
she continued to search," Christopher said.
The family said they feel violated and believe the aide should no longer have a job in home health.
"I don't want anyone else to have to go through this," Christopher
said. "I don't want anyone to have to feel violated like I feel."
Caring Mission Home Care released a statement and said it has seen the videos and is concerned about the circumstances.
"Caring
Mission Home Care is currently investigating the incident. It's a
personnel issue and we cannot discuss that publicly at this time," the
statement said, in part.
The department found Missouri puts adults with mental disabilities in
nursing homes who do not require that care, violating the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
After an 18-month investigation,
the U.S. Department of Justice has determined the state of Missouri is
violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by unnecessarily
institutionalizing adults with mental health disabilities in nursing
homes.
The department said in its Tuesday report that Missouri is failing to provide community-based services for these people.
Supportive
community-based services include assertive community treatment, case
management, supported employment, mobile crisis response, crisis
stabilization services, permanent supportive housing, peer support and
supported decision-making, according to the report.
The Justice Department alleges Missouri is violating Title II of the ADA.
“People with mental health disabilities should not have to be
confined to a nursing facility because they cannot access the
community-based services they need," Kristin Clarke, the assistant
attorney general of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said
in a news release.
Nearly half of these people unnecessarily placed in nursing facilities are under the age of 65, the investigation found.
"Most
require little or no assistance with basic physical activities and
simply don't need skilled nursing care," Clarke said in a video posted
to the Department of Justice's website.
Julie Schupp is the
founder and CEO of Boone Supported Living, which helps people with
mental health disabilities find community-integrated living
accommodations.
Schupp said some of her organization's work includes getting people out of nursing homes.
"That's
one of the most fun things about my job is getting people out of the
nursing homes that don't need to be there," Schupp said.
She said her organization receives 40% of its funding from the state
and the other 60% from Medicaid, making it fully publicly funded —
though it is independently operated.
Schupp said Boone Supported
Living's biggest budget constraint is finding and paying employees. She
said it's not only hard to find workers, but it's also hard work once
they're hired.
"What we do is people's lives are in your hands,"
Schupp said. "This is a big job. You have to be a nurse, you have to be a
taxi driver, you have to be a social worker. You have to have all these
skills, and we have trouble staying above the curve."
Schupp said living conditions for people with mental health
disabilities have improved drastically from decades ago, including in
nursing homes.
Mathew Gass is the president of the Central Region of Burrell Health.
He said his organization has grown in staffing by 30%, but that still isn’t enough.
"I
think individuals that are working in the mental health field or
organizations that are hiring people to grow their mental health work
force would also say a skilled workforce, the number of people that are
going to college to study the mental health field — none of that has
caught up with the increase in demand organizations like us have seen
since the pandemic," Gass said.
KOMU 8 reached out to the Missouri
Department of Mental Health regarding the Justice Department's report.
It said it is currently reviewing the report.
As part of its
report, the Justice Department encouraged anyone with relevant
information to the matter to leave a voicemail at 833-610-1242 or email Community.Missouri@usdoj.gov.
$614,000 accident settlement has run out, family seeks resources for 24-hour care
A star high school athlete who moved to Florida from Haiti suffered a
major head injury in an accident more than a decade ago. He ended up in
guardianship and received a substantial financial settlement. But now
his money has now run out, his guardian was removed from his case, and
he faces an uncertain future.
by:
Adam Walser
NAPLES, Fla. — Our ongoing series “The Price of Protection”
usually focuses on how professional guardianship impacts vulnerable
seniors, but the I-Team has learned how guardianship can affect people
of all ages.
A star high school athlete who moved to Florida from Haiti suffered a major head injury in an accident more than a decade ago.
He ended up in guardianship and received a substantial financial settlement.
But now his money has now run out, his guardian was removed from his case, and he faces an uncertain future.
From star athlete to brain injury patient
34-year-old Wilkins Vilcin is the youngest resident of his assisted living facility in the Golden Gate community.
He wears diapers and needs help dressing, bathing, and completing daily tasks.
“He needs 24-hour care... an eye on him,” said his sister Fabiola Vilcin Borgelin.
Photo collages on his wall show better days, when Wilkins was a
stand-out athlete at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples.
“Run
track, play football, run cross country,” Wilkins said, struggling to
find words to describe his participation in high school sports.
Wilkins,
his father, his brother, and three sisters moved from Haiti in the
early 2000s and were granted temporary protected status, which provided a
pathway for citizenship.
“He went to states for the track 4x4. He was on the football team. He was on the soccer team,” said Brian Ullrich.
Brian, now a nurse in California, is Wilkins’ former teammate who has kept in touch with him over the years.
Brian is the only classmate Wilkins remembers since suffering a traumatic brain injury.
Brian Ullrich
“It was our homecoming dance, 2010. He was a senior,” Brian said.
“There was a flip at the dance that he had done and got over-rotated and
landed on the back of his head.”
“He was just having a fun night, and out of nowhere, it changed his life,” Fabiola said.
Wilkins was rushed to the hospital, where he spent weeks in intensive care and months in recovery.
“Eventually,
he's starting rehab in the hospital. He can walk again. He can sit up
in the chair. We threw a birthday party for him,” Brian said.
He said it was one of the most tragic things he remembers as a teenager.
“It was just unbelievable. You don't know, you know, until you have
someone you know go through something like that,” Brian said.
Guardian appointed to manage funds and care
Wilkins was declared incapacitated in 2011, and Kathy Johnson was
appointed as his professional guardian, overseeing his care and managing
his money.
That included $614,000 from legal settlements related to the accident.
Fabiola says Johnson rarely communicated and didn’t call when he had COVID or was hospitalized for a seizure.
Under the state’s guardianship law, the guardian is not required to provide that type of information to wards’ family members.
“I’ve never met her. I've never seen her. Every time when I ask to see her, there’s always an excuse,” Fabiola said.
Johnson also moved Wilkins between facilities without telling them.
That is also allowed in Florida, although guardians are required to notify the court when they move a ward under state law.
“We just go see Wilkins, and he’s not there,” Fabiola said.
WFTS
Brian had the same experience last Thanksgiving.
“Wilkins was moved. We can’t tell you where he’s at because you’re not the legal guardian,” Brian said.
Brian tracked down the guardian, and she told him Wilkins only had $4,000 left.
“He’s going to end up on the street”
“That’s kind of barely going to get us through December. We really
need to figure something out, you know, because he can't see stay in the
house anymore. We're going to get evicted,” Brian said Johnson told
him.
“She told me his money runs out. That if he has nowhere to go, he’s going to end up on the street,” Fabiola said.
“Are we looking at going back to Haiti and in a time where we've got
massive issues going on with gang warfare and all this stuff?” Brian
said.
In August 2022, more than a decade into the guardianship,
Johnson asked the court to move Wilkins’ remaining $158,900 into a
pooled trust, telling the judge that would enable her to try to qualify
him for government benefits.
But Johnson never managed to get Wilkins a Green Card, which would allow him to qualify for certain benefits.
16
months later, Johnson petitioned the court to resign, saying Wilkins no
longer had any money and she feared she would be held liable for his
expenses.
Guardian removed from cases
In late February, Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Krier, who appointed Johnson, removed her from all her Collier County cases.
That followed a scathing audit alleging missing money, lost records, and hacked bank accounts.
“At best, this is mismanagement. At worst, it’s something more,” Krier said at the time.
We questioned Johnson about those cases at the hearing, but she declined to comment.
Records show Johnson billed Wilkins $48,000 for her services during Wilkins’ guardianship.
That included a bill for $500 the month before she told his sister he was running out of money.
Currently, there is no money to pay for Wilkins’ care.
“It’s almost $4,000 just to stay here,” Fabiola said.
A
new emergency temporary guardian appointed in February is contacting
state and federal authorities, trying to get Wilkins a Green Card so he
can qualify for health insurance and other benefits.
The family says Johnson took his birth certificate and other documents and never gave them back.
“We're trying to take him back. So that’s the plan... for us to take him back,” Fabiola said.
Brian, his family and Wilkins’ classmates are also helping out.
Emergency fund established
They have worked with a volunteer attorney to set up the Wilkins Vilcin Special Needs Trust.
Donations
are being coordinated by Wilkins’ former school... they can be mailed
to St. John Neumann High School, 3500 53rd ST SW, Naples, FL 34116.
For more information about the trust, you can email the organizers at vilcintrust@gmail.com
Wilkins
doesn’t understand what’s going on, but his friends and family see a
broken system that failed to protect one of the most vulnerable people
in its care.
“I can certainly work. I can certainly come up with some money to
help him a little bit along. But this is this is the tiniest of
Band-Aids on such a massive problem,” Brian said.
We contacted Kathy Johnson and her attorney for this story, but we have not heard back.
The most recent court filing in Wilkins’ case indicates the Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating.
John Amos pointed the finger at his daughter, Shannon, after she launched a now-defunct GoFundMe with a $500,000 goal, claiming her famous father was "the victim of elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation," RadarOnline.com has learned.
The Good Times actor's son K.C. Amos took to Instagram with a video update on Thursday, explaining "there are many different aspects to this situation."
"It's interesting how many people have made a conclusion while we are
still discovering new elements every single day," his caption read.
Amos, 83, was seen on the phone with someone ready to offer legal advice
as he remained hospitalized in Memphis with K.C. at his bedside.
"I'm not in the hospital as a result of anything that happened recently,
other than the fact that about a month ago, I was hospitalized because I
was suffering from water retention and a couple of other issues — all of which have been corrected, or at least addressed," the Coming to America star clarified during his call.
"I'm very capable and I'm very confident in the doctors that I have here
and the medical staff that my son has assembled all around me. So I
feel very good about that," he continued. "Prior to entering the
hospital, I had some ongoing issues with my daughter, who I feel has
taken advantage of me."
Actor tells People he wants GoFundMe campaign to end
John Amos in New York on May 17, 2016.Photo by Getty /Bang Showbiz
John Amos insists he’s “doing well” following claims that he’s been victim to “elder abuse.”
The 83-year-old actor’s daughter, Shannon Amos, recently filed a
complaint with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation that her dad was
allegedly being abused — but the ‘Good Times’ star has now insisted that
he’s actually doing fine.
He said in a statement given to People magazine: “To all of my fans, I
want you to know that I am doing well. I am not in ICU, nor was I ever
fighting for my life.
“First, I want the GoFundMe
campaign about me to stop immediately and the funds subsequently
returned to those who made donations. My son and I will reveal more
information at the appropriate time.”
By contrast, Shannon took to social media last week to reveal that she’d received a distressing call from her dad.
She
wrote on Instagram at the time: “On May 14th, I would receive a
distressing call: from my dad, sharing that he was hospitalized in
Memphis, Tennessee, in immense pain. Despite being out of the country, I
arranged for help to reach him. ICU revealed his life hanging by a
thread. (sic)”
Shannon claimed that her dad — who also
starred in the TV mini-series ‘Roots’ — was the victim of “elder abuse
and financial exploitation.”
She wrote: “The past two weeks shattered our world. My dad, a victim
of elder abuse and financial exploitation. We are collaborating with the
Colorado Bureau of Investigations and local authorities, determined to
bring the perpetrators to justice. Legal assistance is crucial to ensure
their prosecution and protect my father’s future. His home, stripped
bare, necessitates a safe space for his return.”
Shannon subsequently created a GoFundMe campaign, asking fans to help fund “legal, medical, future housing, and care expense”.
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. (WLS) -- A Lincolnshire nursing home is facing violations for an incident caught on camera, and numerous complaints.
Family
members said the fall that was caught on camera shouldn't have
happened. The Wellshire Warren Barr nursing home Is now under new
management, but that change may have caused another set of problems.
In the video, an 87-year-old resident falls face-first to the ground.
"It kills me inside because you don't want to see your family member go through this," said Andrea Contreras.
Contreras
said she was called to Wellshire Warren Barr nursing home after her
mother, Marilyn Glass, fell out of her wheelchair in April of 2022.
"There was no foot petals on my
mother's wheelchair. They actually pulled the wheelchair from the front
and jerked enough, where she just went flying forward and landed on her
face," Contreras said.
When
Contreras arrived, she said she was told a doctor had not yet seen her
mother. So she asked employees to call 911 and she called the police.
"It's
horrible that should never happen to any family members of yours ever
or anybody that you know. You expect people to take care of your
family," she said.
Lincolnshire
police made a report and obtained the video of Glass's fall. The
Illinois Department of Public Health investigated and found the facility
"failed to ensure a wheelbound resident was transported in a safe
manner."
Glass's care plan states she is at
high risk for falls and is "to have leg rests on at all times during
transport," and while she is "in her wheelchair, to make sure her
footrests are on for safety."
IDPH found Wellshire in violation of Improper Nursing Care and Resident Injury, and fined them $1,100.
The
ABC7 I-Team contacted the nursing home, which recently changed
ownership. The new owners declined to comment. The previous owners, who
were in charge during Glass's fall, did not reply to the I-Team's
request for comment.
As the
nursing home changed ownership on May 1, there was also a scare for
patients' family members. Families of residents called police and state
officials saying there was not enough medical staff onsite to care for
patients
"They were calling 911 just to get their parents out because they needed care," said Ceil Barrie.
"You
have a responsibility, licensed by the state, to provide care, and you
didn't do it," said David Blair, who had his mother moved from the
nursing home.
Under the Freedom
of Information Act, the I-Team obtained the IDPH investigation reporting
the day of staff absence at the facility, which is now called Wealshire
Center of Excellence.
While the
incident is "still under review," the report states that for the 108
residents there was no medical director on staff, there were no licensed
nurses in the building from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., multiple residents were
taken to the hospital or home by family, due to lack of care patients
did not receive their morning medications and due to lack of staff
patients did not get out of bed.
A
spokesperson for the new owners sent a statement, saying, "The
Wealshire in Lincolnshire has been under new management and is
cooperating with the Illinois Department of Public Health's review. The
facility is fully staffed and meets all state requirements for care."
Contreras said she's upset over the absence of sufficient staff during the transition, and about her mother's wheelchair fall.
"I have to be strong for her. She can't do that, and she would want me to do the right thing for her and for others," she said.
Contreras
said her mother is still in the same nursing home facility, but she is
looking at options to possibly move her. However, there are challenges
with finding her mother a new home because she lives out of state.
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN)
— The nursing home where the late Penny Boddie lived had been fined and
cited by the government numerous times prior to her going missing.
2 NEWS received a statement from the Ohio Department of Health (ODH), that said the case of Boddie, the woman with dementia who went missing from CareCore at Mary Scott,
is currently under investigation. She was last seen at the facility on
Sunday, May 14, at 9:30 p.m. Just days later, on Wednesday, May 17, the
Dayton Police Department said Boddie had been found dead.
DPD says they believe no foul play is suspected.
“Any loss of life is always tragic,” ODH said. “The incident is being
thoroughly investigated by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and
pending the outcome of the investigation, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) will issue their decision and may impose
penalties.”
Inspections conducted by the state of Ohio show the overall health
rating for the nursing home is one star, which is described as ‘Much
Below Average.’ Staffing at the facility received a one-star rating as
well.
On July 21, 2022, the facility received its latest noted health inspection, according to the full report. During the inspection, a total of 20 citations were given,
well above both the state and national average. In Ohio, the average is
10.2 health citations, while the national average is 8.7.
Medicare also reports nine complaints over the past three years that resulted in a citation for the location. One citation came from an infection control inspection, which took place sometime in the past 3 years, Medicare said.
The facility also was subject to 5 federal fines totaling $141,806 over the past 3 years, including one for $110,885 in July 2022, Medicare reports.
The quality measures rating at Mary Scott is ranked five stars, which
is considered as ‘Much Above Average.’ There is limited data for
short-term stays at the facility as recorded by the government. Medicare
gives out the rankings based on data from chosen clinical data
measures. For quality measures, Medicare says the more stars a facility
has means the performance is better.
“The quality measures star rating measures parts of nursing home
performance in certain areas of care, like if residents have gotten
their flu shots, are in pain, or are losing weight,” according to Medicare.
We reached out to CareCore at Mary Scott on Tuesday, May 16 for
comment. The facility told 2 NEWS they had no comment and would not
answer any questions at that time.
When elderly people or those with disabilities or mental illnesses
are placed under guardianship, their rights are removed. A legal
guardian is appointed to make life decisions for them, including
decisions about their personal finances. Without greater transparency
and scrutiny on these legal arrangements, vulnerable people can become
victims of fraud and abuse.
U.S. senators, attorneys, advocates
and people who have been placed under guardianships, as well as their
families, are calling for more transparency and scrutiny nationwide.
They also recommend the embrace of less restrictive options than
guardianships such as supportive decision making, in which people who
are considered “incapacitated” or incapable of making decisions
independently can do so with the guidance of people they trust.
“Unguarded,” a project from the WLRN News investigations team, along with a recent series from Bloomberg Law, in part prompted the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to hold a March 30 hearing on guardianship programs, with an eye toward reforms.
Journalists
from both news organizations shared their insights Tuesday morning
during an hour-long episode of the national radio show 1A, produced by WAMU in Washington, D.C., as well as NPR.
WLRN’s Danny Rivero, who co-reported the project with reporter Joshua
Ceballos, appeared on the program. Rivero advised people who might be
considering placing a family member under guardianship to think ahead
about how the arrangement might affect any real estate holdings the
person might have.
If an elderly father comes under guardianship,
for example, “all the decision making is removed from father, but also
daughter, son, uncle, wife, everyone,” Rivero said on the show. “It's
really incumbent on everyone, especially if you're proactively looking
to put someone in guardianship, to get your affairs in order before you
do so.”
During the show, listeners heard an excerpt from part two
of WLRN’s investigation, in which Emma Ladson describes her
astonishment when she learned that the Guardianship Program of Dade
County sold her then-incapacitated mother’s Liberty City home for
$31,000 in 2015.
When the Guardianship Program took control of the Ladson home, Emma, who was living there with her mother, was evicted.
“Because
she did not have her name on that deed, the court could just quickly
move to get her out of there, even though the family had owned that home
outright for years,” Rivero said. “That was the family home. … Four
generations had been through that home. And then, from one day to the
next, she was put out on the street. She ended up in a homeless
shelter.”
One of the obstacles to reforming guardianship programs
nationwide is a lack of transparency about how they operate. According
to Bloomberg Law’s reporting, there are an estimated 1.5 million active
adult guardianships in the U.S.
In Florida, guardianships have not
been tracked statewide — until now. A new law passed last year requires
a statewide registry and is slated to be available early next year.
On 1A, Rivero said the lack of a registry has alarmed the advocacy group AARP for years.
“Part
of the complaint that they've had for a long time is they just don't
know. They don't know how many cases are open in Florida,” Rivero said.
“You'd have to go into the guts of local government, to go to each
clerk's office. And then each one has its own system. It's just
incredibly cluttered and hard to track.
“So, I mean, there is hope that the database will be step one toward enabling people to put more scrutiny on this,” Rivero said.
Chris and Kim Gonsalves were married for almost 30 years. (WPEC)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (CBS12) — After
more than a year of I-Team reports, the issues in Florida’s guardianship
system are well-documented. It’s a program that’s supposed to help the
elderly and disabled manage their affairs, but we’ve shown you how, too
often, the professionals paid to protect their wards are taking
advantage of them.
Many of the families who have been featured in
our I-Team reports have similar stories: they pursued guardianship for
their loved ones because a lawyer told them it was the best way to
safeguard their money. By the time they learn they’ve signed away all
control, it’s too late.
For one family in South Florida, a
guardianship meant a husband was no longer able to make end of life care
decisions for his wife.
When we met Chris Gonsalves, he was outside a hospital in Broward county, in between visits with his wife, Kim.
“[The visits] are difficult,” he said. “As much as I try to be there for comfort, they are hard on me.”
For one family in South Florida, a guardianship meant a husband was no longer able to make end of life care decisions for his wife. (WPEC)
Kim Gonsalves was suffering from pneumonia complications and placed
on a ventilator. There were a lot of tough decisions to be made: how
long should she receive treatment? Should she have a “Do Not
Resuscitate” order?
After nearly 30 years of marriage, Chris
couldn’t make those decisions. That job went to a professional guardian:
a stranger, appointed by a judge, paid out of Kim’s estate.
Chris didn’t realize pursuing a guardianship for his wife would turn out this way.
A
few years ago, Kim suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm and collapsed.
While recovering in a hospital, she was left unattended for several
minutes, fell, lost oxygen to her brain, and suffered even more
debilitating injuries.
A medical malpractice lawsuit awarded Kim
$15 million dollars, Chris said, and provided a way to ensure her care
and comfort in the years that followed.
“I was told by my
attorneys that a guardian would be needed because of the trust in the
amount of money,” Chris said. “That it was protection, the best choice.”
He
filed a petition to be designated as her guardian, but what he didn’t
know at the time was that a drug conviction from his past would
disqualify him.
A judge appointed a professional guardian to make all of Kim’s health care and financial decisions.
From court filings, it’s clear Chris’ relationship with the guardian got tense.
The two disagreed about housing and issues like a DNR. Chris filed
emergency orders to intervene in his wife’s behalf, and accused the
guardian of over spending and unethical practices. The guardian’s
attorney filed an order to have Chris removed as an interested party on
the case and accused him of being after the money, writing his “gravy
train” is over.
The two sides were at odds over a DNR when Chris
spoke to the I-Team. Days later, he received an email from the guardian.
“Kim passed,” the email said, writing that according to her nurse, Kim
had gone into cardiac arrest.
A six sentence email: that’s how Chris found out the love of his life was gone.
As
he prepares to bury his wife, Chris regrets pursuing a guardianship and
wants other families to know the reality of these court appointed
arrangements.
We wanted to know if there is anything you can do proactively to ensure you or your loved one is never placed in one.
Sancha
Brennan, an attorney who specializes in estate planning and
guardianship law, said there is no guarantee that guardianship is off
the table — but there are ways to reduce your risk.
First, she
said, people should plan ahead and consider legal documents that name a
durable power of attorney and healthcare surrogate to make financial,
personal and medical decisions in the event of incapacity.
“There
are situations where those documents, if they are not maintained or
updated regularly, they would not be affective to keep you from having a
guardianship filed on your behalf,” Brennan explained.
Despite
your directives, a judge can bypass them and appoint a professional
guardian if he or she determines the appointee is unfit to serve.
The guardian in the Gonsalves case declined our request for an interview.
Marlboro County Deputy Probate Judge Tammy Bullock walks into Hollis
Slade’s home on Jan. 24, 2021 the day following his death. Bullock told
someone in a phone call recorded on Slade’s back porch that she and the
others spent the day “rummaging” through Slade’s home in search of a
will.
MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — When the polls closed
Tuesday night, Judge Mark Heath knew his days as the Marlboro County
Probate Judge were over. Heath, first elected to the position in 1998,
was beaten soundly in the June 14 Democratic primary.
Heath was unable to win a single precinct out of the 15 up for grabs in Tuesday night’s primary.
Election results show Heath collected 342 votes – 13.4% of the total –
out of the 2,540 votes cast. Heath lost his seat to Reneka McQueen McCoy
who won the primary with 50.4% of the vote, or 1,280 votes. There is no
Republican challenger.
The primary result means Heath will no longer hold office when his term ends on Dec. 31, 2022.
The Marlboro County Board of Voter Registration and
Elections confirmed Heath’s primary loss in a call Thursday. The board
confirmed the probate election was confirmed final by state elections
officials this week.
Heath became part of our ‘Final Disrespects’ investigation last fall
after his deputy probate judge, Tammy Bullock, was accused of ransacking
a dead man’s home in January 2021 looking for a will. The man, Hollis
Slade, died after a sudden illness and multiple security cameras
captured Bullock and others discussing searching Slade’s home for a
will.
The recordings also show Bullock and the group talking about
concealing financial information the found in Slade’s home from his
family. The videos also show some in the group walking out of the Slade
home with property – all while Slade’s wife was inside.
Slade’s wife, Joyce, suffers from dementia and requires full time care.
Marlboro County Deputy Probate Judge Tammy Bullock looks at a FOX 46
camera as she watched our crew record video outside the county
courthouse on Sept. 24, 2021. (WJZY Photo/Jody Barr)
The family filed criminal complaints against Bullock and the group,
accusing Bullock of impersonating a public official and the others of
theft. Bullock, Slade’s family alleged, introduced herself as a probate
judge, although Bullock was not sworn in at the time.
Heath had appointed Bullock as the county’s deputy probate judge at
the time of Slade’s death. She wasn’t administered an oath until
mid-March.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division initially declined to
investigate the Slade family’s complaint, telling Queen City News Chief
Investigator Jody Barr the acts depicted in the video recordings were a
“civil matter.”
Slade’s neighbor, Bobby Norris, told QCN he reported the videos and
the allegations concerning Bullock to Heath on Jan. 29. When we
questioned Heath about Norris’ call Heath would not talk about the call,
what Norris told him, or what action he took to address the complaint.
Bullock continued working at the probate office until Oct. 27 when
she resigned “effective immediately.” Bullock’s resignation happened on
the final day of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges’
annual conference at a Myrtle Beach resort. We found Bullock’s Cadillac
SUV at the conference on the first day, but could not find Bullock or
her vehicle on the final two days of the conference.
We found Heath at the conference and attempted to interview him as he
got onto an elevator. Heath would not speak with us and a few minutes
later, we saw Heath and his wife loading their luggage into the car and
got back on the highway to Marlboro County.
After we filed a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act with SLED
requesting access to the Slade complaint, SLED denied the request
claiming an exemption that allows agencies to block release of records
while a criminal investigation is underway. SLED later claimed an
internal “miscommunication” led to the agency telling QCN the Slade
complaint was a “civil matter” and that the agency actually had an
active investigation underway at the time.
When we last asked SLED and the South Carolina Attorney General for
an update on the Slade investigation on April 29, the agency confirmed
the investigations were still open. After SLED closes its investigation,
the agency will submit the case file to the AG’s office for a
prosecutor to determine whether anyone will face charges.
His main caregiver had an out-of-state felony conviction and should not have been allowed to care for him, WFAA found.
Author: Tanya Eiserer, Jason Trahan, Lourdes Vazquez (WFAA)
Like any mother of a growing boy, Maria Covarrubias spent a lot of time in the kitchen.
Her son, Raul Olguin, loved to eat.
“With me, he always wanted to eat,” she said in Spanish. “With me, always.”
Raul had the intellect of a toddler. He was
severely autistic and needed constant supervision. He lived with his
mother for most of his life – except for his final 71 days, when he was
placed with a caregiver in a Garland home.
By the time the 24-year-old died in April 2019, an
autopsy showed he weighed 85 pounds. The pathologist found that he was
malnourished and that lack of food contributed to his death.
Credit: Courtesy
Raul Olguin
A two-year WFAA investigation into Raul’s case
found his caregiver – licensed by the state – had a federal criminal
conviction and should never have been looking after him or any other
disabled people. The caregiver managed to make it through a loophole in
Texas’ criminal background check process. Yet, another loophole allowed
her to continue taking care of vulnerable individuals while under
investigation for neglect, WFAA found.
“Many people failed him,” said Ana Ortiz, Raul
Olguin’s former caseworker who knew him and his mother well. “Someone
needs to be held accountable for what happened to him.”
The removal
In late January 2019, Raul was removed from his
mother’s care. She’d been accused of neglect. Records show an
investigation soon cleared her, but not before he was placed in the
Garland home of Sharita Brandon.
“Mom never got to see a healthy Raul after that point,” Ortiz said.
Brandon was a caretaker working as a contractor for Paso a Paso, a company paid by the state of Texas to find and help supervise foster homes for the intellectually disabled.
Records show Paso a Paso officials periodically
checked on Raul at Brandon’s home. They noted that he was losing weight,
according to state records obtained by WFAA.
“The caregiver [Brandon] would say he won't eat,
but when we witnessed him eating, he would gobble up his food like he
had not eaten,” Paso a Paso’s program manager told state investigators
looking into Raul’s death. “He inhaled his food. Raul was grabbing at
the sandwich of other clients.”
The program manager told investigators that Raul
“did have weight issues while under his mother's care. … but he was
never under 100 pounds, and he always had an appetite.”
A Paso a Paso nurse described similar concerns.
Records show she visited the house on March 25, 2019. Brandon told her
that Raul would not eat his breakfast. She said she asked Brandon to
bring it back out.
“A bowl of oatmeal (warmed up) was brought…,”
according to an investigation into Raul’s death. "And he ate it all,”
records show.
Workers at a “day hab” facility Raul attended when
he lived with Brandon told state investigators that his appetite was
good in the beginning. But, they said, Raul stopped wanting to eat and
began losing weight rapidly.
In her interview with state investigators, Brandon reported that “Raul had bad eating habits.”
“I could not get him to eat,” Brandon told state
investigators. “Raul would eat, but not like he should.” She said she
notified Paso a Paso that Raul was not eating and blamed the company for
not giving her the support she needed.
Arnulfo Gonzales, co-owner of Paso a Paso, said his company had a coordinator and two nurses involved in Raul’s care.
He said Paso a Paso employees are not on-site day
and night to monitor foster care hosts like Brandon. “We provide them
with the training we’re required to provide,” he said. “As far as what
happens 24-7, it’s hard to say.”
Text messages
Raul’s mother, Maria Covarrubias, provided WFAA her text messages with Sharita Brandon.
Over and over, Covarrubias asked about Raul’s
well-being. In the texts, Brandon never gave a hint she was having issue
with Raul eating. In fact, her texts gave the opposite impression.
In one text, shortly after Raul came under her care, Brandon wrote: “I guess he likes chicken and shrimp alfredo.”
In a March 1, 2019, text, Brandon said, “He is
doing so good. I believe he really likes it here! We just came
from [Chuck E. Cheese].”
A month later, Brandon texted, “He is doing so
good…. I love Raul so so sweet.” The next day, April 1, 2019, Brandon
sent a photo of Raul. He appeared emaciated.
“He was always a very tall and thin young man,”
Ortiz said about the picture. “But that's a completely different person.
I couldn't even recognize him.”
Records show Brandon took Raul to a medical clinic
three times in the days before he died. He was seen by two different
nurse practitioners. Neither noted weight loss as an issue.
‘Well nourished’
On his final visit, April 8, 2019, the nurse practitioner described him as “well nourished.”
Two days after that doctor visit, Paso a Paso officials removed Raul from Brandon’s home.
On the way to the home of his new caretaker, Raul ate “chicken strips, fries and a burger,” according to state records.
His new caregiver told state investigators that,
when Raul arrived at his home on the evening of April 10, he “looked
very emaciated, malnourished and his bones were visible,” state records
show.
The new caretaker told investigators Raul “ate everything he fed him.”
The next day, Raul collapsed in the front yard of
the Dallas home. He was “vomiting black material,” according to Dallas
County Medical Examiner records.
Paramedics rushed Raul to Methodist Dallas Medical
Center. He was dead on arrival. Hospital records show staff checked
“yes” on his paperwork that they suspected he had been neglected.
A hospital nurse stated Raul “did not appeared
cared for well,” according to investigator’s notes from the medical
examiner’s office.
An autopsy found the main cause of death was
aspiration pneumonia. It also said that malnutrition contributed to his
death. “As it is uncertain to what extent his malnutrition contributed
to his death, the manner of death will be classified as undetermined,”
the autopsy report states.
‘Inconclusive’
The Texas Department of Family and Protective
Services investigated Raul’s death. The agency completed its
investigation two years after Raul died.
The final result? “Inconclusive.”
“It could not be determined if there was a negligent act or omission,” the report stated.
Investigators cited several factors in their decision:
A day hab staff member told investigators that Brandon sent Raul to their facility with food.
A Paso a Paso staff member had seen Brandon feed Raul during their visits to her home.
Medical clinic staff had described Raul as “well nourished” when Brandon brought him for check-ups.
Gonzalez with Paso a Paso said he is unsure whether Raul was neglected, but said his company did all it could.
“To say whether I think he was neglected or
abused, that is a very fine line,” he said. “I cannot really say. That’s
why it involved Adult Protective Services, and let them determine that
based on whatever facts they obtain.”
He said when his staff noticed Raul’s weight loss,
they acted. “When we started noticing the weight loss, our nurses and
coordinator conducted unannounced visits to see what they would find.
They never found anything out of the ordinary,” he said.
He said doctors who saw Raul never sounded an
alarm. “There was a lot of conflicting information on some of the
doctor’s notes. We would see weight loss, but then on their summary,
they would say ‘he’s doing great,’ ‘he’s looks great.’ He’s losing
weight but he’s looking great?”
“It was one of those cases, unfortunately, they
fall through the cracks,” he said. “By the time you want to do
something, it’s too late.”
Clay Boatright, a disability rights advocate and
father of twin daughters with severe autism, said Raul’s death is an
avoidable tragedy.
Credit: WFAA
Clay Boatright
“For someone to deteriorate, and to ultimately
die, in a way that people can't draw conclusion, or where there's
confusion, makes absolutely no sense,” he said. “It's not like he was
isolated for days and someone found him days later. People saw him every
single day.”
Sharita Brandon declined to do an on-camera
interview but provided WFAA videos of her feeding Raul. One video shows
him eating chicken strips.
“I wasn’t there when he died,” Brandon told WFAA via text. “He walked out of my house normal.”
Brandon said she did nothing wrong in Raul’s case, and that she did all she could to get him to eat.
Credit: WFAA
Maria Covarrubias
Raul’s mother said she can’t understand how Raul got into such a poor physical condition that he died the way he did.
“If he was here with me, he would have been better,” his mother said.
Criminal history overlooked
WFAA’s investigation also found that Brandon should never have been working with people like Raul.
In 2004, while living in Arkansas, she pleaded
guilty to stealing money from a federal program that provided funds to
the state to pay for day care for “children whose parents were receiving
welfare and returning to work or school,” according to court records.
Documents in the criminal case say Brandon was a
state contract worker who contacted day care providers and “solicited
them to participate in submitting fraudulent vouchers” to the state. A
federal judge ordered her and several accomplices to pay back more than
$880,000.
Four years later, Brandon had paid $817.05, court
records show. A judge revoked her supervised release after finding she
violated the conditions of her release.
He sentenced her to one year and one day in prison.
Brandon later moved to Texas.
Records show that in 2016, a child care business
ran a fingerprint background check on her, as required by state law.
That search found her federal conviction.
But background checks done by companies taking
care of intellectually disabled individuals did not. That’s because
those companies were only required to check her name in the Texas
Department of Public Safety’s database, which contains only convictions
in Texas state courts.
Her federal conviction did not show up in there because it was in an Arkansas federal court.
“Why would you not perform (a fingerprint
background check) for caregivers who are going to be working with adults
who are as vulnerable as the children in daycare?” Boatright said.
The state’s 13 state-supported living centers take
care of the same population of people as Raul. By state law,
fingerprint background checks must be done on the employees who work
there.
Checking an individual’s name in the DPS database costs $1. Having a fingerprint background check conducted costs $38.25.
Both Borel and Boatright said the root cause of
the problem is a system that is drastically underfunded. Texas typically
ranks near the bottom of states in funding the system that’s supposed
to help protect the intellectually and physically disabled. Borel said
companies that hire caretakers have been paid virtually the same rate
for years, even as costs have gone up. Caretakers, he said, can make
more money working at a fast-food restaurant.
“In other words, there hasn’t been much extra
money going their way,” Borel said. “So, they’ll tell you, we have to
cut corners where we can because the state inadequately funds us.”
Arnulfo Gonzalez with Paso a Paso said his
company performed the level of background check through Texas
DPS required by state law.
“We entered her name and her date of birth, and
the results we obtained was ‘no matching records.’ When we get that kind
of return back, then that clears us to contract with that person,” he
told WFAA. “As far as missing any other information, if that information
was not in the system, I don’t know who’s at fault for that, because we
go by whatever we obtain once we enter that information in that
search.”
He said the state should re-evaluate the types of background checks required in his industry.
“I’m sure, just like Sharita (the caretaker), I’m
sure there’s plenty of others out there that are being missed or falling
through the cracks,” he said. “I think there needs to be some changes. I
think a lot of lives could be saved. I think that a lot of fraud could
be prevented.”
Texas Health and Human Services officials said
they have no plans to make changes to the background check
process, and that it is up to lawmakers to change the rules.
Last summer, months after WFAA first brought
Brandon’s federal conviction to the state’s attention, the Texas Health
and Human Service Commission’s Office of the Inspector General concluded
Brandon “concealed” her “conviction history” from the companies that
hired her to take care of the disabled.
That investigation resulted in her being barred from working with people like Raul.
Brandon told WFAA she didn’t think her conviction was relevant.
Arkansas officials told WFAA that Brandon has not
paid federal restitution in more than a decade. She and her accomplices
still owe more than $700,000.
WFAA has repeatedly asked Texas HHSC officials for
an on-camera interview to discuss gaps in the background check process.
All requests have been denied.
Another loophole
WFAA also found that for more than six months
after Raul’s death – while the state investigated whether abuse or
neglect was involved – Brandon continued to take care of another
disabled man.
She was able to do so because there is no way
under state law to prevent a caretaker under investigation for serious
misconduct from taking care of the disabled.
Under current law, state regulators also have no
authority to suspend a caretaker found to have abused, neglected or
exploited their intellectually disabled client while they appeal that
finding. (We highlighted this problem in a past story.) Two
Dallas area lawmakers – State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano), and Sen. Royce
West (D-Dallas) – have filed bills during the last two legislative
sessions attempting to give the state the power to do so. None have
became law.
“Clearly, that system is set up to protect the
caregiver in question,” Boatright said. “It's not set up to protect the
person with a developmental disability.”
Brandon told WFAA that the other disabled man was
eventually removed from her care as a result of the inspector
general’s investigation into her criminal history.
In addition to Brandon being barred, one of Paso a
Paso’s nurses was reprimanded for Raul’s death. An investigation found
she “failed to intervene.” She was ordered to take remedial classes. When
contacted by WFAA, she said she was not Raul’s primary nurse. “Just
because I was the one reprimanded doesn’t mean I’m the one that had
anything to do with it. [It] just means I was the last nurse to see
him... I feel very bad for his mom and the whole situation...”
For Maria Covarrubias, the death of her son Raul
is a loss she will never get over. She said she will never understand
how the people paid to protect him failed to keep him alive.
“He would eat everything, everything,” she said through tears. “I don’t understand how this happened.”
