Tonight on T.S. Radio: Deirdre Gilbert: What does it take to get you on your feet?

Deirdre Gilbert of the National Medical Malpractice Advocacy Association (NMMAA). www.nmmaa.org

This issue is particularly important to those of us fighting the abuse and neglect of our elderly, especially those in nursing homes and hospitals, whose doctors seem unaware or unaffected by the deteriorating state of their patients, often times resulting in death.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the U.S.—right behind heart disease and cancer.

In 2012, over $3 billion was spent in medical malpractice payouts, averaging one payout every 43 minutes. (Forbes)

Deirdre is so fed up with doctors who have criminal history’s, including drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and lethal malpractice still being allowed to practice medicine and endangering more lives, and those doctors who just don't seem to care, along with the accompanying excuses and cover-ups, she wants to take her message to the streets.

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What does it take to get you on your feet??

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Knowing How Doctors Die Can Change End-Of-Life Discussions

Nora Zamichow says if she and her husband, Mark Saylor, had known how doctors die, they might have made different treatment decisions for him toward the end of his life.

Dr. Kendra Fleagle Gorlitsky recalls the anguish she felt performing CPR on elderly, terminally ill patients.

It looks nothing like what we see on TV. In real life, ribs often break and few survive the ordeal.

"I felt like I was beating up people at the end of their life," she says. "I would be doing the CPR with tears coming down sometimes, and saying, 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, goodbye.' Because I knew that it very likely not going to be successful. It just seemed a terrible way to end someone's life."

Gorlitsky now teaches medicine at the University of Southern California and says these early clinical experiences have stayed with her.

Gorlitsky wants something different for herself and for her loved ones. And most other doctors do too: A Stanford University study shows almost 90 percent of doctors would forgo resuscitation and aggressive treatment if facing a terminal illness.

It was about 10 years ago, after a colleague had died swiftly and peacefully, that Dr. Ken Murray first noticed doctors die differently than the rest of us.

"He had died at home, and it occurred to me that I couldn't remember any of our colleagues who had actually died in the hospital," Murray says. "That struck me as quite odd, because I know that most people do die in hospitals."

Murray then began talking about it with other doctors.

"And I said, 'Have you noticed this phenomenon?' They thought about it, and they said, 'You know?

You're right.' "

In 2011, Murray, a retired family practice physician, shared his observations in an online article that quickly went viral. The essay, "How Doctors Die," told the world that doctors are more likely to die at home with less aggressive care than most people get at the end of their lives. That's Murray's plan, too.

"I fit with the vast majority of physicians that want to have a gentle death and don't want extraordinary measures taken when they have no meaning," Murray says.

A majority of seniors report feeling the same way. Yet, they often die while hooked up to life support. And only about 1 in 10 doctors report having conversations with their patients about death.

A family portrait of Nora Zamichow, husband Mark Saylor and their daughter, Zia Saylor. - Maya Sugarman/KPCC 

 

One reason for the disconnect, says Dr. Babak Goldman, is that too few doctors are trained to talk about death with patients. "We're trained to prolong life," he says.

Goldman is a palliative care specialist at Providence Saint Joseph's Medical Center in Burbank, Calif., and he says that having the tough talk may feel like a doctor is letting a family down. "I think it's sometimes easier to give hope than to give reality," Goldman says.

Goldman, now 35, read Murray's essay as part of his residency. He says that he, too, would prefer to die without heroic measures, and he believes that knowing how doctors die is important information for patients.

"If they know that this is what we'd want for ourselves and for our own families, that goes a long way," he says.

In addition, Medicare does not pay doctors for end-of-life planning meetings with patients.

Nora Zamichow wishes she had read Murray's essay sooner. The Los Angeles-based freelance writer says she and her husband, Mark Saylor, likely would have made different treatment decisions about his brain tumor if they had.

Zamichow says that an arduous regimen of chemo and radiation left her 58-year-old husband unable to walk, and ultimately bedridden in his final weeks. "And at no point did any doctor say to us, 'You know, what about not treating?' "

Zamichow realized after reading Murray's essay that doing less might have offered her husband more peace in his final days.

"What Ken's article spelled out for me was, 'Wait a minute, you know, we did not get the full range of options,' " she says.

But knowing how much medical intervention at the end of life is most appropriate for a particular person requires wide-ranging conversations about death.

Murray says he hopes his essay will spur more physicians to initiate these difficult discussions with patients and families facing end-of-life choices.

This story is part of a reporting partnership with NPR, KPCC and Kaiser Health News.

Full Article & Source:
Knowing How Doctors Die Can Change End-Of-Life Discussions

I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: Former Atlantic Co. Employees In Court; Accused Of Bilking Seniors

By Charlotte Huffman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Two former Atlantic County employees pled not guilty Tuesday morning to charges of conspiracy, money laundering and theft.

Jan Van Holt, 58, and William Price, 57, both of Linwood, were arraigned in Atlantic County for their alleged involvement in a 10 year-long conspiracy to steal seniors’ life savings.

Van Holt and Price are part of a group of six who investigators say conspired to steal $3.8 million dollars from at least 16 victims.

Others indicted in the case include Van Holt’s sister, Sondra Steen, 59, of Linwood; and Susan Hamlett, 56, of Egg Harbor Township.

Dr. Maria Teresa Daclan, 53, of Galloway Township was indicted for allegedly lying to a detective to protect Van Holt.

The sixth person, Barbara Lieberman is already behind bars. She previously pled guilty and agreed to forfeit $3 million in restitution and testify against the others accused.

In March, Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Michael Donio called Lieberman the “quarterback” of the ring of alleged scam artists and sentenced her to ten years in prison.

The CBS Philly I-Team first exposed Lieberman during an I-Team exclusive special report last November.

Lieberman, of Northfield, was a court appointed guardian and leading specialist in elder law in Atlantic County.

Van Holt owned “A Better Choice,” a senior care company that offered clients in-home services including “custom designed life care and legal financial planning.”

Steen and Hamlett worked for Van Holt’s company.

Investigators say the group posed as trustworthy caregivers who took control of the finances of their victims by forging a power of attorney or obtaining one on false pretenses, adding their names to the victims’ bank accounts or transferring the victims’ funds into new accounts they controlled.

Ultimately, investigators believe the group stole $3.8 million and used the money to pay off six-digit credit card bills and buy things like Lieberman’s new BMW and a luxury condo in Florida.

Investigators say Van Holt and Lieberman used their positions of trust within the county to identify their victims.

“Most of these people didn’t have the capacity to keep an eye on their money and their assets so they were taken advantage of in that way. They looked for people who were elderly and had assets,” said Deputy Attorney General, Yvonne Maher who is handling the prosecution of the defendants on behalf of the state’s Division of Criminal Justice.

Maher says Lieberman would recommend clients to Van Holt’s company and vice versa.

An investigation by New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice has revealed at least 16 victims. With the exception of one, all of the victims are dead.

If you suspect that you or a family member have been victimized you can call the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice’s tip line toll free at 866-TIPS-4CJ.

For more information about stopping guardian abuse visit the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse.

Full Article & Source:
I-TEAM EXCLUSIVE: Former Atlantic Co. Employees In Court; Accused Of Bilking Seniors

See Also:
Sisters Who Ran Senior Care Company in Atlantic County Indicted on Conspiracy Charges

I-Team Exclusive: Seniors Says She was Forced Into Nursing Home

Portsmouth cop details relationship with elderly woman in inheritance dispute

By JASON SCHREIBER
Union Leader Correspondent

DOVER — Portsmouth police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin was with 93-year-old Geraldine Webber on the day she died.

He was by her side, as he had been at other times in the two years that he knew her.

He still remembers the final words she said to him just hours before her death on Dec. 11, 2012.

“I was just rubbing her head,” Goodwin said.

He wanted her to have a clear head, he said, so he asked her what she was thinking about and if there was anything she wanted to say that was unresolved.

“I’m thinking about that long drive to Foxwoods,” he recalled her telling him, referring to the time Goodwin and his brother drove a dolled-up Webber to Foxwoods Casino to re-live her gambling days.

Goodwin, the primary beneficiary of Webber’s $2.7 million estate, took the stand Tuesday for the first time in Dover probate court.

The hearing will decide the fate of her disputed will, rewritten in 2012.

The officer who befriended the elderly Portsmouth woman and is now at the center of a bitter court fight over her wealth described in detail how their friendship grew in the months after he first met Webber in late 2010 when he went to her home to investigate a crime.

Their relationship drew criticism from some parties who have challenged the will.

They accused Goodwin of taking advantage of Webber, who doctors said suffered from dementia.

Goodwin denies the allegations.

A judge must now decide whether Webber was mentally competent when she signed a new will rewritten by attorney Gary Holmes and whether Goodwin had undue influence over her.

The will was changed to leave her house, its contents, stocks and bonds, and a Cadillac to Goodwin.

Goodwin’s attorney, Charles Doleac, spent much of the day asking the questions, but Goodwin is expected to return to the stand Wednesday for a grilling by lawyers representing those contesting the will.

Goodwin testified about how he would visit Webber regularly and offered her assistance as she lived at home alone.

He and his wife would send meals to her at times; after she broke her wrist, Goodwin said he stopped by before work to prepare her breakfast.

Goodwin said he invited her to his house for Thanksgiving once, but she didn’t end up coming.

“She regarded me like a second son,” he said.

Webber’s son died in the 1990s. Her only living direct relative is her grandson, Brett.

Goodwin testified that he became uncomfortable when Webber informed him on Christmas Eve in 2010 — just a couple of months after they met — that she wanted to leave her waterfront home to him in her will.

She contacted him again a short time later and asked if he wanted the contents of her house.

Meeting with chief

Goodwin said he decided to meet with then-Police Chief Lou Ferland to tell him about his relationship with Webber and that she had offered him her house.

Goodwin claims Ferland told him that it appeared the two had developed a personal relationship and that it was acceptable, but that he should see Webber and help her only when off-duty and on lunch breaks.

That contradicted last week’s testimony from Ferland, who maintained he was unaware of the inheritance until after Webber’s death.

“I think the evidence would show that Chief Ferland is mistaken,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin also testified about how Webber had complained about her longtime attorney, James Ritzo, who she accused of stealing money; the allegations were unfounded.

Ritzo later complained about Goodwin and expressed concerns about the relationship he had quickly developed with Webber.

Goodwin admitted that he later helped Webber find a new attorney to rewrite the will, but insisted that Webber was the driving force behind hiring a new lawyer.

“That’s what she wanted,” he said.

Called ‘my love’

Goodwin also recalled how he tried to help socialize Webber by taking her out. They went to Foxwoods and he said he took her out on three occasions for Bloody Marys.

“I looked upon her as somebody I was honored to know and happy to help,” Goodwin said, adding that Webber made him “smile” and that he was “there to comfort her where her son wasn’t.”

His attorney spent part of Tuesday afternoon reviewing Webber’s calendar and her references to Goodwin as “my love.”

Goodwin said he considered the “my love” references to be similar to something a mother would say to a son.

“It was a motherly thing, a grandmotherly thing,” he said.

Full Article & Source:
Portsmouth cop details relationship with elderly woman in inheritance dispute

See Also:
Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies

Police Officer:  "I was Watching a Crime"

Police Brass Caught in Cop's Disputed Inheritance Case

Witness accused of 'lying' during cop's inheritance hearing

Lyz Boudreaux

DOVER — A witness in a case involving Portsmouth police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin's disputed $2.7 million inheritance was accused of lying on the witness stand Monday, the sixth day of a hearing to dispute the last will and trust for the late Geraldine Webber.

That witness, Lyz Boudreaux, testified she was introduced to Webber by Goodwin and was asked if she went to Webber's home after Webber's remains were removed on the day of the elderly woman's death. 

"Not on the day," Boudreaux said. "I did months later."

"And you're clear on that?" asked attorney Paul McEachern.

"Yes," Boudreaux answered.

After Boudreaux left the courtroom, McEachern called Webber's neighbor, Diane Connors, to the witness stand as a rebuttal witness.

"She's lying," Connors said. "I saw Lyz go in the house. For about an hour."

Also testifying Monday were three local lawyers who were asked to change Webber's will to Goodwin's benefit, but for varying reasons did not. Multiple parties allege Webber was impaired by dementia and unduly influenced by Goodwin when she made him the primary beneficiary of her large estate.

When she was on the stand, Boudreaux said Goodwin told her Webber was "very lonely," so she began visiting the elderly woman twice weekly. After Webber fell and was injured, a month before she died, Boudreaux said she visited Webber daily. She said Webber told her that Goodwin was "like a son to her," that she was "very fond of him" and that she "adored him." 

When he was deposed on Oct. 16, attorney Gary Holmes (who wrote Webber's disputed will and trust) said Goodwin met Boudreaux while responding to a break-in at her home and because she found him to be "a very caring, very thorough person," she later contacted him to ask if there was anything she could do for him. According to Holmes, Goodwin suggested Boudreaux get involved in the police K-9 booster group and "help" him with Webber.  

According to the first accounting for Webber's estate, $1,005 was paid from the estate to Boudreaux on April 30, 2013, for her "services, research, preparation and sale of costume jewelry" that belonged to Webber.

Five months earlier, Boudreaux wrote a letter to the editor to the Herald defending Goodwin and criticizing the Herald for its "fact-less 'story'" about the probate court allegations against him.

Also testifying Monday was attorney David Mulhern, who said he was contacted by Goodwin on Feb. 8, 2011 regarding Webber's estate plan. Goodwin previously testified that Webber told him on Christmas Eve 2010 that she wanted to give him her house.

Mulhern testified that he was provided with a copy of Webber's 2008 will when he met with her, while court records indicate her last will at the time had been prepared in 2009.

He said Webber described her house as being worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which he said was "drastically at odds with reality" and a concern for him in terms of her testamentary capacity; the legal standard for competency to execute an estate plan.

Mulhern said Webber told him she had taken care of her grandson Brett through a certificate of deposit at the Piscataqua Savings Bank, but when he later checked, he learned that was not the case. He said Webber told him Brett was "all set," adding he was "somewhat distressed to find out it was not all set."

The estate attorney testified that he was also concerned about the fact that he was initially contacted by Goodwin, who was to be a primary beneficiary. He said he found Webber to be "elderly" and having "physical problems" and arranged for her authorization to get her medical records.

Mulhern said he contacted Webber's primary care physician, Dr. Ira Schwartz, and in May 2011, received a phone message from Schwartz saying, "I cannot attest to her competency. I can give you more details why, plus other information you may find relevant. There is no way in the world I am going to be able say this eccentric woman is competent."

In a May 9, 2011, letter to Webber, Mulhern wrote "it is clear to me that serious professional questions have arisen about your testamentary capacity." Mulhern wrote to Webber that he'd discussed the situation with her doctor, her accountant, a bank representative and with Goodwin. He explained that any will he wrote would be "highly subject to legal challenge and that such a challenge might well be successful."

He advised Webber to proceed through the county probate court, with a guardian appointed to assist her, he testified.

Mulhern said he later sent his entire file to attorney Gary Holmes.

Next to take the witness stand on Monday was attorney William Boesch, who said he would have prepared a will for Webber on the one day he met her; May 23, 2011. He said he was initially contacted by Webber, who said she got his name from Goodwin.

Boesch said Webber allowed him to read the letter she had from Mulhern, in which Mulhern declined to change her estate plans. But, Boesch said, he found Webber to be someone who was "not easily influenced." He said she was lucid, coherent, articulate and intelligent.

"She also said several times, 'It's my property and I'll do whatever I want,'" he said. "On that day, I would have had her sign a will."

Portsmouth attorney Jack McGee also testified Monday, saying he was initially contacted by attorney Justin Nadeau who said he was representing Goodwin, who was helping Webber with her estate plans. McGee said he met with Weber on Aug. 18, 2011 for about an hour and that during the second half of their meeting, she "began to misfire." 

He said he too was presented with a copy of her 2008 will, which was presented as current. Webber, he said, mentioned three step-grandchildren, but forgot to mention her son's son, Brett, her only living heir. He said she also didn't know where Brett Webber lived. 

McGee said Webber referred to her daughter-in-law using the wrong first name, an error he discovered by going though her address book, with her permission. He said those were concerns, as well as the fact that when Webber urged him to reference her stack of legal paperwork, he found correspondence from prior attorneys she had contacted, including Mulhern's letter about getting a court-appointed guardian.

McGee said Webber referred to Mulhern as "a thief and a robber," but he concluded she was referring to his bill for payment.

When he left Webber's home, McGee said, he ran into his friend and her neighbor John Connors. McGee said Connors told him he was the latest in a series of lawyers to visit Webber and that she was "losing it."

McGee said he called Nadeau the following day to say he wouldn't be taking the case, due to a conflict because of his friendship with Connors. He said he also advised Nadeau to "be careful." 

The hearing resumes Tuesday in the 7th Circuit-Probate Division-Dover.

Full Article & Source:
Witness accused of 'lying' during cop's inheritance hearing

See Also:
Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies

Police Officer:  "I was Watching a Crime"

Police Brass Caught in Cop's Disputed Inheritance Case

Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies



Dr. Ira Schwartz

DOVER — Geraldine Webber had dementia, had fallen several times and broken bones, and lost her ability to tell a dirty joke, said her physician, Dr. Ira Schwartz, on the first day of the hearing to contest Webber's last will and trust.

The hearing is being held at the 7^th Circuit Court – Probate Division – in Dover, where multiple parties allege police Sgt. Aaron Goodwin exerted undue influence over Webber, while she was impaired by dementia, to inherit her waterfront home, stocks, bonds and a Cadillac.

 Through his attorney, Chuck Doleac, Goodwin denies the allegations and asserts that he provided Webber comfort and care.

Goodwin did not appear in the court on Monday, but Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen DuBois attended the first day of trial. Dr. Schwartz was questioned most of the day by attorney David Eby, who represents the Shriner's Hospital for Children and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, both of which saw diminished inheritances when Webber's will was re-written to benefit Goodwin. 

Schwartz said he was Webber's physician for about 20 years and reported concerns about her to the state Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services several times during the later part of her life. He said he had only made that kind of report about 10 times, for three to seven patients, during his entire medical career.

Schwartz said Webber was diagnosed with dementia "at least" by 2008.

She signed documents to leave the majority of her estate to Goodwin in May of 2012.

In 2008, Schwartz testified, he gave Webber a "mini mental test," because she expressed concern about her memory and some of his nurses thought she'd been confused. Her score indicated she had "mild cognitive impairment," he said.

Goodwin became Webber's medical contact in February 2011, said Schwartz and notes from his office staff described Goodwin as a friend, neighbor and police officer. Webber lived on Shaw Road in Portsmouth at the time, while court records show Goodwin lived in Dover.

The physician said that on Feb. 24, 2011, Webber was admitted to Portsmouth Regional Hospital for bleeding, due to her blood-thinning medication being "out of control."

He said she received a psychiatric evaluation that day because of her inability to understand the impact of her health problems. "I already had concerns about her cognitive status," Schwartz said, adding that he was concerned about her returning home with potentially "life-threatening" medical problems.

Dr. Simon Eison, the psychiatrist who examined Webber, reported that she did not know the day or date, Schwartz said, while calling that consistent with his knowledge of Webber at the time.

"In my opinion, it was more than mild dementia," he said, adding that he had concerns about the fact that Webber lived alone. "She was incompetent to make medical decisions." 

Schwartz said that over the years, Webber would tell him an off-color joke at the start of their appointments, but when those jokes stopped, he considered it one indication of her mental decline. He said he was most concerned about her inability to understand her medical problems.

In April 2011, Schwartz testified, he was contacted by attorney David Mulhern who sought an opinion about whether Webber was competent to sign a legal document. The physician said he left a voice mail for Mulhern saying he could "not attest to her competence."

A 30-year practicing attorney, Mulhern was deposed Feb. 17 when he said Goodwin called him in early 2011 and asked him to revise Webber's will.

He said five things concerned him: that he was initially contacted about changing a will by a potential beneficiary, that the potential beneficiary was a police officer, that Webber was of advanced age, that she may not have known the true value of her property, and that she was dissatisfied with her longtime lawyer.

Schwartz testified Monday that he called the state Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS) in August 2011 to dispute a report one of its staff members had filed that said there was nothing of concern involving Webber's care.

"I called and said, 'I disagree,'" he said. "My concern was that their evaluation was inaccurate."

In the fall of 2011, he said, he met with attorney Gary Holmes who also inquired about Webber's ability to endorse a new will. Schwartz said he told Holmes that not only did he think she was incapable of doing so, a psychiatrist had already made that determination.

Holmes prepared the disputed will and trust in May of 2012.

In March 2012, Schwartz said, he reported to BEAS that Webber had significant dementia and needed protection.

In April of that year, she told him that someone had stolen a painting from her, but when he questioned her about it, "the answers never made it clear what the circumstances were," he said. (continue reading)

Full Article & Source:
Officer's $2.7M benefactor had dementia, doctor testifies

See Also:
Police Officer:  "I was Watching a Crime"

Police Brass Caught in Cop's Disputed Inheritance Case

Tonight on T.S. Radio: Dr. Gary Kohls Discusses Drugging Children and the Elderly

Psychiatric drug side effects, dangers, psychiatric drugging of children and the elderly, causing them to appear to be mentally ill.

Dr. Kohls will also speak about alternatives and preventative mental health care.
BIO: Gary G. Kohls, M.D.
Practicing physician, Mind Body Medicine, Inc.

Dr. Gary G. Kohls is a family practitioner, who specializes in holistic and preventive mental health care. He has expertise in the areas of traumatic stress disorders, brain nutrition, non-pharmaceutical approaches to mental ill health, neurotransmitter disorders, neurotoxicity from food additives (and other environmental toxins) and the problems with psychotropic drugs.

Dr. Kohls’ treats patients who have had adverse psychotropic drug reactions, dependency, withdrawal symptoms and/or toxicity symptoms from the drugs and who wish to safely discontinue the medications. He also works with patients who are fearful of synthetic chemicals that alter the brain and who wish an alternative approach.

Dr. Kohls feels there are a number of integral parts to achieving optimal mental health. Educating the patient is essential. Therefore, Dr. Kohls does a lot of patient teaching, including teaching the principles of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), neuroscience, brain nutrition, and the importance of being fully aware of toxic child-rearing, toxic workplaces, toxic violence, toxic drugs (both illicit and prescription drugs), toxic food, toxic entertainment, toxic politics, toxic theologies.

 Dr. Kohls received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota. He now practices in Duluth, Minnesota.

 Dr. Kohls is a member of the International Center for the Study of Psychology and Psychiatry, Mind Freedom International and a past member of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

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Northshore "Live" - Cooper's Corner: Elder Abuse of the Elderly

Source:
YouTube: Elder Abuse

Editorial: Guardian Regs Must Rule Out Conflicts

I have been reading with interest about Franklin County Probate Judge Robert Montgomery’s efforts to improve Ohio’s guardianship laws. As a young attorney working in Cincinnati in the early 1980s for a seniors’ organization, I became the legal representative for someone whose situation continues to haunt me.

His guardian’s conflict of interest was astounding to me, and yet it was perfectly legal. Victor was an elderly gentleman with a sharp mind and a frail body, living alone. He was widowed and had no children; he had emigrated from Italy as a young man. He had no relatives who could come to his aid.

Fortunately, he did have a few surviving friends, and one of them contacted us about his situation. It turned out that, when Victor had been admitted to the hospital, a social worker made the decision that he was unable to continue living on his own. On Monday, Victor found himself being transported by ambulance to a nursing home rather than back to his apartment. What happened next is a nightmare that I hope will never again occur in Ohio.

The nursing home was a dingy, smelly, utterly depressing old house. There were no recreational facilities or activities for the residents.

Victor did not want to remain there, but he found out that he had been placed under a guardianship by the nursing-home owner, without ever being examined by anyone from the Probate Court.

Instead, the doctor employed by the nursing home had signed an affidavit saying that Victor needed to be placed under the guardianship of the nursing-home owner. By the time our organization became involved, the nursing-home owner had control over Victor’s retirement benefits and received Medicaid benefits to keep him in the home.

Challenging the guardianship proved to be difficult, but eventually it was transferred to me and we moved Victor to a much better facility.

I would hope that guardianship reforms also will ban the granting of guardianships where there is a clear conflict of interest. With Ohio’s current patchwork of 88 county laws, I’m sure that the situation I’ve described is not unusual.

A person whose business stands to benefit financially from obtaining a guardianship should be barred from acting in this fiduciary role.

~LINDA A. ROOMANN

Source:
Guardian Regs Must Rule Out Conflicts

The Perils of Problematic Prescribing: A Double Dose of Warnings

Twice this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has pointed to the harm caused by aberrant and inappropriate prescribing by physicians.

First, the CDC reported Monday that doctors are a primary source of narcotic painkillers for chronic abusers at the highest risk of overdoses.  Physicians edged out even family, friends and drug dealers. More than 16,000 people died of narcotic overdoses in 2010, the most recent year for which data is available, the CDC has reported.

On Tuesday, the public health agency said that it found  vast differences in the use of antibiotics  among different hospitals’ medical/surgical wards. Doctors in some hospitals prescribed three times as many antibiotics as those in other hospitals. The CDC also said that in about one-third of cases, prescriptions for the antibiotic vancomycin included a potential error – either it was prescribed without proper tests or evaluation, or given for too long.

Full Article and Source:
The Perils of Problematic Prescribing:  A Double Dose of Warnings

Editorial: Wesley Smith: Death Doctors' Zeal Only Euthanasia Boundary

Euthanasia is only as limited as the consciences of doctors willing to kill. In other words, given that the supposed limits are wholly unenforced–and mostly depend on self-reporting–the only limits to euthanasia and assisted suicides are those doctors impose on themselves.
As we have seen with Jack Kevorkian and Phillip Nitschke, there are always ghoulish doctors out there with no brakes. In Belgium, that doctor is named Wim Distelmans. From the National Post story:

In September, the 60-year-old physician gave a lethal injection to Nathan Verhelst, 44, depressed over a failed sex-change operation. Last year, he oversaw the double euthanasia of Marc and Eddy Verbessem, 45-year-old deaf twins who chose to die after learning they would lose their eyesight. Also last year, he euthanized a despondent Godelieva De Troyer, 64, whose children learned of her death after the fact. And he acknowledges there are many more “borderline” cases that the public never hears about.

Nothing will be done about this man’s radical death-on-demand absolutism. Hence, he–and others like him–rather than the law, control the limits of euthanasia. He essentially has a license to kill anyone wanting to die who he thinks has a life not worth living.

That is the only real limit on euthanasia–the farthest extent to which the most radical death doctor is willing to go.

Source:
Wesley Smith:  Death Doctor's Zeal Only Euthanasia Boundry

See Also:
Death by doctor: Controversial physician has made his name delivering euthanasia when no one else will

T.S. Radio With Guest, Dr. Sam Sugar

Dr. Sam Sugar joins us this evening! 

We will be talking at length about patients rights. When are they applicable? When do they end? At what point does HIPAA end and the defacto death certificate referred to as guardianized "ward" begin?

If you are hospitalized due to illness and have not been declared a "ward", what right does the state and its agencies and agents have to intervene in your care or decisions?

Dr Sugar has also helped to author a bill in the Florida legislature FL SB412 which calls for revision of standing statutes and protection from predators working within the probate/family court system.
 
Why should anyone, by virtue of disability, and/or unproven mental incompetence lose all of their Constitutional protections and rights?

Why should anyone be "dead in the law" because they were deemed "ward" of the court?

At what point does the individual cease to exist and to have rights, especially when no "team of experts" has determined them to be incapacitated?

Why should vulnerability allow a predator to loot the estates, take SS and veterans checks, personal belongings, valuable property for their own purposes.

Dr.Sam Sugar has much to say about all of this.

These and many other questions will be addressed along with Dr. Sugar's Florida legislation that calls for major changes in the care and treatment of the elderly and others who fall prey to the organized criminal rings operating in our family and probate courts.

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Dr. Mark Lachs: Addressing Capacity Assessment

Your elderly mother was just discharged from the hospital and needs a bevy of home care services if she's not to bounce back like a bad check: visiting nurses, physical therapists, delivery of assistive equipment like a shower chair to make bathing safe. Yet the day after discharge, she curtly tells each of these well-meaning visitors to "get lost" when they knock on the door. When you politely remind her how much she hated being in the hospital and that these folks would likely prevent her from being readmitted, she tells you she understands but, "I just don't like having strangers in my house and I'm willing to take that risk." So what's going on here?

On the one hand, Mom could have all her marbles and be making a decision consistent with the way she lived her life: as a rugged individualist who makes her own decisions and is willing to live with the consequences. She has capacity. It is also possible that because of any number of factors -- new medications, leftover confusion from the hospital, early dementia -- that she is incapacitated.

My good friend  Dr. Jason Karlawish is a pioneer in a field he calls neuroethics. He's a geriatrician at the University of Pennsylvania who works closely with neurologists who care for and study patients with various degrees of memory loss and dementias like Alzheimer's Disease. Last month, he gave a stunning presentation for attendees of the NYC Elder Abuse Confernce at the New School in New York City about the assessment of decision-making capacity of older adults with and without these disorders.

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Addressing Capacity Assessment

Brooklyn Doctor Accused of Massive Medicaid Fraud

Source: Brooklyn Doctor Accused of Massive Medicaid Fraud

NJ Doctor Accused of Unauthorized Medical Research on Disabled is Fired

The doctor accused of performing unauthorized medical research on intellectually disabled residents at a state institution in Union Township has been fired, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services said today.
The doctor, Philip May, was let go last month after he refused to participate in an internal hearing on charges that he abused clients at the Hunterdon Developmental Center, engaged in inappropriate physical contact and falsified documents, the spokeswoman, Nicole Brossoie, said.

May’s lawyer, John A. Azzarello of Chatham, said in an e-mail message last night his client chose instead to challenge the dismissal by seeking a ruling before "a neutral arbiter."

The department placed May on paid leave in December 2011, but did not bring administrative charges against him until last July 27 after an article in The Star-Ledger cited five sources who said they had direct knowledge of the investigation.

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N.J. Doctor Accused of Unauthorized Medical Research on Disabled is Fired

See Also:
Nurse Sues NJ Over Hunterdon Deverlopmental Center Investigation

Hunterdon Developmental Center Doctor Suspended Without Pay in Research Study Scandal

Three Hunderdon Developmental Center Managers Face Administrative Charges Over Bone Research Study

State Files Charges Against Hunderdon County Physician, Nurse

Hunderton Deverlopmental Center Pair Allegedly Performed Dangerous Tests on Disabled Residents

Doctor Sued in Huge Prescription Fraud Case

A psychiatrist who lives in Skokie is being sued for orchestrating what federal authorities are calling the largest prescription fraud case ever in Chicago.

The defendant, Dr. Michael J. Reinstein, received illegal kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies and submitted at least 140,000 false claims to Medicare and Medicaid for antipsychotic medications he prescribed for thousands of mentally ill patients in area nursing homes, according to a civil health care fraud lawsuit filed today.

Reinstein also submitted at least 50,000 claims to Medicare and Medicaid, falsely stating that he provided “pharmacologic management” for his patients at more than 30 area nursing homes and long-term care facilities, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks triple damages under the False Claims Act, plus a civil penalty of $5,500 to $11,000 for each alleged false claim.

“This is the largest civil case alleging prescription medication fraud against an individual ever brought in Chicago,” said Gary S. Shapiro, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois.

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Doc Sued in Huge Prescription Fraud Case

Mount Prospect doctor charged in kickback scheme

A Mount Prospect doctor is one of nine defendants charged in a Medicare fraud scheme.

Masood Syed, 53, is facing five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

He is accused of accepting nearly $5,000 in kickbacks from the owners of a Skokie home health care agency in exchange for referring Medicare patients, federal prosecutors said.

 

In addition to Syed, those charged include Dr. Emmanuel Nwaokocha of Skokie, two owners of Rosner Home Healthcare, Inc., a former employee of the agency, the operator of a referral agency, an office manager at a doctor’s office and two home health care marketers.

 

Prosecutors allege the kickbacks have been ongoing since 2008.

 

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Mount Prospect doctor charged in kickback scheme

TX: Biggest Medicare Fraud in History Busted in February, Says Feds

Federal officials say they have taken down the largest Medicare fraud scheme investigators have ever discovered: a $375 million dollar home healthcare scam operating in the Dallas, Texas area.

The alleged "mastermind" of the fraud, Dr. Jacques Roy, is charged with certifying hundreds of fraudulent claims for Medicare reimbursement, and pocketing millions in payments for services not needed, or never delivered. Prosecutors say the 54-year-old Dr. Roy, who was arrested today and could be sentenced to life in prison, operated a "boiler room" to churn out thousands of phony Medicare claims and recruited homeless people as fake patients

"Today, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force is taking aim at the largest alleged home health fraud scheme ever committed," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer. "According to the indictment, Dr. Roy and his co-conspirators, for years, ran a well-oiled fraudulent enterprise in the Dallas area, making millions by recruiting thousands of patients for unnecessary services, and billing Medicare for those services."

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Biggest Medicare Fraud in History Busted, Says Feds

See Also:
NASGA's Open Letter to Congress: The Fleecing of Medicaid and the Taxpayer

Houston Hospital Pulls Life-Preserving Treatment Against Family's Wishes

A hospital is now actively killing a patient whose family called me at the 11th hour yesterday, pleading to save their father’s life.

Despite the family’s desperation to protect their father’s life, and everything Texas Right to Life did for them, the hospital’s death panel declared his life futile and moved with steps to kill him.

I could not protect him, and I want to tell you what happened.

His family calls him Willie.

A few weeks ago, he was making plans to travel with his family for a vacation in Europe, but he had chest pains and went to the hospital to check what’s wrong. To his surprise, they discovered pneumonia and, shockingly, leukemia.

His doctors suggested surgery and chemo. Willie didn’t want to die. Before sedation, his daughter told me that he looked lovingly into her eyes and said, “Fight for me, baby; I ain’t done living.”

His family — armed with a medical power of attorney — obeyed his wishes and told the doctors to continue his medical care and treatment.

But his doctors disagreed. They had other plans.

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Houston Hospital Pulls Life-Preserving Treatment Against Family's Wishes

Note: This article was written on March 20, and the author says Willie died that same afternoon.

GA Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Bilking Medicaid/Medicare

Dr. ROBERT WILLIAMS, 77, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to prison by United States District Judge Richard W. Story on federal health care fraud charges.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “This doctor attempted to bilk Medicare and Medicaid for over $2 million for psychological services he never provided to elderly nursing home patients. Some of the patients were dead at the time he claimed he provided services; others never received treatment. Now he’s headed to prison.”

“Many of Georgia’s neediest citizens rely on Medicaid for access to health care. The Attorney General’s office is committed to weeding out fraud so that every dollar is spent on those who need this vital assistance,” said Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens.

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Doctor Sentenced to Prison for Submitting Fraudulent Bills to Medicare and Medicaid