Life and Death in Assisted Living: "Close the Back Door"

On Sept. 30, 2008, an employee at the Emerald Hills assisted living facility in Auburn, Calif., made an entry in a company computer log: “pressure ulcer/wound.”

Joan, who had spent just 19 days in the facility, had developed the wound on her foot. The fall eight days earlier had hospitalized her and left her with bruises and an abrasion on her right temple. This, though, could be much, much worse.

Pressure ulcers — also known as bed sores — can form when a person loses the ability to move about freely. Lying in bed or sitting in a chair for long stretches of time diminishes the blood flow to the skin, causing it to break down and die. A hole grows. If bacteria creep into the wound, the bugs can devour flesh or invade the blood and bones. Pressure ulcers can turn fatal, particularly in older people.

Because of the lethal potential of pressure ulcers, the federal government monitors them closely in the nursing home business. In the eyes of experts, the sores are often an indicator of poor care. Attentive caregivers can prevent many pressure sores by making sure that people don’t spend too much time in the same position.

“We know that most bed sores are avoidable,” said Kathryn Locatell, a forensic geriatrician who investigates allegations of elder abuse for California Department of Justice. “That is the consensus of experts in the field.”

Emerald Hills was supposed to contact Joan’s doctor when she developed the ulcer. But nobody from Emerald Hills called a doctor. No nurse came to salve Joan’s wound. And nobody told Joan’s relatives — her husband, Myron, who lived in the same facility, or her son who lived nearby — about the development.

Joan’s short, painful stay at Emerald Hills seemed to be accelerating her decline.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "Close the Back Door
See Also:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "A Sinking Ship"

Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "They're Not Treating Mom Well"

Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "The Emerald City"

Life and Death in Assisted Living: "A Sinking Ship"

On Sept. 30, 2008, an employee at the Emerald Hills assisted living facility in Auburn, Calif., made an entry in a company computer log: “pressure ulcer/wound.”

Joan, who had spent just 19 days in the facility, had developed the wound on her foot. The fall eight days earlier had hospitalized her and left her with bruises and an abrasion on her right temple. This, though, could be much, much worse.

Pressure ulcers — also known as bed sores — can form when a person loses the ability to move about freely. Lying in bed or sitting in a chair for long stretches of time diminishes the blood flow to the skin, causing it to break down and die. A hole grows. If bacteria creep into the wound, the bugs can devour flesh or invade the blood and bones. Pressure ulcers can turn fatal, particularly in older people.

Because of the lethal potential of pressure ulcers, the federal government monitors them closely in the nursing home business. In the eyes of experts, the sores are often an indicator of poor care. Attentive caregivers can prevent many pressure sores by making sure that people don’t spend too much time in the same position.

“We know that most bed sores are avoidable,” said Kathryn Locatell, a forensic geriatrician who investigates allegations of elder abuse for California Department of Justice. “That is the consensus of experts in the field.”

Emerald Hills was supposed to contact Joan’s doctor when she developed the ulcer. But nobody from Emerald Hills called a doctor. No nurse came to salve Joan’s wound. And nobody told Joan’s relatives — her husband, Myron, who lived in the same facility, or her son who lived nearby — about the development.

Joan’s short, painful stay at Emerald Hills seemed to be accelerating her decline.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "A Sinking Ship"

See Also:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "They're Not Treating Mom Well"

Life and Death in Assisted Living:  "The Emerald City"

Life and Death in Assisted Living: They're Not Treating Mom Well

When the ambulance crew arrived, about 8:20 p.m., Joan Boice was in the TV lounge, face-down on the carpet. Her head had struck the floor with some velocity; bruises were forming on her forehead and both cheeks. It appeared she’d lost her balance and fallen out of a chair.

But no one at the assisted living facility could say precisely how the accident had occurred. No one knew how long Joan had been splayed out on the floor. She had defecated and urinated on herself.
Worried that Joan might have injured her spine, the emergency medical personnel gently rolled her over and placed her on a back board. They pumped oxygen into her nostrils.

It was Sept. 22, 2008 — just 10 days after Joan had first moved into Emerald Hills.

No Emeritus employees accompanied Joan to the hospital. And even though Joan’s husband, Myron, was living in the facility, the Emeritus workers didn’t immediately alert him that Joan had fallen and hurt herself. Joan, confused, injured, and nearly mute, ended up in the local hospital by herself, surrounded by strangers.

California law requires assisted living companies to conduct a “pre-admission appraisal” of prospective residents, to ensure they are appropriate candidates for assisted living.

But Emerald Hills took Joan in without performing an appraisal. It wasn’t for lack of time. The Boices had signed the contract to live at Emerald Hills more than two weeks before Joan moved in.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  They're Not Treating Mom Well

See Also:
Life and Death in Assisted Living: The Emerald City

Life and Death in Assisted Living: "The Emerald City"

Joan Boice needed help. Lots of it. Her physician had tallied the damage: Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, pain from a compression fracture of the spine. For Joan, an 81-year-old former schoolteacher, simply getting from her couch to the bathroom required the aid of a walker or wheelchair.

The Alzheimer’s, of course, was the worst. The disease had gradually left Joan unable to dress, eat or bathe without assistance. It had destroyed much of the complex cerebral circuitry necessary for forming words. It was stealing her voice.

Joan’s family was forced to do the kind of hard reckoning that so many American families must do these days. It was clear that Joan could no longer live at home. Her husband, Myron, simply didn’t have the stamina to provide the constant care and supervision she needed. And moving in with any of their three children wasn’t an option.

These were the circumstances that eventually led the Boice family to Emeritus at Emerald Hills, a sprawling, three-story assisted living facility off Highway 49 in Auburn, Calif. The handsome 110-bed complex was painted in shades of deep green and cream, reflecting its location on the western fringe of the craggy, coniferous Sierra Nevada mountain range. It was owned by the Emeritus Corp., a Seattle-based chain that was on its way to becoming the nation’s largest assisted living company, with some 500 facilities stretching across 45 states.

Emeritus at Emerald Hills promised state-of-the art care for Joan’s advancing dementia. Specially trained members of the staff would create an individual plan for Joan based on her life history. They would monitor her health, engage her in an array of physically and mentally stimulating activities, and pass out her 11 prescription medications, which included morphine (for pain) and the anti-psychotic drug Seroquel (given in hopes of curbing some of the symptoms of her Alzheimer’s). She would live in the “memory care” unit, a space designed specifically to keep people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia safe.

Full Article and Source:
Life and Death in Assisted Living:  The Emerald City

NASGA Press Release

Unlawful and Abusive Guardianships & Conservatorships Focus of This Month’s AARP’s ‘Inside E Street’ Program, Featuring NASGA Member

AARP, as part of their Inside E Street series, will present an interview on 6/24 and 6/25 with NASGA member Danny Tate, recently freed from an unlawful Nashville conservatorship.\1/

Inside E Street is an informative half-hour talk show that delves into the issues behind the headlines. While most political talk shows focus on the news from the campaign trail and analyze poll results, Inside E Street looks at the latest developments affecting economic security, health care and retirement.

For a listing of when PBS will air this AARP program in your area, visit http://insideestreet.sgewebdev.com/index.asp.

NASGA is an organization of victims for victims of unlawful and abusive guardianships and conservatorships.

______________
\1/ Note: Tate’s case involves an unbelievable “temporary” conservatorship that lasted over 2.5 years. Even now that the conservatorship has been terminated, Tate must fight to regain what’s left of his estate before the attorneys finish it off. See http://www.NashvilleCriminals.info.

Prisoner People

Britney Spears, whose father Jamie Spears is still the conservator of her finances and affairs, now says her tightly controlled existence feels "like Groundhog Day" and she feels "Like a Prisoner."

In the new 90 minute documentary “Britney: For The Record", airing on Nov 30 on MTV, executive-produced by Spears' manager Larry Rudolph, the Pop Princess admits:

"There’s no excitement, there’s no passion.I have really good days, and then I have bad days."

"Even when you go to jail, y'know, there’s the time when you’re gonna get out. But in this situation, it’s never ending. It’s just like Groundhog Day every day."

"If you do something wrong in your work, you can move on, but I’m having to pay for a long time."

"I think it's too in control, If I wasn't under the restraints I'm under, I'd feel so liberated. When I tell them the way I feel, it's like they hear but they're really not listening."

"I never wanted to become one of those prisoner people. I always wanted to feel free."

"I think I've learnt my lesson now and enough is enough."

Source:
Britney Spears says she feels like a prisoner

Britney Spears: Life Is "Like Groundhog Day"

Britney: Life is worse than jail


See also:
Permanent Conservatorship

Big Money Conservatorship

No Right To Counsel

Bad News For Britney

Who's the Boss?

What a Court-Appointed Conservator Really Means:

They are supposed to guard the fortunes of your family members — but find out how court-appointed conservators can con your loved ones out of their home, bank accounts, credit cards and everything they possess.

Source and Video:

The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet

M and J Show

Marked for Destruction

A diary of Elder Financial Abuse and Fraud. Locked away in an Assisted Living Facility against her will. A crime perpetrated by her Professional Legal Guardian:

Marked For Destruction is a true crime story, a diary account of Adele Fraulen-a senior lady who had made her way in life with little help from anyone. Suddenly, a brother dies leaving the earned interest from a $1 million dollar estate for her and a surviving brother to share. But when Adele sought professional help to manage her inheritance she was seen by the professionals she trusted, a legal guardian and her attorney, as an easy "mark." Adele signed documents represented to her by the professionals as a revocable contract for them to help manage her new finances. The contract's small print would also allow them to become her legal guardian if she ever were to become incapacitated. Soon after signing, Adele decided she did not need outside help and asked the guardian and attorney to cancel her agreement with them, but instead of honoring her desire they began court proceedings to have her declared mentally and physically incapacitated--thereby invoking the "if" clause. Their clever schemes succeeded and Adele was eventually confined in a locked nursing home where her food was drugged to help keep her quiet and her contact with the outside world was limited.

They took her freedom, her life and her money, but a neighbor came to her rescue. Adele's story, described in the book Marked For Destruction, tells of her neighbor's exhaustive and successful fight to free her from captivity.
Source: Marked for Destruction by Officer John Caravella /retired

TELEVISION SERIES: The producers of "Boston Legal" portrayed this story's theme, highlighted by the performances of Betty White and Norma Michaels as Adele. Norma Michaels captured the desperate plight Adele lived and provided a portal to the significance of this crime in today's society. The life-altering events of this story unfold daily in our own backyards.

Catherine Piper (Betty White) helps her 83-year-old friend, Adele (Norma Michaels), escape from the hospital where her court assigned conservator had placed her, Alan Shore steps in to help Adele regain control of her life.
Script: Boston Legal: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

From TV to Prison

The American Outdoorsman TV Show had brought on a new Co-Host, award winning dog trainer and outdoor enthusiast, Kathy Simane.

It was reported that Kathy brought with her a passion for the great outdoors as well as training and competing in dog show events, such as in agility, obedience and hunt tests. Kathy earned a multitude of awards and recognition with her 6-year old black lab, Ashton, including winning first place at the Labrador Nationals at Purina Farms in October, 2003, and earning Ashtons Hunting Retriever title in 2004.
Source: Complete Video Productions Celebrates its 15th Anniversary of Producing the National Hunting & Fishing TV Show, The American Outdoorsman

On March 3, 2001, Helen Fabis, 87, was taken by ambulance to the Critical Care Unit of Memorial Community Hospital, Edgerton, profoundly confused, malnourished and in critical condition, and suffering form the effects of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. On March 8, 2001, Kathleen Simane, Aunt Helen's grandniece, was appointed her Temporary Guardian. In less than 54 days of Simane's tenure, Simane spent all of Aunt Helen's life savings (bank accounts, SS checks, proceeds from sale of stocks, cash), in excess of $75,000.

Source: NASGA - Wisconsin Victim

Helen Fabis, died in April 2001. Helen's great-niece Kathleen Simane was temporary guardian while Helen was sick and was personal representative of the estate after Helen's death. Simane was charged in Rock County Court with taking more than $72,000 from Helen's bank accounts before Helen died. Simane also is accused of using a fake insurance letter to convince Jean Glowacki, who was Helen's sister and Simane's grandmother, to sign over a $3,356 life insurance check.
Source: Woman charged with stealing from ill aunt's bank accounts

Kathleen Simane, a court-appointed guardian, used her position to steal more than $75,000 from her dying great-aunt, Helen Fabis of Edgerton. Simane, of St. Paul, Minn., who spent money on a car and breast augmentation, was caught and sentenced to two years in prison, extended supervision and $78,289 in restitution to the Fabis estate.
Source: Elder abuse: A silent shame

See also:
Woman Guilty Of Taking $75K From Elderly Aunt

Woman Sentenced For Gutting Elderly Aunt's Estate

Minnesota Woman Sentenced for Theft

MINNESOTA WOMAN SENTENCED FOR THEFT BY BAILEE IN ROCK COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT

Attorney General Lautenschlager announces Minnesota woman convicted in elder financial abuse case

Case Details: Rock County Case Number 2005CF000301

Case Summary: State of Wisconsin vs. Kathleen A Simane

Charge History: State of Wisconsin vs. Kathleen A Simane