Prompted by reports of substandard care and abuse, the Senate is poised to pass much tougher standards for Florida’s assisted living facilities, but the initial reaction from key House members and lobbyists remains unclear as bills began to move Thursday.
There was no opposition Thursday as two Senate panels passed committee bills that would tighten Florida’s oversight of ALFs. The Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee passed SPB 7176, while the Senate Health Regulation Committee passed SPB 7174 – both of which would close ALFs when a resident dies of abuse or neglect.
The bills would also increase monitoring and criminal sanctions, boost the qualifications for administrators and staffers, and give residents and their families more protection.
“This could be really watershed legislation in protecting the lives of 80,000 individuals who live in assisted living facilities in this state,” Bob Sharpe, CEO of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health, told lawmakers. “If you’re successful in sustaining the provisions of this bill throughout the session, you will have done a remarkable thing.”
In the wake of last year’s Miami Herald investigative series “Neglected to Death,” lawmakers began responding to reports of dreadful conditions and care at some of the state’s nearly 3,000 ALFs. Statewide, residents were dying of abuse and neglect at a rate of nearly one per month. The Herald also found that inspections by the Agency for Health Care Administration had dropped 33 percent over the past five years, even as reports of abuse and neglect increased.
Full Article and Source:
Assisted Living Facilities Under the Gun
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Nursing Home Abuse Settlement Brings $200 mil
When nursing home abuse happens, most families feel helpless to their loved ones who were victimized. It is very common for families to not know what course of action to take and feel scared at the thought of seeking justice. In a record breaking-case, $200 million dollars was awarded to a patient’s family in a tragic elderly abuse case.
The 92-year-old victim was a resident at a nursing home and suffered from dementia. Her body was found at the bottom of a stairwell while she was strapped in a wheelchair. The staff at the nursing home testified that the door to the stairwell was supposed to be locked at all times but that many members of the staff disabled the alarm in order to go smoke. The nursing home had been cited multiple times with deficiency citations and abuse complaints while the aids stated that it was frequently understaffed. The case was against Trans Health Management Inc., who at the time had the sole authority to operate the home at the time.
Full Article and Source:
Nursing Home Abuse Settlement Brings $200 Million Dollars
The 92-year-old victim was a resident at a nursing home and suffered from dementia. Her body was found at the bottom of a stairwell while she was strapped in a wheelchair. The staff at the nursing home testified that the door to the stairwell was supposed to be locked at all times but that many members of the staff disabled the alarm in order to go smoke. The nursing home had been cited multiple times with deficiency citations and abuse complaints while the aids stated that it was frequently understaffed. The case was against Trans Health Management Inc., who at the time had the sole authority to operate the home at the time.
Full Article and Source:
Nursing Home Abuse Settlement Brings $200 Million Dollars
Friday, January 27, 2012
MA Appeals Court Says No Way to Forced Abortion
A Massachusetts appeals court has verbally skewered a judge who ordered that a mentally ill woman have an abortion against her will even if it meant she had to be “coaxed, bribed, or even enticed” into a hospital.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court this week overturned the ruling by Norfolk Probate Judge Christina L. Harms, who had also ordered that the 32-year-old woman, known as “Mary Moe,” be sterilized.
The appellate decision noted that Moe “has consistently expressed her opposition to abortion” and likely would “continue to do so if she were competent.”
The facts in the case are not in dispute, according to court documents. Moe, who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder, is a few months pregnant. She has been pregnant twice before: The first time she had an abortion; the second time she gave birth to a boy who is now in the custody of her parents. Between her abortion and the birth of her son, she suffered a “psychotic break,” and has been hospitalized numerous times for mental illness.
At a December hearing, the state Department of Mental Health asked a court to grant temporary guardianship of Moe to her parents. That would allow the parents, who were already caring for one child, to give consent to an abortion for their daughter. (Court documents do not mention who the father is.)
Harms approved the guardianship, finding that Moe was incompetent to decide on an abortion based on “several and substantial delusional beliefs” -– including that Moe mistakenly believed she had a daughter and that she had previously met the judge.
According to the appellate ruling:
The judge ordered that Moe's parents be appointed as coguardians and that Moe could be "coaxed, bribed, or even enticed ... by ruse" into a hospital where she would be sedated and an abortion performed.
Additionally:
“...the judge directed that any medical facility that performed the abortion also sterilize Moe at the same time ‘to avoid this painful situation from recurring in the future."
Moe’s court-appointed lawyer, Doug Boyer, appealed Harms’ decision.
The Massachusetts Appeals Court this week overturned the ruling by Norfolk Probate Judge Christina L. Harms, who had also ordered that the 32-year-old woman, known as “Mary Moe,” be sterilized.
The appellate decision noted that Moe “has consistently expressed her opposition to abortion” and likely would “continue to do so if she were competent.”
The facts in the case are not in dispute, according to court documents. Moe, who suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar mood disorder, is a few months pregnant. She has been pregnant twice before: The first time she had an abortion; the second time she gave birth to a boy who is now in the custody of her parents. Between her abortion and the birth of her son, she suffered a “psychotic break,” and has been hospitalized numerous times for mental illness.
At a December hearing, the state Department of Mental Health asked a court to grant temporary guardianship of Moe to her parents. That would allow the parents, who were already caring for one child, to give consent to an abortion for their daughter. (Court documents do not mention who the father is.)
Harms approved the guardianship, finding that Moe was incompetent to decide on an abortion based on “several and substantial delusional beliefs” -– including that Moe mistakenly believed she had a daughter and that she had previously met the judge.
According to the appellate ruling:
The judge ordered that Moe's parents be appointed as coguardians and that Moe could be "coaxed, bribed, or even enticed ... by ruse" into a hospital where she would be sedated and an abortion performed.
Additionally:
“...the judge directed that any medical facility that performed the abortion also sterilize Moe at the same time ‘to avoid this painful situation from recurring in the future."
Moe’s court-appointed lawyer, Doug Boyer, appealed Harms’ decision.
Disabled Patients' Wishes Ignored
The wishes of individuals declared mentally incompetent often go unheeded in family court, lawyers and social workers say, costing them control over the most personal decisions.
In light of this month’s stunning family court ruling that a woman diagnosed with schizophrenia should undergo an abortion and be sterilized, mental health specialists say the case, while an extreme example, casts light on an often unsettling reality for those deemed unable to make decisions for themselves.
Even when individuals voice opposition to a course of treatment, from antipsychotic medication to hospitalization, the courts often rule otherwise, lawyers say.
“It happens regularly,’’ said Robert Fleischner, an attorney at the Center for Public Representation in Northampton who specializes in mental health and disability law.
Those who work in the family court system generally praise Massachusetts for its progressive attitudes toward incapacitated individuals, saying their voices typically are allowed greater force here than in other states.
Yet many worry that the recent ruling, which only came to light when it was reversed on appeal, suggests there could be broader a problem at play, and it prompted concern that the courts are not consistently honoring the rights of those declared incompetent.
“To think a ruling like this could even happen once is extremely disturbing," said Rick Glassman, litigation director of the Disability Law Center of Massachusetts. No figures are kept on the number of court-ordered abortions and sterilizations in Massachusetts, but specialists say they are likely more common than typically assumed.
Full Article and Source:
Disabled Patients' Wishes Ignored
In light of this month’s stunning family court ruling that a woman diagnosed with schizophrenia should undergo an abortion and be sterilized, mental health specialists say the case, while an extreme example, casts light on an often unsettling reality for those deemed unable to make decisions for themselves.
Even when individuals voice opposition to a course of treatment, from antipsychotic medication to hospitalization, the courts often rule otherwise, lawyers say.
“It happens regularly,’’ said Robert Fleischner, an attorney at the Center for Public Representation in Northampton who specializes in mental health and disability law.
Those who work in the family court system generally praise Massachusetts for its progressive attitudes toward incapacitated individuals, saying their voices typically are allowed greater force here than in other states.
Yet many worry that the recent ruling, which only came to light when it was reversed on appeal, suggests there could be broader a problem at play, and it prompted concern that the courts are not consistently honoring the rights of those declared incompetent.
“To think a ruling like this could even happen once is extremely disturbing," said Rick Glassman, litigation director of the Disability Law Center of Massachusetts. No figures are kept on the number of court-ordered abortions and sterilizations in Massachusetts, but specialists say they are likely more common than typically assumed.
Full Article and Source:
Disabled Patients' Wishes Ignored
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Judge Ignores College Park Woman's Final Wishes
When Barbara Carey moved back to College Park to care for her 88-year-old mother last March, she was well aware that Helen Carey did not want to spend her final days in a nursing home.
Court records confirm that in 2006, Helen Carey had signed a living will and durable powers of attorney specifying that she remain in her home -- under her daughter's care -- until her death, with a family trust covering any necessary nursing or housekeeping expenses.
After examining Helen Carey on May 18, 2011, Dr. Peter Rabins, professor of psychiatry and behavior sciences at Johns Hopkins, stated in a report to the Prince George's County Circuit Court that she was "an alert elderly woman ... with no evidence of depression. She can remain in her home if the resources are available."
Less than a week later, however, Judge Sherrie Krauser ignored her own medical expert and ordered Helen Carey transferred from the Lanham hospital where she had gone for observation after suffering chest pains to an Adelphi nursing home.
Attorney Jeanne Aelion, a temporary guardian appointed by Krauser, allowed her daughter only a one-hour supervised visit per week.
In a July 1, 2011, email, Helen Carey's court-appointed attorney, W. David Allen, told Barbara Carey: "I am informed that after consulting with Dr. Peter Rabins, Helen Carey is being given Zoloft, an antidepressant. I believe this is prescribed to address her apathy." Another email, dated Aug. 1, stated that Dr. Rabins "agreed with the use of Zoloft."
But Barbara Carey, a physical therapist in Fairfax, knew that Zoloft (sertraline) was contraindicated for the treatment of depression in Alzheimer's patients because Dr. Rabins himself had co-authored several articles making this very point.
She also knew her mother did not tolerate Zoloft, and that her thyroid problem mimicked symptoms of depression. On Aug. 31, she asked the court to order a second medical opinion. Her petition was denied.
Barbara Carey told The Washington Examiner that after being prevented from seeing her mother at all for two weeks, she was shocked at her condition on Sept. 15. "She was clearly still on medication. Her heart was racing. She could hardly walk."
According to court documents obtained by The Washington Examiner, a tense standoff between the daughter and the guardian occurred that day: "My mother is in medical distress. Her pulse was over 200. The guardian was right there. I told her, 'She is in tachycardia. She needs medical help.' "
Five days later, while Barbara Carey was still desperately trying to get the governor's office and the Maryland Department of Aging to intervene, Helen Carey died of cardiac arrest.
Despite Allen's emails and Barbara Carey's own observations, a subsequent investigation by the department found no record that Helen Carey had ever been taking any psychotropic drugs. Both Dr. Rabins and attorney Allen refused to comment when asked to explain this apparent discrepancy.
"If the investigation is correct," Barbara Carey told The Washington Examiner, "it indicates either an error or altered records." Medication errors should be of interest to state regulators, and altering medical records is a crime, but the state of Maryland apparently isn't interested either way.
Full Article and Source:
Judge Ignores College Park Woman's Final Wishes
Court records confirm that in 2006, Helen Carey had signed a living will and durable powers of attorney specifying that she remain in her home -- under her daughter's care -- until her death, with a family trust covering any necessary nursing or housekeeping expenses.
After examining Helen Carey on May 18, 2011, Dr. Peter Rabins, professor of psychiatry and behavior sciences at Johns Hopkins, stated in a report to the Prince George's County Circuit Court that she was "an alert elderly woman ... with no evidence of depression. She can remain in her home if the resources are available."
Less than a week later, however, Judge Sherrie Krauser ignored her own medical expert and ordered Helen Carey transferred from the Lanham hospital where she had gone for observation after suffering chest pains to an Adelphi nursing home.
Attorney Jeanne Aelion, a temporary guardian appointed by Krauser, allowed her daughter only a one-hour supervised visit per week.
In a July 1, 2011, email, Helen Carey's court-appointed attorney, W. David Allen, told Barbara Carey: "I am informed that after consulting with Dr. Peter Rabins, Helen Carey is being given Zoloft, an antidepressant. I believe this is prescribed to address her apathy." Another email, dated Aug. 1, stated that Dr. Rabins "agreed with the use of Zoloft."
But Barbara Carey, a physical therapist in Fairfax, knew that Zoloft (sertraline) was contraindicated for the treatment of depression in Alzheimer's patients because Dr. Rabins himself had co-authored several articles making this very point.
She also knew her mother did not tolerate Zoloft, and that her thyroid problem mimicked symptoms of depression. On Aug. 31, she asked the court to order a second medical opinion. Her petition was denied.
Barbara Carey told The Washington Examiner that after being prevented from seeing her mother at all for two weeks, she was shocked at her condition on Sept. 15. "She was clearly still on medication. Her heart was racing. She could hardly walk."
According to court documents obtained by The Washington Examiner, a tense standoff between the daughter and the guardian occurred that day: "My mother is in medical distress. Her pulse was over 200. The guardian was right there. I told her, 'She is in tachycardia. She needs medical help.' "
Five days later, while Barbara Carey was still desperately trying to get the governor's office and the Maryland Department of Aging to intervene, Helen Carey died of cardiac arrest.
Despite Allen's emails and Barbara Carey's own observations, a subsequent investigation by the department found no record that Helen Carey had ever been taking any psychotropic drugs. Both Dr. Rabins and attorney Allen refused to comment when asked to explain this apparent discrepancy.
"If the investigation is correct," Barbara Carey told The Washington Examiner, "it indicates either an error or altered records." Medication errors should be of interest to state regulators, and altering medical records is a crime, but the state of Maryland apparently isn't interested either way.
Full Article and Source:
Judge Ignores College Park Woman's Final Wishes
CA: Convicted Felons Sent to Local Nursing Facility
Before Kenneth Bryan Holcomb shot and killed a homeless man in San Mateo County in 1992, he had been in prison for burglary and drug dealing. While he was serving a 22-years-to-life sentence for the murder, he fractured his spine during a fight, which left him a quadriplegic, unable to walk, dress or bathe himself.Holcomb speaks with some difficulty, although he is able to see and hear, Patrick Sparks, his lawyer, said during a medical parole hearing last September. Yet Sparks said that his client retained “the capacity in his mind for dangerousness,” a transcript shows. “Not to say that he’s the Godfather or anything, but he’s a pretty dangerous guy,” he said.
Even so, the California Board of Parole Hearings found that because of Holcomb’s disabilities “the conditions under which the inmate would be released will not pose a reasonable threat to public safety.”
Today Holcomb lives in the Idylwood Care Center, a private 172-bed nursing home in a leafy suburban neighborhood in Sunnyvale, near a park and a private school. He and three other medical parolees from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation — murderers, drug dealers and burglars, ranging in age from 40s to 70s — are watched by medical staff instead of by prison guards.
The four are among the first 29 prisoners to be granted medical parole under a 2010 California law intended to save the state tens of millions of dollars in medical and guarding costs for permanently, medically incapacitated prisoners. Some of the parolees are bedridden, while others can be moved by wheelchair, and officials said that the parolees posed no threat to others.
“There are worries involved in putting prisoners in with the regular population of frail seniors, but there is a lot of risk involved in putting them in with psych patients,” said Wanda Hale, who visited the Idylwood Care Center as the program manager for the long-term care ombudsman program at Catholic Charities in Santa Clara County. “My concern is that there is a lot of potential for problems. They just haven’t happened yet.”
Facilities that care for medical parolees are not required to inform other patients or their families about the parolees. The ombudsmen receive no formal notification when medical parolees are transferred to facilities in their region.
Full Article and Source:
Convicted Felons Sent to Bay Area Nursing Home
CA: State's Long-Term Care to Get Better
The Senate's Human Services Committee voted this week to approve legislation to strengthen the independence and accountability of a program intended to defend the rights, safety and welfare of long-term care residents in California in light of recent scrutiny.
"There is warranted concern that California's State Ombudsman program is not effectively advocating for residents," said Senator Lois Wolk, D-Davis, noting recent studies by both the Senate Office of Research and the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes.
Wolk's legislation, Senate Bill 345, strengthens the ability of California's Long-term Care Ombudsman to act independently to fulfill its state- and federally-mandated responsibilities, which include investigating long-term care resident complaints, protecting the legal rights of residents, advocating for systematic change, and publicizing issues of importance to residents.
SB 345 would reinforce the independence of the politically-appointed state ombudsman from the California Department of Aging, which currently oversees the program, and require increased accountability for the ombudsman's advocacy efforts.
Full Article and Source:
State's Long-Term Care to Get Better
"There is warranted concern that California's State Ombudsman program is not effectively advocating for residents," said Senator Lois Wolk, D-Davis, noting recent studies by both the Senate Office of Research and the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes.Wolk's legislation, Senate Bill 345, strengthens the ability of California's Long-term Care Ombudsman to act independently to fulfill its state- and federally-mandated responsibilities, which include investigating long-term care resident complaints, protecting the legal rights of residents, advocating for systematic change, and publicizing issues of importance to residents.
SB 345 would reinforce the independence of the politically-appointed state ombudsman from the California Department of Aging, which currently oversees the program, and require increased accountability for the ombudsman's advocacy efforts.
Full Article and Source:
State's Long-Term Care to Get Better
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Family Members Battle Over Sick Man's Care
A battle is raging between two sides of a family and a sick man is caught in the middle.Laurie Chism and her brother and sister fear time is running out for their father, 74-year-old Jim Chism.
The Chism children are embroiled in a battle to take guardianship of their father from his wife, who they believe is deliberately letting their dad die.
Chism is being treated at a psychiatric facility in Mount Clemens. He was moved there after having a hallucination the day after Thanksgiving.
His children, who live out of town, say Chism’s wife of more than 20 years ultimately got doctors to sign off on a transfer to a mental institution.
Chism’s kids filed paperwork Monday in Macomb County court to get an emergency hearing to take guardianship of their father.
As for their stepmother, the Chism’s believe she is battling depression over her own struggle with cancer and may be trying to take control of Jim’s assets, including his chiropractic business. We tried to get her side of the story, but she declined.
It’s not yet clear if a judge will take up the emergency petition for guardianship.
Source and Video:
Family Members Battle Over Sick Man's Care
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