Husband Rescues Wife from Board and Care Facility on Valentine’s Day

Credell & Katherine Carter

The Carter family believes it was a matter of life or death. Katherine Carter hadn’t been home since September 2017 when she went into rehabilitation where she was doing fine—until she was sent to a board and care facility selected by a conservator of the Alameda Probate Court in December 2017, after her insurance ran out.

Katherine Carter has failed to thrive and continues to decline despite efforts by the family to adhere to Carter’s doctor’s request for a more skilled facility. Their request was denied.

The conservator chose instead a place she deemed “culturally appropriate.” Mrs. Carter is African-American.

Under choices made under the conservator’s “care,” Katherine’s on-going chronic kidney dysfunction was not addressed, her ankles began to swell, and she developed a blood clot in her left leg.

Any time the family requested that meals be adjusted because of high sodium levels, they were ignored. When a request was made for her to see the doctor, they were ignored and were informed by the conservator that there was not an immediate need.

The last straw occurred for the Carter family after the family took Katherine to the hospital last week. Her creatinine levels were higher than normal levels, with blood pressure over 200, and she was dehydrated. The conservator stated that it was an unnecessary visit and that Katherine was not to be removed from the facility ever again without her approval.

The family decided the only alternative was to go rogue.  On Wednesday, Credell Carter, Katherine’s husband, removed his wife from the health facility.

Mr. Carter, and his two daughters Venus and Kimberly had no idea what the consequences of their actions would bring but they believed they faced a life-or-death-sentence choice for their wife and mother—and they chose life.

The Carter family was supported by the Alameda County Probate Court Reform Movement, comprised of 78 families whose estates have been wiped out by the Probate Court.

President of the Reform Movement Maxine Ussery, started the group after her family lost their $5.2-million estate and walked away from the court with a meager $32,000.

Said Ussery, “The court is deliberately stripping elderly and minority family estates to keep their doors open, and it has got to stop. We’re standing with the Carter family before they become another sad statistic.

“We’re determined to bring attention to this travesty called a court system, and demand the courts stop decimating our estates to keep their doors open. We’ll be there to support the Carter family, we’re standing shoulder-to-shoulder, we’re drawing our line in the sand.”

Katherine Carter was safely removed from board and care without incident. Mr. Carter stated his understanding is he is within his rights to save his wife.

“Besides, Judge Reardon said I could take her home after she left the Genesis facility.  He just didn’t tell me when,” he added.

Carter’s daughter Venus Gist said, “I’m strong about this.  The court is killing mom for profit.”

UPDATE: Credell Carter went to court this week to face the consequences of taking his wife Katherine Carter out of a board-and-care facility, where she was living in conditions that the family believed were hazardous to her health.  At the hearing on February 21st, the judge threw out all the charges brought against Mr. Carter, who was reappointed as trustee of his and his wife’s trust and given custody again of the care of Mrs. Carter.  The Carter family has been supported by the Probate Court Reform Movement.

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Husband Rescues Wife from Board and Care Facility on Valentine’s Day

Report: Hundreds charged for elder abuse in 2016

CBS46 NewsATLANTA (CBS46) - Three Dekalb County healthcare providers are now  facing charges after the death of a nursing home resident.

Investigators say Loyce Agyeman, Wanda Nuckles and Mable Turman failed to provide timely and necessary medical help and ignored a dying man's cries for help back in 2014.

But, this situation isn’t as isolated as you may think. It is said that for every one case of elder abuse that comes to the attention of authorities, there are another 23 cases never come to light. It’s an issue that has many like Stone Mountain resident Shoshannah Bryant on edge.

"My biggest concern is abuse I'm concerned about possible abuse," said Bryant who currently has two family members in area nursing homes.

Byrant adds she is constantly worried about the care her loved ones are receiving, a concern that is legitimate when examining recent statistics.

According to the Georgia Crime Information Center, more than 777 charges were filed against nearly 560 individuals for abuse, neglect or exploitation of a vulnerable adult in 2016. And, while the stats for 2017 aren't out yet they're expected to be similar.

"It could happen to anyone, my loved one is not exempt. But, I pray that it doesn't happen but it's possible because I'm not there 24/7 so I don't see everything that goes on in the facility," said Bryant.

But the Department of Human Services, Aging Services Division says there are a lot of things you can do to prevent your loved one from becoming a victim of elderly abuse.

"Around physical abuse, you want to look for bruising,the lacerations, you want to look for wounds that are various stages of healing, bite marks," said Abby Cox the director of Aging Services.

Cox adds because the signs of physical abuse can vary, you should also be on guard for signs of overall neglect.

"You want to lookout for dehydration, malnutrition, a home that is not in a safe environment for a person to live in, cloths with urine stains on it"

In addition, Cox says you should pay attention to changes in your loved ones financial habits and overall you should just be present and visit them on a regular bases. Advice Bryant says she takes.

“If the family doesn’t go visit their loved ones then they think they’ve been abandoned, and the nursing home workers don’t do the necessary steps that they’re supposed to do in providing care for that individual."

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Report: Hundreds charged for elder abuse in 2016

Rome man charged with elder abuse

Christopher Paul Chipman

A Rome man was jailed Monday after threatening a victim over the age of 65.

According to Floyd County Jail reports:

Christopher Paul Chipman, 31, of 160 Agnes Street, was arrested at his home around noon Monday after allegedly intimidating a man over the age of 65.

Chipman took movement toward the elderly victim in a manner that caused the victim to fear physical harm.

Chipman, who was being held in the Floyd County Jail Monday night without bond, was charged with exploitation and intimidation of an elder, a felony and misdemeanor simple assault.

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Rome man charged with elder abuse

City Adds Dozens Of Conservatorship Beds To Help Mentally Ill

Dozens of conservatorship beds will be added starting this month to the dozens already available in San Francisco to help the seriously mentally ill, the mayor and the city's health director announced Monday.

Starting March 12, 54 new locked psychiatric beds will be available at what's being called the San Francisco Healing Center at St. Mary's Medical Center, in addition to the 47 already available at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

The beds will be used to help the seriously mentally ill who are placed in conservatorship and are too ill to live on their own but do not require acute hospital care.

The patients who would be helped are gravely disabled because of a mental illness or they are incompetent to stand trial.

"The mental health problems on our streets are one of the biggest issues facing San Francisco," Mayor Mark Farrell said in a statement.

Farrell said by more than doubling the number of beds, city officials will provide "real results" for the people who are ill, as well as local residents and businesses.

Currently, patients have to wait for placement in out-of-county facilities, acute care hospitals or jails.

City officials said placing patients in out-of-county facilities puts a burden on their families.

Crestwood Behavioral Health will run the program. The city is funding the program and is responsible for the placements and care of the patients.

The San Francisco Healing Center will cost $5 million a year to operate 40 beds. Fourteen beds are available for other providers to purchase for their clients, according to city officials.

The non-profit hospital system Dignity Health contributed money toward the cost of space and renovations at St. Mary's.

The University of California at San Francisco contributed $1 million to the cost of renovations and programming.

Conservatorship is a form of civil commitment by a judge after finding that the person is gravely disabled due to a serious mental illness and cannot take care of his or her basic needs.

City officials said serious mental illnesses are treatable and people who receive treatment and manage their illness can recover. Jail is not conducive to a person's recovery and when patients remain in the hospital, psychiatric emergency services back up.

Board of Supervisors president London Breed said in a statement about today's announcement, "These additional beds are critical to providing a pathway to help us get individuals who are conserved healthy, stabilized and housed for the long-term."

Breed said she has introduced legislation to decriminalize mental health conservatorship by making the city attorney and not the district attorney responsible for the cases.

Breed will be introducing legislation establishing a pilot program focused on identifying and coordinating services for the highest-risk individuals suffering from severe mental illness, substance abuse and chronic homelessness.

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City Adds Dozens Of Conservatorship Beds To Help Mentally Ill

Iowa nursing assistants, ages 23 and 26, accused of sex with psychiatric facility patients

Paige Johanningmeier and Megan Penney

Two licensed nursing assistants are accused of having sexual relations with patients from an Iowa psychiatric facility.

An investigation began when the Prairie View Management Facility in Fayette reported two patients had absconded Feb. 21.

Four days later, deputies with the Fayette Sheriff’s Office learned the missing patients were seen with two nursing assistants from the facility, the Des Moines Register reported.

Authorities soon determined Megan Penney, 26, of Clermont and Paige Johanningmeier, 23, of Elgin, “had developed a relationship with the two patients and once they had left the facility it became sexual,” the sheriff’s office said.

The patients were at Prairie View under court order due to mental illness, the Register reported.

Penney and Johnningmeier were arrested Tuesday on a felony sex exploitation charge related to their position as counselors.

Each woman posted $2,000 bond and were released on the day they were booked.

Deputies took one of the patients back to Prairie View; they took the other to a hospital.

A woman who answered the phone at Prairie View told Fox News Friday that staff cooperated with investigators. She said the facility had no further comment and she declined to identify herself.

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Iowa nursing assistants, ages 23 and 26, accused of sex with psychiatric facility patients

The scammers who bilked seniors out of more than half a billion dollars

There should be a special place in Hades for the criminals who commit financial fraud against seniors.

No one deserves to be a victim of a scam, but it’s particular heinous when perpetrated on people who are living on fixed incomes or surviving on savings they can’t replenish.

Many of the financial crimes against seniors go unreported because the victim are too embarrassed to tell anyone or report the fraud to the authorities.

So I was thrilled recently to see that federal and state law enforcement officials joined forces to round up more than 250 people accused of financial schemes that targeted seniors.

Some examples of the elder financial exploitation prosecuted by the department included:

— Lottery phone scams. Callers convince seniors that they have to pay a fee or taxes before receiving the lottery proceeds.

— Guardianship scams. Family, friend or recent acquaintances will siphon seniors’ money into their own bank accounts.

— IRS impostor scams. Con artists call and pretend to be an IRS agent claiming that victims owe back taxes.

— Grandparent scams. Seniors are tricked into believing that a grandchild has been arrested and needs bail money.

@BestBuy in Springdale, Ohio with my 87 y/o grandmother hoping to speak with the General Manager Kris Combs about why my Grandmother was able to come into his store and purchase two $2000 gift cards with the cashier not asking a single question as to why? #fraud #ElderAbuse 1/ pic.twitter.com/D2ksrttf7B

— Mike Naegel (@MikeNaegel) February 28, 2018

 — Romance scam. In this loathsome scheme, victims are persuaded to send money to someone they’ve met online.

More than two-thirds of caretakers reported that a scammer had targeted their elderly relatives, according to a survey of more than 1,700 people conducted by the Cooperative Credit Union Association, a New England-based trade group.

The survey found that, most often, the attempted fraud was initiated with a telephone call. Nearly 22 percent of scam attempts were made via email or another online contact.

“While regulators are working hard to address the scourge of financial fraud, education is key, particularly with hundreds of millions of Americans’ personal information readily available to criminals,” said Paul Gentile, president and chief executive of the association. “All financial consumers need to take steps to protect themselves financially and digitally, including by being aware of the latest trends in frauds and scams.”

A quarter of the caregivers surveyed said that they had not even discussed financial abuse with their elder relative or friend.

Want more information on how to stamp out elder financial abuse? Read the following.

— With every data breach comes an increased need for fraud sentinels for seniors.
Equifax breach may mean scammers can target more seniors

— From thestreet.com: How to Stop Fraudsters From Preying on Elderly Americans

“A 2017 AARP study states that over half of all U.S. financial fraud victims are over the age of 70, and that 90 percent of investment fraud victims were more than 50 years old. A separate study from the North American Securities Administrators Association notes that 97 percent of fraud prevention specialists say that “most cases” of senior financial fraud go undetected rather than being discovered before they cause serious problems.”

— From Consumer Reports: New Ways to Prevent Elder Financial Abuse

Report Fraud and Senior Scams with Help from ElderWatch – AARP

Law enforcement crackdown caught more than 200 scammers who cheated older Americans out of half a billion dollars. Report a scam and get help from @AARPFightsFraud at 877-908-3360. https://t.co/q033lwN4x2

— Nancy LeaMond (@NancyLeaMond) February 28, 2018

— From the Chicago Tribune: How to spot elder financial abuse

Please help detect and deter elder financial abuse.

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The scammers who bilked seniors out of more than half a billion dollars

Tonight on Marti Oakley's T. S. Radio: Guest Carole Herman (Foundation Aiding the Elderly)

5:00 pm PST … 6:00 pm MST … 7:00 pm CST … 8:00 pm EST…

Foundation Aiding the Elderly (FATE) is a Sacramento, California based 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Corporation whose objective is to serve as a voice for patients and to bring about national reforms and enforcement of the laws governing the nursing home industry and its regulatory agencies in order to assure proper care, civil rights and meaningful, dignified life for the elderly in long-term care facilities.

FATE’s Mission is to assure our elders are treated with care, dignity and the utmost respect during their final years when they can no longer take care of themselves.

Florida Senate Bills for Nursing Home Improvements that have DIED in the Senate! Who Would Be AGAINST Improving Quality of Care & Rights of the Elderly in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities? This is a DISGRACE To The HUMAN Race! The Elderly are getting KICKED to the CURB once AGAIN! Totally UNJUST & INHUMANE… Bring back the Dignity and Respect for the Elderly where it belongs! OUR AGES DON’T STOP HERE! The CLOCK Keeps TICKING! All the Elderly were once our ages. NOT A PRETTY PICTURE OUT THERE! What are we going to do about it? Who’s going to STAND UP and SPEAK OUT for all of us when we become the Elderly if God is Willing? Doesn’t look promising. These changes are for now and everyone’s futures.. We never know what the future brings.. or do we?

Nursing Home Understaffing http://www.nursinghomeabuseguide.org/neglect/understaffing
One underlying cause of elder abuse and neglect that affects nursing homes all across the country is the issue of understaffing. When nursing facilities do not have enough staff to give each patient adequate attention, it leads to mistakes and neglect. At the same time, when staff is extremely overworked and stressed, there is a greater risk that they will commit abusive acts out of frustration.

Understaffing is a serious issue that has plagued nursing homes for decades, and more than 90% of nursing homes are currently understaffed. Studies have proven that residents who live in understaffed nursing homes are at a greater risk of malnutrition, weight loss, bedsores, dehydration, infections, and pneumonia. Families of elderly patients are increasingly noticing this problem and are starting to hold nursing homes responsible for the abuses that occur as a result.

LISTEN to the show live or listen to the archive later

Commissioners defend Berks Area Agency on Aging on guardianship

Commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach

By Nicole C. Brambila

Reading, PA —The Berks County commissioners this week defended the work of the Berks County Area Agency on Aging following a three-day series in the Reading Eagle that examined deficiencies in the system of appointing guardians who oversee incapacitated people.

Begun 15 months ago, the special report reviewed court dockets in three counties, including Berks.

Commissioners Chairman Christian Y. Leinbach took aim at one of the report's significant findings: Berks Aging favors the appointment of professionals who charge for services over family members.

In 92 percent of the 2016 cases reviewed in which the agency petitioned the court, a professional guardian was recommended and appointed. The dockets in 53 percent of these cases identified family living in Pennsylvania.

"Third-party guardians are only called upon to assist (many times on essentially a pro bono basis) where the incapacitated person either does not have family that is willing or able to serve or an investigation has revealed that the family member poses a risk to the older adult," Leinbach, who is in Washington, D.C., for a legislative conference, said in an email to the newspaper.

Leinbach added, "Even where a guardian is recommended, Aging and the guardian works with families to the fullest extent possible."

He also touted the low prevalence of guardianship petitions, in proportion to the number of abuse reports the agency receives: 33 filings in fiscal year 2016-2017 out of the 242 substantiated reports, or 13 percent.

Roughly one in four complaints investigated by Berks Aging in the 2016-2017 fiscal year were substantiated. During that same time, Leinbach said, Berks Aging filed petitions for guardianship 33 times, or in 13.6 percent of the cases.

"The statistics show that Aging only turns to guardianship in very rare circumstances and only as a last resort," Leinbach said.

Commissioner Kevin S. Barnhardt agreed, saying of the decision to file for guardianship, "I don't think they take it lightly."

Guardianship is the legal process of removing the civil rights from an adult who is ruled incapacitated and appointing a person or agency to make decisions about the individual's health care, living arrangements, money and more.

While guardianship has always raised civil liberty issues, it's now a growing concern with an aging population and the expected wave of patients with dementia, the most common justification for a guardianship.

While those with oversight of Berks Aging downplayed the newspaper's findings, the investigation resonated with readers.

The Eagle fielded nearly 20 responses by email and telephone in addition to a dozen comments posted below the story online.

Dave Baseley summed up much of the feedback with his online comment: "This is excellent journalism! Well done, and kudos to everyone who contributed to this series."

Others, such as Cindy Hamm in Sinking Spring, said she was concerned about family rights, particularly when a power of attorney is invoked.

"My wishes are known, and I would like them carried out," said Hamm, noting the breadth of power that comes with a guardianship appointment to strangers.

The newspaper review of 2016 dockets found four cases in which the incapacitated adult had a power of attorney and was appointed a guardian.

Ed Michalik, Berks Aging executive director, and Commissioner Mark C. Scott did not respond to Reading Eagle inquiries seeking comment.

Berks President Judge Thomas G. Parisi, said, before the series ran, that he was unaware of the prevalence of professional guardian appointments.

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Commissioners defend Berks Area Agency on Aging on guardianship

Man accused of sexually abusing elderly woman

Tri-State News, Weather & Sports

MADISONVILLE, KY (WFIE) - A Madisonville man is accused of sexually abusing an elderly woman.

According to police, they began investigating on Sunday after they got a complaint about sexual abuse in the 400 block of N. Seminary St. Police say their investigation led them to arrest 27-year-old Eric Barnett.

"An employee happened to be doing their rounds and then they entered one of the rooms and then they saw what they thought was inappropriate contact with one of the individuals, one of the residents there," Lt. Andy Rush with the Madisonville Police Department said. "And so they confronted the person about it, that person went ahead and left the facility. And at that point they felt it necessary to not only contact the police department but also contact their administrators.

Police say Barnett is an employee of NHC HealthCare, a rehabilitation center in Madisonville. We've reached out to the center for comment, but haven't heard back.

Barnett is being held in the Hopkins County Jail without bond.

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Man accused of sexually abusing elderly woman