A Senate panel will hear complaints on Wednesday from nursing home operators, doctors, nurses and pharmacists that a Drug Enforcement Administration narcotics crackdown has left seriously ill patients crying for pain relief.
The D.E.A. says it is merely enforcing the law that requires pharmacies to wait for prescriptions that are signed by physicians before dispensing potent painkillers like Vicodin, Percocet and morphine.
But the nursing home groups say the new enforcement rules upend many years of practice in which the government informally allowed nurses to speed the process by taking doctors’ orders orally, or from medical charts, and passing them along to pharmacies, similar to the procedures used in hospitals.
The delays “leave vulnerable, frail patients to struggle through unimaginable pain for hours and even days, while physicians, nurses and pharmacists struggle to collect required D.E.A. paperwork,” the group says in a report to be released on Wednesday to coincide with the hearing.
Full Article and Source:
U.S. Drug Move Said to Deprive Elderly
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Aint No Sunshine for Rita Denmark
Locked away in a Florida nursing home, completely isolated, and alienated from her children, family, and friends, seventy-nine [79] year old Rita Denmark likely does not even realize she is in "The Sunshine State".Held against her will and that of her family, Rita has been drugged and is likely still being drugged to "ensure her compliance" and, quell her insistence that she go back home to Pennsylvania where she was born, raised and domiciled her entire life.
In August 2007, boarding the bus with a daughter, Rita believed she was going to Florida to visit her son — truth is, the daughter was hastily removing Rita from Pennsylvania to avoid a pending guardianship hearing in the McKean County court.
Weeks after arriving in Florida, Rita fell prey to a "professional guardian" in the State of Florida, and she has not been allowed to return to Pennsylvania since.
My name is Holly Peffer – Rita Denmark’s other daughter. I fear for my mother’s life.
For more information and or any details relating to the plight of Rita Denmark, feel free to email me at hlpeffer@yahoo.com.
Source:
NASGA
See Also:
Press Release: Congressman Urges Investigation
Congressman Joe Stestak's Letter in Support of NASGA Member Holly Peffer
Jail Time for Woman in Felony Theft Charge
Calling it one of the crimes that offends him the most, a judge sent a Philadelphia woman to jail for stealing from a 92-year-old Abington woman for whom she worked as a home health aide.
Shamihra Nicole Johnson, 23, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to two-to-23-months in the county jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, after she pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property in connection with incidents that occurred in May 2009.
President Judge Richard J. Hodgson ordered Johnson to pay $9,000 in restitution to the elderly woman to cover the amount of money that was stolen.
“These are the kind of crimes that offend me the most. The oldest people are helpless and duped because of these crimes,” said Hodgson, adding those elderly who are distrustful of banks and keep their money at home are most at risk of such crimes.
Full Article and Source:
Philly Woman Gets Jail for Ripping Off Woman, 92
Shamihra Nicole Johnson, 23, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to two-to-23-months in the county jail, to be followed by three years’ probation, after she pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property in connection with incidents that occurred in May 2009.
President Judge Richard J. Hodgson ordered Johnson to pay $9,000 in restitution to the elderly woman to cover the amount of money that was stolen.
“These are the kind of crimes that offend me the most. The oldest people are helpless and duped because of these crimes,” said Hodgson, adding those elderly who are distrustful of banks and keep their money at home are most at risk of such crimes.
Full Article and Source:
Philly Woman Gets Jail for Ripping Off Woman, 92
Monday, March 22, 2010
Judge Rules $576K to Probate Attorneys Justified
A Superior Court judge has ruled that a phalanx of probate attorneys were justified in collecting $576,000 from an 88-year-old widow the court was (supposed to be) protecting. The judge rubber stamped half of the fees without even holding a hearing into whether they were reasonable.
Pro-tem Judge Lindsay Ellis also signed off on the Sun Valley Group helping itself to more than $417,000 in guardian and companion care fees.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca Berch this week announced a new initiative aimed at improving protections for vulnerable people. Among the issues to be addressed: fees charged by court-appointed guardians and fiduciaries.
She could start with the astounding case of Marie Long, an old lady worth $1.3 million when she came under the protection of Maricopa County's probate court in 2005. Today, she's destitute and depends on taxpayers for support.
Which, we are told, is in no way the fault of those who wound up with all of her money.
In a take-no-prisoners 21-page ruling issued Monday, Ellis described the fees that put Marie Long into the poorhouse as “reasonable, necessary and for the benefit of the ward.” She blamed Marie's court-appointed attorney Jon Kitchel along with Dan Raynak and Pat Gitre, attorneys for Marie's sisters, for driving up costs, saying their “venomous” and “hateful” attacks on the trustee, the guardian and their attorneys forced the other side to defend themselves.
With Marie's money, of course.
The opinion was lauded by Sun Valley Group, which withdrew as Marie's guardian when her money ran out in November. Says Sun Valley's CEO, Peter Frenette: “I am grateful for the court's decision as it finds ‘there is no legitimate dispute about SVG or its performance of its duties as guardian for Long.' The court confirmed that this has been an unfair attack not just on SVG but also the guardianship process.”
Full Article and Source:
Judge: Probate Attorneys Were Justified in Taking $576,000 From Old Lady
See Also:
Read the 21-Page Ruling
Three Racketeering Lawsuits Filed
Pro-tem Judge Lindsay Ellis also signed off on the Sun Valley Group helping itself to more than $417,000 in guardian and companion care fees.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca Berch this week announced a new initiative aimed at improving protections for vulnerable people. Among the issues to be addressed: fees charged by court-appointed guardians and fiduciaries.
She could start with the astounding case of Marie Long, an old lady worth $1.3 million when she came under the protection of Maricopa County's probate court in 2005. Today, she's destitute and depends on taxpayers for support.
Which, we are told, is in no way the fault of those who wound up with all of her money.
In a take-no-prisoners 21-page ruling issued Monday, Ellis described the fees that put Marie Long into the poorhouse as “reasonable, necessary and for the benefit of the ward.” She blamed Marie's court-appointed attorney Jon Kitchel along with Dan Raynak and Pat Gitre, attorneys for Marie's sisters, for driving up costs, saying their “venomous” and “hateful” attacks on the trustee, the guardian and their attorneys forced the other side to defend themselves.
With Marie's money, of course.
The opinion was lauded by Sun Valley Group, which withdrew as Marie's guardian when her money ran out in November. Says Sun Valley's CEO, Peter Frenette: “I am grateful for the court's decision as it finds ‘there is no legitimate dispute about SVG or its performance of its duties as guardian for Long.' The court confirmed that this has been an unfair attack not just on SVG but also the guardianship process.”
Full Article and Source:
Judge: Probate Attorneys Were Justified in Taking $576,000 From Old Lady
See Also:
Read the 21-Page Ruling
Three Racketeering Lawsuits Filed
Illinois Nursing Home Legislation
A group of elder advocate groups brought together by the AARP joined in Springfield to announce nursing home legislation that will reform the way nursing homes operate in Illinois. Senate Bill 685 was introduced by Heather Steans and Jacqueline Collins, both Democrats from Chicago.
As been highlighted recently in the media, nursing home residents in Illinois have been victims of nursing home failures. Nursing home patients have been the victims of physical, mental and sexual abuse. They have been given the wrong diagnosis or wrong medications all at the hands of nursing home employees. This bill will go way beyond what has recently been proposed in the Governor’s task force.
Full Article and Source:
New Nursing Home Litigation Looks to Reform Illinois
As been highlighted recently in the media, nursing home residents in Illinois have been victims of nursing home failures. Nursing home patients have been the victims of physical, mental and sexual abuse. They have been given the wrong diagnosis or wrong medications all at the hands of nursing home employees. This bill will go way beyond what has recently been proposed in the Governor’s task force.
Full Article and Source:
New Nursing Home Litigation Looks to Reform Illinois
Feds Indict Couple Again in Theft, Sale of Patients' Data
Last year, they were charged with running a racket to pilfer patient records from Jackson Memorial Hospital to sell to lawyers for personal-injury claims.
Now Ruben E. Rodriguez and wife Maria Victoria Suarez have been indicted again for paying an ambulance-company employee to steal information on patients transported to Miami-Dade hospitals and healthcare clinics. That theft scheme dates all the way back to 1995, according to an indictment filed last week.
In both federal cases, the Coral Gables couple are accused of brokering the stolen computer records of patients' names, addresses, telephone numbers and medical diagnoses to several attorneys in exchange for kickback payments. The lawyers paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars for the referrals after settling injury claims, authorities say.
Among the suspected personal-injury lawyers: G. Walter Araujo. The Hialeah lawyer has not been charged in the federal prosecution, but this past week the Florida Bar confirmed it was investigating him for potential ethics violations in connection with the first federal case involving the theft of JMH patient records
Full Article and Source:
Feds Indict Couple Again in Theft, Sale of Patients' Data
Now Ruben E. Rodriguez and wife Maria Victoria Suarez have been indicted again for paying an ambulance-company employee to steal information on patients transported to Miami-Dade hospitals and healthcare clinics. That theft scheme dates all the way back to 1995, according to an indictment filed last week.
In both federal cases, the Coral Gables couple are accused of brokering the stolen computer records of patients' names, addresses, telephone numbers and medical diagnoses to several attorneys in exchange for kickback payments. The lawyers paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars for the referrals after settling injury claims, authorities say.
Among the suspected personal-injury lawyers: G. Walter Araujo. The Hialeah lawyer has not been charged in the federal prosecution, but this past week the Florida Bar confirmed it was investigating him for potential ethics violations in connection with the first federal case involving the theft of JMH patient records
Full Article and Source:
Feds Indict Couple Again in Theft, Sale of Patients' Data
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Problems Accompany Legal Euthanasia
Assisted suicide has been legal for a year in Washington, and the state health department has issued its first report. During the first year, 63 people requested and received lethal prescriptions to kill themselves. 47 have since died, while 36 are confirmed to have used the poison to accomplish it. Although 79 percent suffered from cancer, few cited pain as the reason for seeking end of life treatment as the main concern was the cost for alternate treatment.
"What is and has been the reality of this [is] that when you transform assisted suicide into a medical treatment, it makes it just like every other medical treatment, except it's lots cheaper. And people begin to see it as a benefit for the family," comments Rita Marker, attorney and president of the International Task Force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide (ITF).
Many of the patients had insurance, but Marker says that means nothing. It does, however, serve as a reminder of an Oregon cancer victim whose treatment was rejected by her insurance. She was told, though, that they would cover her drugs for assisted suicide. The report shows there are too many unknowns, and the possibility of murder is an example.
Full Article and Source:
Problems Accompany Legal Euthanasia
See Also:
One Year Anniversary of Legalized Suicide
Attorney Charged With Felony Theft
A Knoxville attorney already under suspension for misappropriating clients' funds in the early 2000s now faces a criminal charge in connection with a new set of similar claims.
John O. Threadgill, a veteran civil attorney who long was active in both the Knoxville Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association, was arrested Monday on a sealed presentment charging him with felony theft over $60,000.
John Gill, special counsel to Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols, said Tuesday the charge involves allegations of misappropriation of clients' funds. The case is believed to stem from Threadgill's handling of client funds in 2008.
The theft case was probed by Knox County Sheriff's Office Detective Mike Freels and presented to a Knox County grand jury by Assistant District Attorney General Steve Garrett.
In an opinion released in September and penned by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark, the high court upheld the one-year suspension of Threadgill's law license issued by the Board of Professional Responsibility, which polices attorneys.
In that opinion, the court addressed three different clients who, in 2003 and 2004, were shorted money by Threadgill, deeming at least one of those incidents as rising to the level of "criminal conduct." The court also noted that Threadgill had been similarly accused in 1994.
Full Article and Source:
Knox Attorney Charged With Felony Theft
John O. Threadgill, a veteran civil attorney who long was active in both the Knoxville Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association, was arrested Monday on a sealed presentment charging him with felony theft over $60,000.
John Gill, special counsel to Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols, said Tuesday the charge involves allegations of misappropriation of clients' funds. The case is believed to stem from Threadgill's handling of client funds in 2008.
The theft case was probed by Knox County Sheriff's Office Detective Mike Freels and presented to a Knox County grand jury by Assistant District Attorney General Steve Garrett.
In an opinion released in September and penned by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark, the high court upheld the one-year suspension of Threadgill's law license issued by the Board of Professional Responsibility, which polices attorneys.
In that opinion, the court addressed three different clients who, in 2003 and 2004, were shorted money by Threadgill, deeming at least one of those incidents as rising to the level of "criminal conduct." The court also noted that Threadgill had been similarly accused in 1994.
Full Article and Source:
Knox Attorney Charged With Felony Theft
Lawyer Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud
Local attorney William C. Chesbrough pleaded not guilty to criminal charges he bilked clients out more than $140,000 between 2007 and 2009.Chesbrough, 57, was charged in December with three felonies, including two counts of felony theft and one count of financial exploitation of an elderly person.
Prosecutors allege that he failed to return more than $120,000 at the end of a three-year probate filing to a 69-year-old Hampshire woman who had hired him to help her with an estate. He also is accused of failing to return about $20,000 he held in an escrow-type account for a West Dundee family.
Chesbrough, who declined to comment as he left the courtroom of Kane County Associate Judge T. Jordan Gallagher, could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
Full Article and Source:
Local Attorney Pleads Not Guilty to Fraud
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