FL Senate Probes 'Interference' into Nursing Home Watchdog Program

A Florida Senate committee is investigating allegations that the state's Department of Elder Affairs illegally interfered with a watchdog program that is supposed to protect the rights of residents in nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

The Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs has scheduled a hearing Tuesdayto question the elder affairs staff following a highly critical report from the federal government a month ago that showed repeated violations.

The report, from the Administration on Aging, cited numerous problems with the department's oversight of the state's Long Term Care Ombudsman Program.

It criticized the Department of Elder Affairs for what it described as muzzling the ombudsman program's communication with the media and restricting its ability to lobby the Legislature on behalf of nursing-home residents.

The report also faulted the department's selection and firing of volunteers who make up the bulk of the watchdog program's work force, saying that "it must be clear to the volunteers that they work for and are answerable only to the Long Term Care Ombudsman."

Department Secretary Charles Corley has maintained that his office violated no laws and is committed to "ensuring the independence" and integrity of the ombudsman program.

But legislators from both political parties have expressed serious concerns. Democratic state Sen. Nan Rich, vice-chairman of the Children, Families and Elder Affairs committee, said both she and committee chairman Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, were alarmed by what seems to be a lack of independence of the long-term care ombudsman program.

Full Article and Source:
Senate Probes 'Interference' Into Nursing Home Watchdog Program

Heinous Elder Abuse Case Highlights Growing Problem

Police reports of a heinous case of apparent elder abuse is drawing attention to what statistics show is a growing pattern of mistreatment and neglect across central Indiana.

A 68-year-old woman survived being beaten, gagged, bound and left in her Indianapolis apartment for two days before neighbors called police after hearing banging on the walls, police said.

The woman's 48-year-old roommate and caregiver, who had taken out a $10,000 insurance policy on the woman, told her she was going to chop up her body with a chainsaw and bury her behind the apartment, police said.

A state program called Adult Protective Services checks on endangered adults who are referred by concerned relatives, neighbors or health care providers, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

Last year, the agency documented nearly 3,100 cases of abuse. So far this year, workers have conducted nearly 1,200 welfare checks.

But for every case that's reported, officials said 25 cases go unreported, leaving the majority of victims to suffer in silence.

"Sometimes the perpetrator will isolate the victim by taking their phone away from them during the day. A lot of times our victims are bed-bound and they don't have the resources to reach out for help and assistance," said Andrea Qualitze with Adult Protective Services. "It's been embedded that what's happening to them is normal behavior for the perpetrator."

In 90 percent of the cases, the perpetrator is related to the victim, experts said.

Full Article and Source:
Heinous Elder Abuse Case Highlights Growing Problem

"Rescue Gary Harvey"

It's wild, it's crazy, it's packed full of suspense.

It's a psychological thriller that may just crumble your belief system in the blink of an eye. Don't miss this read. Learn what is lurking around the corner waiting for you and yours.

"Rescue Gary Harvey" threatens to move you to the edge of your seat and keep you in total shock.

Listen to the screams and gasps. One of them just might be your own.

Dementia Sufferer Divorced From Reality

The man’s name is Frank LaCon and I visited him at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital a few weeks ago.

He has been diagnosed as having frontotemporal dementia, a progressive and incurable condition not unlike Alzheimer’s disease except that it hits younger people. LaCon is 51.

Besides being unable to speak or care for himself, LaCon suffers from psychotic episodes and sometimes he has to be strapped to his bed.

He is also going through a divorce and has been for six years, which is why I am here.

His family believes that he is getting a raw deal from the Common Pleas Court system in Delaware County.

Last April, while he was in the psych ward of the Delaware County prison for allegedly violating a protection-from-abuse order taken out by his estranged wife, Judge Linda Cartisano finalized a divorce decree at a hearing attended only by LaCon’s wife and her attorney.

LaCon’s family is trying to get the case reopened because they believe he needs and deserves spousal support. After years of wrangling over a property settlement, suddenly last spring, Mrs. LaCon and her attorney, Dolores Varga, sought to enforce an agreement that the two parties had been fighting over all that time.

And while Mr. LaCon was incarcerated and incapacitated and in need of a new lawyer of record, Cartisano approved the decree.

Full Article and Source:
Spencer: Dementia Sufferer Divorced From Reality

Federal Lawmakers Hear About Appleton Guardianship Abuse

Federal lawmakers are exploring options to improve oversight of guardians as Outagamie County prosecutors continue their case against a former Appleton guardian accused of bilking hundreds of thousands from his vulnerable clients.

At a hearing last week before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, testimony suggested the case against Jeffrey M. Schend is far from unique.

"While the vast majority of court-appointed guardians are undoubtedly professional, well-meaning and law-abiding, there's mounting evidence that some guardians use their position of power for their own gain at the expense of the very people that they were supposed to be looking out for," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

The Senate's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts on Sept. 22 called five witnesses who testified about abuses committed by court-appointed guardians and potential solutions to strengthen state-level guardianship systems. The subcommittee is a branch of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.

Klobuchar said she's working on legislation to encourage greater use of criminal background checks for potential guardians and electronic filing of account data to improve oversight.

Full Article and Source:
Federal Lawmakers Hear About Appleton Guardianship Abuse

Senator Amy Klobuchar Holds Roundtable Discussion on Guardianship Abuse

Senator Amy Klobuchar is pushing for more oversight of court-appointed guardians, in hopes of reining in financial and physical abuse of their wards.

"The number of people older than 85 is going to quadruple by the year 2030," Sen. Klobuchar told KARE. "A number of them may need guardians in their later years and we want to make sure they're safe and that the system works."

Klobuchar introduced a bill that would implement criminal background checks for guardians, add more financial oversight and encourage states to require training for new guardians. While some guardians are professionals, many are family members who often serve in the dual role of conservator.

"You have people ripping people off of hundreds of millions of dollars, and that means it needs to be changed, and it can really have some simple changes that aren't that costly. "Minnesota is now one of 13 states that require background checks of guardians. That was part of a set of laws passed in 2009 and 2010, which also ushered in an electronic filing system designed to flag financial irregularities.

Full Article and Source:
Klobuchar Looks to Rein in Abuse by Legal Guardians

See Also:
Read the 2010 GAO Report:
Guardianships - Cases of Financial Exploitation,Neglect and Abuse of Seniors

Protecting Our Vulnerable Citizens from Unlawful and Abusive Guardianships and Conservatorships

A Review of Unlawful "Emergency" Guardianships

The Fleecing of Medicaid and the Taxpayers

Scandals Prompt FL Senate to Call for Revamping ALF Oversight

In response to a Miami Herald investigation into Florida assisted living facilities that uncovered sordid cases of elder abuse and neglect, the state Senate professional staff released a report calling for both increased and reorganized ALF regulatory oversight.

Currently, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is in charge of licensing and inspecting ALFs, and may impose administrative fines for certain types of violations. In certain circumstances, it has the authority to revoke or deny licenses depending on cited violations, or suspend services, if any condition related to the licensee presents a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of a client.

However, the Herald’s three-part series revealed that in many cases, the agency neglected to revoke licenses or shut down facilities even after multiple complaints and reports of abuse.

This led the Senate professional staff to recommend “the establishment of a workgroup that includes members of the various state agencies having ALF oversight responsibilities to determine those functions that are performed by more than one agency.”

Until the workgroup comes about, the Senate staff advises the Legislature to require each agency to establish a direct line of communication to the AHCA to immediately communicate a complaint received or observed deficiency concerning an ALF, and that the AHCA must immediately report each complaint.

Other recommendations include requiring quarterly reports from ALFs to the AHCA on occupancy rates and demographic and resident acuity information and increased surveys and inspections by the AHCA.

The report also details specific training and qualification recommendations for both ALF administrators and staff, and includes the possibility of requiring increased staff ratios for facilities with specialty licenses.

As far as penalties go, the report suggests limiting the AHCA’s discretionary powers in favor of requiring them to take certain measures based on certain actions.

Full Article and Source:
Scandals Prompt Florida Senate to Call for Revamped Assisted Living Oversight

See Also:
Read the Florida Senate Committee on Health Regulation Report

How to File a Complaint Against a Judge and An Attorney (Preface, Part 2)

This series is an attempt to educate laypersons on how to file a complaint against naughty lawyers and unethical judges who have kept us in the dark to this recourse (the filing of a complaint).

Possessing knowledge from the Judicial Code, you can sit as an observer in Kennedy’s court and watch ethics violated faster than you can takes notes and this is no exaggeration. Judges should sit in awe of the awesome responsibility bestowed upon them by we the people. Instead, you watch lawyers grovel pathetically and citizens brow beat by a public servant. Retention referendum has trickled down to our lower courts as most of them are appointed and run for “re-election” uncontested. ”We the people” of TN have been left out of the judicial appointment process.

Colleague protection is the norm within our legal system. But this is breaking the rules that govern attorneys, also. When an attorney protects a colleague who has been naughty, he breaks the rules, too; but because their is an utter lack of awareness to our rights to complain, breaking the rules is business as usual because colleague protection is a given especially in a city like Nashville. Attorneys are legally bound to levy complaints against any judge or attorney who violates their respective codes. Unfortunately, it’s honor among thieves. So, if your attorney DOES NOT file a complaint or levy charges with any and all the various and appropriate bodies, then THEY have violated their rules and you can file a complaint against them. Pay close attention to that last sentence. Colleague protection is the norm among attorneys in Nashville, but attorneys are bound to file a complaint (or charges) against a any judge or attorney they observe breaking the rules. If they do not, then they open themselves up for a complaint. Do you see the beauty in this?

Full Article and Source:
How to File a Complaint Against a Judge and An Attorney (Preface, Part 2)

Supreme Court Denies Former Judge Ann Lokuta a Hearing

Former Luzerne County judge Ann Lokuta finally accepted defeat [10/3/11] when the U.S. Supreme Court denied her a hearing on a petition to overturn her removal from the county bench.

“We had some favorable issues, but it’s a distant reach,” Lokuta said of her request for a hearing before the high court, which included her petition among hundreds it refused to consider in an order issued this morning.

“But I had to do it because I never did the things they said I did,” Lokuta said.

The state Court of Judicial Discipline removed Lokuta from the bench in 2008, finding she mistreated attorneys and court staffers and handed down a decision in favor of a family that had supported her politically.

Lokuta maintained the case against her was orchestrated by former county president judge Michael T. Conahan, who is now serving a 17½-year racketeering conspiracy sentence after pleading guilty to accepting $2.8 million in kickbacks for placing juveniles in two for-profit detention centers.

Lokuta said Conahan wanted to punish her because she gave information to federal agents investigating the kids-for-cash case. He was a witness at her trial.

“I’m glad I was an informant. I paid the price for that,” said Lokuta, who lost her pension rights and is barred from seeking judicial office. “This a major part of my life that has ended.”

Full Article and Source:
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Lokuta a Hearing