No Right to Life: The Fight for Gary Harvey to be Reunited With His Wife, Sara

Where do you turn when you become disabled, vulnerable, or old and become unlawfully a victim of the system?

There are no kind words for the injustice that Chemung County New York has visited upon Gary Harvey and his wife Sara.

Gary Harvey a veteran who served his country and fought for our freedom is being denied his. Until January 2006, Gary was leading a normal life.

Although Gary Harvey is still a living person, he has not been treated as such since 2006 when he fell down a flight of stairs and sustained traumatic brain injury. Sometime later, his prognosis worsened into a vegetative condition, but this would only be the beginning of his nightmare.

St. Joseph Hospital billed Sara’s private insurance nine hundred and thirty two thousand ($932,000) last year, out of those submitted claims eight hundred ($800.00) were for therapy.

Sar reported the 15 episodes of sepsis in a 2 year time frame to NYSDOH. Neither St. Joseph hospital, nor Chemung County nursing facility has reported this per public health law 2819. Bed sores, and a dislocated hip that Sara recently learned about but was never informed of.

Sara has no say in the matter; the county uses HIPAA as their shield for protection.

She reports it to Gary’s court appointed attorney Kevin Moshier from MHLS and unbelievable his trail goes back to Chemung County Law Department via. Davidson & O'Mara he wrote to her “Some of your concerns might well merit your advocacy, but not necessarily mine”.

Gary Harvey has been institutionalized for more than 5 years and isolated from the love and compassion of his wife.

Gary deserves the love and companionship of his wife, the comfort of his home and friends. Not only is it inhumane to continually deny him quality care, treatment and testing but cruel to continue restricting his wife's visits.

The crime against disabled, vulnerable and elders is growing.

Gary Harvey remains today in the hands of his abusers, the very same people who tried to end his life.

Sara is now representing herself in Federal court, if you know of someone that can assist her in the Federal Court Judicial Office please contacte therighttolife@activist.com
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No Right to Life; The Fight for Gary Harvey to be Reunited With His Wife, Sara

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HelpBringGaryHome

BoomersBewareOfGuardianshipAbuse

As America Grays, the Need for Elder Abuse Shelters Grows

They're weak, physically or mentally disabled or both, and often at the mercy of people they depend on the most: relatives and caretakers.

They're the nation's fast-growing elderly population, and many are prime targets for abuse — physical, financial, sexual or emotional.

Concern among the elderly and their advocates is mounting as the number of seniors soars and more of them live longer.

The Cedar Village Retirement Community in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason this month opened a long-term care facility to victims of abuse. It is the first elder abuse shelter in Ohio and one of only a half-dozen in the country, all of them funded by non-profit groups.

"There is a genuine recognition by those who are concerned by the abuse of elders that there need to be appropriate safe houses for them to get them out of immediate harm's way," says Sally Hurme, AARP's senior project manager in education and outreach. "Nationally, we've been aware of the need for elder abuse shelters, but they've been slow in coming into fruition."

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As US Grays, Elder Abuse Risk and Need for Shelters Grow

Wrongful Death Suit Filed in Case of Dementia Patient Who Died From Exposure

The family of a San Francisco dementia patient who died last year filed a wrongful death suit against transit agencies responsible for his transportation and his conservator for what they call elder abuse and negligence.

San Francisco attorney Ingrid Evans announced the litigation in a news conference today with members of Kenneth Chin's family.

Chin, 73, lived in an assisted living facility in San Francisco's Richmond District and was transported daily by a shuttle operated by MEDSAM Enterprises and San Francisco Paratransit to Irene Swindells Center for Adult Day Services, his family said.

On Feb. 25, 2011, Chin did not arrive at home, and his caregivers immediately alerted police and his conservator, Jewish Family and Children's Services.

A search for the man lasted several days, until Chin's body was discovered on March 6 in Lincoln Park, less than a mile from where Chin was supposed to be dropped off.

The night Chin disappeared was cold and stormy, and autopsy results indicated Chin died from hypothermia, Evans said.

Full Article and Source:
Charges of Elder Abuse, Negligence After Dementia Patient Dies of Exposure

Live-in Aide Convicted of Drugging Alzheimer's Patient

A Dumont home health-care worker has been convicted on charges that she drugged an elderly woman with sleeping pills to make her job easier.

Nina Powers, 59, was hired by a family in September 2010 to provide full-time care to a 74-year-old woman suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, said Jessica Gomperts, an assistant Bergen County prosecutor.

Shortly after Powers moved into the home and started working, the family noticed that the elderly woman, who often woke up in the morning and stayed active for most of the day, had begun a pattern of napping on the couch all day, Gomperts said.

The elderly woman’s son and daughter-in-law became more suspicious when the woman came out wandering out of her bedroom one day, carrying a receipt for over-the-counter sleeping pills, Gomperts said.

The daughter-in-law then searched Powers’ drawers and found sleeping pills, Gomperts said. The daughter-in-law began counting the pills almost every day when Powers was away and found that five to nine pills went missing per day, Gomperts said.

“She was drugging her with these sleeping pills to knock her out so that she doesn’t have to do her job,” Gomperts said.

Full Article and Source:
Live-in Aide Convicted of Drugging Alzheimer’s Patient

Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act

MANY CASES AROUND THE COUNTRY DEMONSTRATE THE NEED FOR legal reforms to prevent individuals suffering SEVERE cognitive impairment from being financially exploited at the time they execute wills, deeds, trusts, POAs and other important legal/financial documents -- and also prevent the ruinous litigation which often results under such circumstances.

In order for legislation like this to be effective, it needs to put in place specific safeguards like the interview protocol recommended here, which addresses what most medical and legal authorities recognize but fail to adequately address, namely (1) cognitive impairment is a disability, and (2) the more severe the impairment, the greater the disability and susceptibility associated with it.

This interview protocol is based upon the following five steps
• STEP 1: Use a CHECKLIST to identify situations which involve individuals with SEVERE cognitive impairment and so require the rest of the protocol to be followed
• STEP 2: Have an INDEPENDENT examiner ask the transferor OPEN-ENDED questions to learn what business, if any, he wants or expects to conduct at this time
• STEP 3: Have an INDEPENDENT examiner ask the transferor to provide details about what he expects the document to include
• STEP 4: Have an INDEPENDENT examiner ask the transferor questions which others might reasonably want to ask if they were present, including questions about the transferor's understanding of the suspicions that his signing the document might raise and the transferor's ability to address those suspicions
• STEP 5: Have an INDEPENDENT examiner explore potential conflicts between the transferor's expectations and the content of the document

Full Article and Source:
Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act

Note: For more information, email Tom Fields at TVFields@oh.rr.com

Senators Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Franken, Casey Introduce 'Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act'

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) today introduced the Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act, a bill to implement a comprehensive network of elder abuse prevention and response measures.

"A spreading epidemic of seniors who are abused or exploited by family or caregivers must be stopped,” said Blumenthal. “Rigorous screening and reporting to detect and deter abuse, physical or financial, is necessary to help remedy seniors who may be too fearful or embarrassed to report it themselves. This measure would require tough national standards for screening and reporting so wrongdoers can be stopped and prosecuted. There is no excuse for one in ten seniors continuing to suffer the physical injury, emotional anguish and anxiety, and financial hardship, costing upwards of $3 billion every year.”

"Our nation’s seniors deserve the peace of mind of knowing that they are protected from physical and emotional abuse and financial exploitation," said Whitehouse. "I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill, which would strengthen and improve State programs to better prevent and address elder abuse."

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Blumenthal, Whitehouse, Franken, Casey Introduce Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act

TN Senator Beavers and Judges at Odds Over Ethics Panel

A plan backed by Tennessee judges that would change the ethics panel that disciplines jurists is at odds with arguably the judiciary’s biggest critic in the legislature — Sen. Mae Beavers.

The differences in opinion came out this week at a debate before the Tennessee Press Association between Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, and Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Jeff Bivins.

Beavers has long complained that the ethics board, known as the Court of the Judiciary, is dismissing too many citizen complaints against judges accused of serious misconduct.

The judges are backing legislation that would make it more difficult to dismiss a complaint against a jurist. But they still insist that the vast majority the disciplinary board be made up of judges.

The majority of members now are judges appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

“I just think it looks bad when you have judges appointed by judges to judge judges,” Beavers said at the debate.

Beavers wants fewer judges on the panel and thinks they should be appointed by the speakers of the House and Senate.

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Senator Beavers and Judges at Odds Over Ethics Panel

Jim Reeves Royalty Dispute Ends

A long-running legal battle over the fate of 1960s country singer “Gentleman” Jim Reeves’ music royalties ended this week with a ruling that his wife’s second husband isn’t entitled to claim a share.

Terry Davis married Jim Reeves’ widow, Mary, in 1969, five years after Reeves and his piano player were killed in a Brentwood plane crash. Mary Reeves Davis died in 1999.

Davis is not entitled to any further share of his late wife’s estate than the $100,000 she specified in her will, Judge Randy Kennedy ruled at the end of a legal fight that has gone on for more than a dozen years. That money was distributed years ago. Davis had sought a percentage of the estate and a year’s worth of spousal support instead.

Full Article and Source:
Jim Reeves Royalty Dispute Ends

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Battle Over Singer Jim Reeves Royalties Nears End

U.S. Senator Mark Kirk Enters Rehab

Lake County blog Team America 10th has leaked some news that U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk is expected to enter rehab “today." [February 10]

According to the post, Mike Morgan, Kirk’s campaign chairman, said “Kirk’s mental capacity and the right side of his body are as good as ever; Kirk is monitoring what’s going on with his legislative agenda and is very, very pleased that his work is progressing while he is on the mend.”

Source:
Report: Kirk to Enter Rehab Today

Note: NASGA's best wishes are with Senator Kirk for a rapid and complete recovery!