ST. PETERSBURG, Fla - Dozens of cockroaches where caught on camera creeping and crawling in a patient's room at a local assisted living facility, and it's not the first time the ALF has had problems with infestations.
“They're crawling up the wall, crawling up on me,” said Geri Cataraso, as she narrates video she shot inside a patient’s room at Bristol Court Assisted Living Facility in St. Petersburg. “We saw them all the time. There's just holes in the wall, where the roaches go through.”
She was visiting her friend John Maddox, a Navy veteran referred there by the VA, after he had a stroke.
“Look at the cockroach walking on the wall right behind where he's sleeping,” she said in one video clip. “25 years in the military, this is where you put him in?”
Maddox also lost 30 pounds in 90 days, she said.
The administrator didn't want to do an on camera interview, but she said that the ALF serves a unique population, including homeless people, who sometimes bring in pests like bedbugs and cockroaches on their shoes.
“That doesn't occur in an hour,” said attorney Jim Wilkes who reviewed the video.
He has sued hundreds of ALFs, including Bristol Court.
“If it's allowed to happen over and over again, the law says it's abuse. If it goes on for weeks and months, it's abuse,” said Wilkes.
Bristol Court claims an exterminator treats the home monthly, but state records say that wasn't always the case.
In 2015, the ALF was fined for failing to professionally treat a "known infestation of bedbugs” which sent residents to the hospital. That same year, an employee shaved seven residents' heads, including four women without proper consent, during a lice outbreak.
“If the person is being treated that way at home, protective services would come out, take them away and arrest the family,” said Wilkes.
There was an arrest of an employee at Bristol Court earlier this year. 20-year-old Alexis Williams was charged with two counts of video voyeurism. She was arrested for posting secretly-filmed videos of two residents having sex on Snapchat.
Maddox recently left Bristol Court, with help from Cataraso, his attorney and a professional guardian. He is now recovering at another facility.
Cataraso shared her videos with state investigators, hoping they'll force Bristol Court to take care of its problems.
“If more people would open their mouth to what they see, we could stop it,” she said.
Full Article & Source:
Cockroaches caught on video at Pinellas County Assisted Living Facility
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Former Guardian Jailed After Missing Report Deadline
The former guardian of a Jefferson County widow is being held without
bail until she accounts for hundreds of thousands of dollars advocates
say is missing.
But Leon Circuit Judge Robert
Long ordered Cooper held without bond until she produces a report the
court first demanded May 24th.
Advocates for Delores Caracci contend more than $400,000 in cash, real estate, and vehicles is missing from her estate.
Full Article & Source:
Former Guardian Jailed After Missing Report Deadline
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Advocates for Delores Caracci contend more than $400,000 in cash, real estate, and vehicles is missing from her estate.
Full Article & Source:
Former Guardian Jailed After Missing Report Deadline
TGA’s Response to Governor Abbott’s Veto of SB667
While it is true that the Governor has signed into law a number of guardianship reform bills over the past two legislative sessions, these bills were primarily designed to impose additional responsibilities on guardians, who are most often family members who may not know or fully understand their duties as guardians. Lacking in the reforms to date have been provisions that would assist the courts in ensuring that court-appointed guardians are in compliance with these progressive statutes.
The Governor’s veto of funding for Senate Bill 667 prevents the Office of Court Administration from having the funds and staff necessary to ensure that every guardian in every case is in compliance with State law. This bill was the first step in a process that would have assisted Texas courts in becoming more proactive and responsible in ensuring guardians are properly managing the personal and financial affairs of vulnerable Texans.
The Texas Guardianship Association will move forward with a renewed commitment to educate public officials and the private community in Texas regarding additional reforms needed to protect adults in Texas. In this regard, the first order of business is to analyze the challenges faced by general jurisdiction courts in Texas that generally have thousands of active cases without specialized staff to monitor and audit activities by guardians. With more than 50,000 adults and in excess of five billion dollars under management by Texas guardians, this should be the first order of business by elected officials in Texas.”
Terry W Hammond, President of the TGA Board of Directors
Full Article & Source:
TGA’s Response to Governor Abbott’s Veto of SB667
See Also:
Read SB 667
94-year-old sues Florida nursing home where 8 residents died in wake of Hurricane Irma
A 94-year-old woman living at the Florida nursing home
where eight residents died after an air conditioning system failed in
the wake of Hurricane Irma is now suing the rehabilitation center,
claiming it showed "negligence and reckless indifference" toward its
elderly residents.
Rosa Cabrera's legal guardian filed the lawsuit in a Broward County
state court on Friday on her behalf against the Rehabilitation Center at
Hollywood Hills in Hollywood, Florida.
Eight of the nursing home's residents died last week after the
facility's electrical system for its air conditioning stopped working in
the aftermath of the hurricane that hit Florida on September 10.
Cabrera is a double amputee "without the ability to walk or live
independently," the complaint says. She sustained heat-related injuries
and had to be hospitalized as a result of the days-long failure of the
nursing home's air conditioning system, the complaint alleges.
"As the hurricane approached, Ms. Cabrera was told by the Rehab Center
that she would not be evacuated, but would be safe and cared for" at the
nursing home, the complaint says. She did not know that the nursing
home lacked a generator to power its air conditioning system in the
event of a power failure, the lawsuit alleges.
The complaint further contends that the Rehabilitation Center at
Hollywood Hills should have known that the storm would cause a power
outage, and that if that happened "the temperature inside the facility
would be unsafe and dangerous" for its more than 150 residents.
"Notwithstanding these foreseeable, dangerous, and life-threatening
conditions, the defendant made no effort to relocate the elderly and
vulnerable residents or to secure an adequate cooling system for the
center," the complaint says.
The lawsuit alleges that the Rehabilitation Center failed to adequately
prepare for Irma after hurricane and storm-surge warnings were first
issued for Broward County on Sept. 7.
Hill and Knowlton Strategies, a public relations firm representing the
nursing home told ABC News, "It would be inappropriate to discuss a
pending suit. However, counsel will be reviewing the filing."
Most of the eight residents of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood
Hills who died had been treated for respiratory distress, dehydration,
and heat-related issues, officials said. Some of the patients admitted
to nearby Memorial Regional Hospital felt temperatures of up to 106
degrees, hospital officials said Thursday.
A timeline released by the public relations firm for the nursing home
says that the center's staff reached out repeatedly to emergency
hotlines and the local power utility in the days after the air
conditioning system failed on Sept. 10.
Nursing home officials also called the personal cell phone of Florida Gov. Rick Scott seeking help, the governor's office confirmed to ABC News on Saturday.
Scott's office said the messages left on his cell phone were referred to two other agencies.
“Every call made to the governor from facility management was referred
to the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Florida Department
of Health, and quickly returned,” John Tupps, Scott's communications
director, said Friday,
Full Article & Source;
94-year-old sues Florida nursing home where 8 residents died in wake of Hurricane Irma
Monday, September 18, 2017
Former Probate Judge Nadeau suspended
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| Robert M.A. Nadeau |
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday rejected Nadeau’s request for a reconsideration of the decision they made in June to suspend him for violating judicial canons during during his last term as York County Judge of Probate.
“The sanctions we impose here rest on our consideration of all of Nadeau’s history of professional misconduct, as both an attorney and a judge,” the justices wrote in a 10-page response to his request for reconsideration.
“As we stated in the opinion that is the subject of this motion, this is now the fourth time that Judge Nadeau has appeared before us for ethical violations, and the third time for conduct that occurred while serving in a judicial capacity. Here, his actions were often carried out in an intemperate and vindictive fashion against former colleagues of his law practice and their associates. Attorneys’ reputations were harmed, and litigants before him were pressured to support his efforts to increase court resources and his compensation. Judge Nadeau has not fully acknowledged the intemperate nature of his decisions.“
The justices wrote that prior corrective actions had not been effective.
“This time, therefore, more severe sanctions are warranted,” they said.
Following complaints filed by the Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability, the justices in June found Nadeau violated judicial canons when he directed probate court staff not to make court appointments to seven attorneys; regarding his removal of a previously appointed attorney from pending cases; his issuance of orders urging litigants appearing before him to lobby for increased court time, and his personal solicitation of campaign contributions for his 2016 election campaign, according to the court document.
In his motion for reconsideration, Nadeau pointed out that the Committee on Judicial Responsibility and Disability had asked for a suspension of his license to practice law only if he were to again run for probate judge.
Nadeau also raised questions about due process, the burden of proof and what he described as the Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s commentary regarding whether he "fully acknowledged the intemperate nature of his decisions.”
“Regardless of the circumstances and my efforts to quickly right any wrongs when I made them, and regardless of the applicable canons, my goal was always to avoid errors of any sort, and to do what was best and most supportive for the users of the probate court,” he wrote. “I apologize for not having done better, and I blame only myself."
The justices found that Nadeau’s order to staff to reschedule all pending court cases in the hours after his bid for more court time and a larger salary was rejected by York County Commissioners in 2015, did not constitute a violation of judicial canons.
“With this history, Nadeau was certainly on notice regarding the sanctions he could face; he has not been denied due process in this proceeding; and he has failed to demonstrate that he has been sanctioned more harshly than others similarly situated, having identified no Maine attorney with a history of professional misconduct violations as extensive as his own,” the justices concluded.
Nadeau served several terms as York County Judge of Probate. He was first elected in 1996 and again in 2002 and 2004. He lost the 2008 election but was returned to the bench in 2012. He lost in a three-way race to Sanford Attorney Bryan Chabot in November 2016; Chabot took office in January.
Full Article & Source:
Former Probate Judge Nadeau suspended
New law protects vulnerable citizens from financial exploitation and other abuse
House Bill 3921 went into effect Sept. 1 and is already helping banks and credit unions stop financial exploitation and other forms of elder abuse.
"It's sad," said Rhonda Valdez. "It's hard to get to the bottom of it."
Valdez is worried sick. She believes her 85-year old mother is a victim of elder abuse and she's not sure what to do about it.
"Some people can't afford an attorney," Valdez said. "It's expensive. What are you supposed to do?"
Bexar County has the second-highest number of suspected abuse cases in the state according to adult protective services.
Last year nearly 10,000 cases were reported, including instances of suspected abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.
"It could be your brother," Valdez said. "It could be your sister."
"We work closely with financial institutions to be able to provide us some of that background information so we can explore it further," said Ann Cortez, district director of adult protective services.
A new state law requires financial institutions to report suspected financial exploitation within five business days.
"Well I think that's great it's about time somebody's got to stand up for them," Valdez said.
"One of the red flags is the customer looks as though they're frightened, or they look as though they're being coerced to pull money out," said Estrellita Garcia-Diaz of Jefferson Bank.
Jefferson Bank already reported suspicious activity internally.
"Changes in their spending habits," Garcia-Diaz said. "You can see that they're drawing more cash out on a more frequent basis or sometimes the checks presented for payment show a different signature."
The new law provides oversight from the state and allows financial institutions to help launch investigations into suspected abuse at home.
"Just those things are a hint as to what could be going on behind closed doors," Garcia-Diaz said.
If you suspect a loved one has become a victim of abuse exploitation or neglect you can connect with Adult Protective Services using their 24-hour hotline, 1 (800) 252-5400.
Full Article & Source:
New law protects vulnerable citizens from financial exploitation and other abuse
ACL Awards Grants to Help States Support Caregivers, Strengthen Lifespan Respite Systems
September 12, 2017
ACL
recently awarded grants totaling nearly $3 million to 14 states to
support caregivers by strengthening lifespan respite care programs.
These programs seek to improve the well-being of families by
coordinating existing respite systems, providing education and training
opportunities, and expanding respite services.
North Dakota and South Dakota were awarded new state grants totaling $400,000 for three-year projects. The funding will be used to plan, establish, and expand lifespan respite care systems that provide new and planned emergency respite services, train and recruit respite workers and volunteers, and assist caregivers with accessing needed services.
Twelve states have been awarded three-year Advancing State Lifespan Respite Systems grants totaling more than $2.5 million to build on progress made under previous Lifespan Respite Care Program grants. Projects will focus on developing and strengthening the components of a lifespan respite care System deemed necessary for improving access, consistency, quality, sustainability; and reducing duplication in respite service delivery.
The 12 states are:
Respite care offers individuals or family members temporary relief from the daily routine and stress that can come with providing care. Respite can play a critical role in strengthening family stability and maintaining the health of the family caregiver.
Since 2009, ACL has awarded competitive lifespan respite grants to 37 states and the District of Columbia. Each state collaborates with an Aging and Disability Resource Center/No Wrong Door system, as well as a public or private non-profit statewide respite care coalition or organization.
North Dakota and South Dakota were awarded new state grants totaling $400,000 for three-year projects. The funding will be used to plan, establish, and expand lifespan respite care systems that provide new and planned emergency respite services, train and recruit respite workers and volunteers, and assist caregivers with accessing needed services.
Twelve states have been awarded three-year Advancing State Lifespan Respite Systems grants totaling more than $2.5 million to build on progress made under previous Lifespan Respite Care Program grants. Projects will focus on developing and strengthening the components of a lifespan respite care System deemed necessary for improving access, consistency, quality, sustainability; and reducing duplication in respite service delivery.
The 12 states are:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Idaho
- North Carolina
- Nevada
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Washington
Respite care offers individuals or family members temporary relief from the daily routine and stress that can come with providing care. Respite can play a critical role in strengthening family stability and maintaining the health of the family caregiver.
Since 2009, ACL has awarded competitive lifespan respite grants to 37 states and the District of Columbia. Each state collaborates with an Aging and Disability Resource Center/No Wrong Door system, as well as a public or private non-profit statewide respite care coalition or organization.
Full Article & Source:
ACL Awards Grants to Help States Support Caregivers, Strengthen Lifespan Respite Systems
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Tonight on T.S. Radio with Marti Oakley: Genevieve's Nightmare, Part 2, & Another Carol Hershey Victim
Mary Bush returns for part 2 of her mothers guardianship case. Geneveive is still being isolated and held prisoner for-profit. Mary who lives about 15 miles from the locked in facility where her mother is, has not seen her mother since January 2016. Mary has since discovered and reported to Chester County Adult Protective Services that her mother again has not seen her cardiologist for a year and a half.
After filing another petition to the court to get her mother to her doctor, the court issued an order stating "I will not micromanage (Guardianship Services of Pennsylvania) care decisions absent compelling reasons". The court also ordered that Mary who is her mother's legal health care agent is to " cease and desist" "scheduling appointments for her mother". If guardianship is about protecting vulnerable older adults, then who is the Court really protecting?
Hour 2:
Jeffrey Hennell joins the show to talk about yet another victim of Chester County, Pennsylvania probate, his mother. Jeffrey's mother was another victim of Carol Hershey. The house sold, personal items sold and family memorabilia left in a dumpster...including his father's ashes.
LISTEN to the show live or listen to the archive later
Shenanigans in the Montgomery County, PA, Courthouse - Florence's Story
Are you safe from abuse if your paperwork is in order, i.e. a trust? Decide for yourself. This video features Judge Lois Murphy, attorney Robert Slutsky, professional guardian Louis Horvath and his company Intervention Associates.
Source:
Shenanigans in the Montgomery County, PA, Courthouse - Florence's Story
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