Healthcare workers load a patient into an ambulance at Life Care Center
in Kirkland, Wash. Six people in the state have died from the
coronavirus. (Getty Images)
Staff members at the Seattle-area nursing home overrun by COVID-19
spread the coronavirus to other facilities where they worked, an
investigation led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has found.
Separately
Wednesday, public health officials reported five more deaths associated
with the facility, bringing the total number who have died to 35.
"Limitations
in effective infection control and prevention and staff members working
in multiple facilities contributed to intra- and interfacility spread,"
the CDC report said.
The report urged other such facilities nationally to immediately work to prevent coronavirus outbreaks.
"Long-term
care facilities should take proactive steps to protect the health of
residents and preserve the health care workforce by identifying and
excluding potentially infected staff members and visitors, ensuring
early recognition of potentially infected patients, and implementing
appropriate infection control measures," it said.
The advanced age
of many long-term care facility residents, their underlying health
conditions and their proximity to one another put them at risk for
sickness and death, the report said.
"Substantial morbidity and
mortality might be averted if all long-term care facilities take steps
now to prevent exposure of their residents to COVID-19," the report
said.
Representatives of Life Care Center of Kirkland and its parent company, Life Care Centers of America, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The
CDC conducted the investigation with the Seattle & King County
Public Health agency and EvergreenHealth, the medical center that
treated most of the patients hospitalized from the nursing home.
The
investigation found that infected healthcare workers at the Kirkland,
Wash., nursing home had a broad range of occupations: doctor, nurse,
nursing assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist assistant,
environmental care worker, health information officer and case manager.
Once
the outbreak was discovered, investigators emailed about 100 long-term
care facilities in King County to check for other clusters of the
disease and visited nursing homes with suspected outbreaks to conduct
emergency tests for the virus, the report said.
"As of March 9, at
least eight other King County skilled nursing and assisted living
facilities had reported one or more confirmed COVID-19 cases," the
report said.
Staff
members worked in more than one facility. Staffers worked while
symptomatic. Workers weren't familiar with standard precautions
concerning droplets from patients, surface contacts and eye protection.
Facilities had inadequate supplies of personal protective equipment and
other items such as alcohol-based hand sanitizer. And supplies of test
kits were limited.
"These findings demonstrate that outbreaks of
COVID-19 in long-term care facilities can have critical impact on
vulnerable older adults," the report said.
"The findings in this
report suggest that once COVID-19 has been introduced into a long-term
care facility, it has the potential to result in high attack rates among
residents, staff members and visitors."
Updated: Police have been reviewing surveillance
video in their investigation of a Monday morning shooting that
critically wounded a Mississippi judge.
Interim Meridian Police Chief Lewis Robbins said on Tuesday that the
shooting was “personal” and directed toward the judge, the Meridian Star
reports in a separate story.
“We are continuing to follow leads. We are continuing to investigate.
We are continuing to look at suspects in reference to this shooting,”
Robbins told the Meridian Star. “We’re doing everything that we can to
bring this to a closure.”
Smith was ambushed and shot in the back with a high-powered rifle,
according to a Facebook post by Chancery Court Judge Larry Primeaux. The
Mississippi Clarion Ledger had coverage in a separate story.
Smith became a judge in January 2019. He presided in chancery court,
which handles divorces, child custody cases, adoptions and
guardianships. Before becoming a judge, Smith was a prosecutor in youth
court and county court.
Primeaux said at a county meeting on Monday that Smith had undergone
surgery and was expected to be transferred to the University of
Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, according to the Meridian Star.
“Judge Smith is a decent, fair person and he certainly did not deserve this,” Primeaux said.
In his Facebook post, Primeaux said Smith “has several surgeries ahead” and his injuries are serous.
Stephen Kezmarsky has been sentenced to four to eight years in prison,
20 years of probation and $555,000 in restitution. The district attorney
had asked for 15-30 years.
Kezmarsky pleaded guilty in October 2019 and owes more than $500,000 to clients for prepaid funeral expenses.
According to the Office of Attorney General Josh Shaprio, Kezmarsky
accepted the payments from 2005 until 2017 but never submitted the
policies to the insurance company.
“Anyone who defrauds Pennsylvanians, especially vulnerable people
planning for the end of their lives, will be held to account for their
crimes,” Shapiro said. “For 12 years, Kezmarsky deceived dozens of
Pennsylvanians who believed they were making final plans, and now he
will spend a long time behind bars and repay what he stole.”
Forest Park Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is located at 700 Walnut Bottom Road, Carlisle.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Guardian Elder Care Holdings,
the owner of Forest Park Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in
Carlisle, has agreed to pay $15,466,278 to resolve allegations that it
over-billed patients.
The Department of Justice announced the settlement in a news release last week.
Guardian operates more than 50 nursing facilities throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
According
to the news release, Guardian facilities allegedly billed patients at
the highest level of Medicare reimbursement from January 2011 through
December 2017. Services at that level were not medically necessary, and
were influenced by financial considerations.
“Seniors rely on the Medicare program
to provide them with appropriate care, and to ensure that they are
treated with dignity and respect,” said Assistant Attorney General Jody
Hunt of the Department of Justice’s Civil Division. “The department will
not tolerate nursing home operators that put their own economic gain
ahead of the needs of their residents, and will continue to hold
accountable those operators who bill Medicare for unnecessary
rehabilitation services.”
The
allegations were originally introduced by two former Guardian
employees, Phillipa Krause and Julie White, under the whistleblower
provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to sue
on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any
recovery. The whistleblowers in this case will receive approximately
$2.8 million.
The settlement also resolves
allegations voluntarily disclosed by Guardian that it had employed two
people who were excluded from federal health care programs. As a result
of its employment of those two people, Guardian inappropriately received
payment for ineligible services.
Contemporaneous
with the civil settlement, Guardian agreed to enter into a chainwide
Corporate Integrity Agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services Office of Inspector General. The agreements are intended
to promote compliance and protect nursing home residents.
(BLOOMFIELD) – A Bloomfield man was arrested after police say he took
$1,000 from an elderly woman to remodel her bathroom but never did the
job.
Greene County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrested 55-year-old
Robert Henderson on Feb. 19th after a warrant was issued for his arrest
on a felony charge of theft.
According to police, a 78-year-old woman paid Henderson $1,000 to upgrade her bathroom in October 2019.
The woman told police that Henderson arrived at her home on October
19, 2019 to give her an estimate on pulling out her old bathtub and
replacing it with a new one with a grab bar and a new faucet.
The woman provided police with a copy of the receipt where she paid
Henderson with ten $100 bills with a balance due and an additional
$1,165 when the job was completed. Henderson was to begin work on
Monday, October 21, 2019.
The woman said Henderson did not show up on that Monday. He showed up
on Thursday, October 30th. The woman then told Henderson that she
wanted her money back.
Henderson allegedly told the woman he didn’t have it.
The woman told Henderson she needed the job done because she had no
way of taking a shower. Henderson told the woman she could take a shower
at his house.
The woman provided the deputy with another receipt dated October 30th that stated, – “I,
Robert J. Henderson DBA RJH Flooring will refund the down payment of
$1,000 for bathroom. Because I was late for the job. 10-30-2019. After I
take materials back and get the rest!!!!? 1-1-2020.”
Police spoke to Henderson in February 2020. Henderson admitted he had
not done the work and did not repay the money and had no way of paying
it back and that the woman could just sue him.
Henderson was arrested after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He posted a $400 bond and was released from jail.
He is scheduled to appear in Greene County Superior Court on March 2.
Parking lot at the Oakland County Probate Court still filled with cars on Monday March 16. Photo courtesy of Chris Abood.
As of Monday morning, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer had
announced the closure of the state’s bars and restaurants, while venues
were asked to reduce capacity by half. Meanwhile, the Center for Disease
Control (CDC) issued a recommendation against gatherings of more than
50 people. In New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, governors
insitituted bans in line with that advice.
All of this to stop the spread of COVID-19, especially to the
country’s most vulnerable elderly population and those suffering from
physical conditions that place them at greater risk.
But, at a courthouse complex in Pontiac, Michigan, you’d never know that life has changed at all.
As of the morning of March 16 the parking lot was still full and
business proceeding as normal at the Oakland County Circuit and Probate
Courts.
At present Oakland County has 14 confirmed cases of Coronavirus and
Oakland County Chief Executive David Coulter “expects those numbers to
grow.”
The Probate Court, which operates in Coulter’s building, is set up to
serve Michigan’s most vulnerable who must regularly attend hearings to
determine whether they are to be placed under guardianship or
conservatorship as well as those dealing with mental health and estate
matters.
The Oakland County Probate Court’s four cramped, courtrooms are
routinely packed, particularly on Wednesdays (called Motion Days) and
there is little or no room for social distancing. Each courtroom has the
capacity for more than 50 people.
At present, cancelling a hearing is a matter of judicial discretion.
Judges have routinely punished individuals who have not shown up for
or been late for hearings. Last week, the Detroit Free Press reported that Oakland County Circuit Judge Leo Bowman jailed
real estate developer Howard Baum who was late to his hearing on a real
estate dispute because he had pneumonia that was so acute, he was
“throwing up in a wastebasket under the counsel table.”
It was a story that did not go unnoticed by those with upcoming
hearings at the Oakland County Probate Court, which operates as an
autonomous division of the Circuit Court.
They are terrified that, if they do not attend a hearing, because
they are at risk from Coronavirus or even feeling unwell, they could
very well find themselves sanctioned or worse.
Since very few Oakalnd County probate and elder law attorneys are
willing to challenge the court’s four judges or charge unaffordable
retainers, many litigants appear pro-se (wthout an attorney to argue on
their behalf).
One such elderly woman, who wished to remain anonymous, has a hearing
coming up on Motion Day March 18 at The Oakland County Probate
Court and is running a fever. She had a friend call the court Monday
morning to receive clarification on when she should come in.
She recorded the conversation.
After being placed on hold numerous times, a clerk told her “I can
transfer you to the chambers of the judge and they would have the power
to make the decision to either postpone the court date or [your friend’]
could attend by phone.”
When asked how long cases would continue as normal, the clerk
responded that “It’s an ongoing situation that could be changing. Our
judges are currently discussing options. We are doing everything that we
can at this time to accommodate people. We’ve waived all our judge
online fees to try and limit the traffic in and out.”
Those fees are $30 for a service
that supposedly allows people to appear from home or work for “motion
hearings and other court proceedings at the discretion of the presiding
judge.”
There is an application that must be filled out, but a great many
elderly people are not online savvy. Those confined to a nursing home at
present may not have access to a computer neither can families assist
them because visitation at facilties nationwide has been curtailed.
“I’m frightened,” the woman tells me. “If I tell the judge I don’t
think I should come in, what if it gets me into trouble. I don’t know
what to do.”
The question is, with the lethal nature of COVID-19 to the very
population the Oakland County Probate Court serves, why are even
non-emergency cases moving ahead as normal despite the urgency to use
every day to further contain and not spread the virus? Why is the court
remaining open still a matter of debate?
I reached out to Oakland County Probate Court Administrator Edward
Hutton, Oakland County Chief Executive David Coulter and Governor
Gretchen Whitmer to get some answers and, as of time of
publication, there has been no response.
Retired Michigan attorney and elder advocate Bradley Geller believes
for probate courts like Oakland County to remain open is irresponsible
and not only to litigants.
“The courts should close for all but emergencies,” he says.
“Particularly with guardianship hearings where older people are
involved, they should not be exposed to large groups. To keep the courts
open not only puts respondents at risk but petitioners, Guardian at
Litems and court staff. If we are closing schools and restaurants, to
keep the court open makes little sense.“
While the option exists for people to call in, should a judge permit
it, Geller does not believe it is the best way to litigate a case
especially if those acting as their own attorney.
“You have the right to cross examine but that can’t be done effectjvely over the phone,” he asserts.
Christine Abood is part of a group of individuals fighting for reform
at the probate court on a county level believes that for the Oakland
County Probate Court to stay open even one more hour than it should is
“dangerous.”
“The majority of people entering the court building are older
adults,” she says. “On Motion Days you have people sitting in courtroom
galleries or standing shoulder-to-shoulder waiting for their case to be
called and there is just no room. You may not be heard for hours so
you are forced to remain in a confined space.”
“Why is this court still open? This isn’t a criminal court,” she
wonders. “For it to do so while everyone else is shutting down is about
nothing more than greed.”
“This puts so many people at risk,” Geller argues. “I cannot see it being a benefit to anyone.”
A Monday afternoon press conference held
in Ferndale, Michigan, attended by Coulter alongside Michigan Attorney
Dana Nessel and Rep. Andrew Levin (D-09), provided an update on measures
such as restrictions on local businesses and venues as well as issues
such as jail intake, price gouging and COVID-19 scams targeting seniors.
However, the county’s probate court was not mentioned.
“It is time that we get very serious,” Coulter stated. “The actions that we take now will help save lives.”
MICHIGAN, USA — Michigan lawmakers proposed a new bill that would allow cameras to be installed inside nursing home rooms. The action is an effort to combat elder abuse.
The bill, which was proposed by Republican Michigan Sen. Jim Runestad,
would allow a resident's loved ones to oversee their treatment.
Patients would have to give their consent for the cameras to be placed.
If the patient is in a shared living space, all roommates would also
have to give their consent before a camera is permitted. If a patient
was not coherent to make the decision, the resident's power of attorney
could authorize camera use.
Under the bill, Runestad said there must be signs in each room that notify the community of the cameras and filming.
"There’s going to be no surprise to anyone that this is going to be going on," he said.
Through
the bill, caregivers can close the curtains in a room to block the
camera's gaze when performing private procedures or when a resident
needs to tend to other private matters.
"I’ve
heard this being compared to preschools, or doggie day cares or even
cameras on porches to look after your Amazon packages. These are adults.
To compare them to a preschooler, or a dog or a package is really
insulting. They deserve their privacy, dignity and respect and we should
not treat them like dogs," Richie Farran, vice president of government
services for HCAM said.
Runestad called HCAM's concern over
privacy "comical" asking, "How are you imposing it on them when they
want this when the family member wants it?"
HCAM also has concerns that the bill could open a threat to patient security.
"We
have seen web-based video devices be hacked and actually used
maliciously against those who are on camera. If any medical care is
captured and that’s used unauthorized, that’s a HIPAA violation," Farran
explained, adding giving a power of attorney the right to make a
decision to film the patient is a privacy issue.
"If the individual while they were of sound mind, continuously said
'I would never want to be recorded' and now they’re not competent to
make that decision for themselves, a family member could put that camera
in the room," Farran said.
When asked about opposition from
health organizations, Runestad said, "There's privacy provisions built
into it (the bill), so it's really a matter of them not wanting the
transparency, the oversight. They don't want people to know what's going
on."
According to the National Council on Aging,
as many as 5 million elders are abused each year, and one in 10
Americans age 60 and older have experienced some form of elder abuse.
The organization said one study estimated that only one in 14 cases of
abuse are reported to the authorities.
Rajbir
Singh saved an elderly passenger in his cab from giving a scammer
$25,000 in Roseville, California. He is flanked by Roseville Police
records clerk Megan Harrigan and police Capt. Josh Simon.
(CNN)A
California cab driver knew something sounded fishy when his elderly
passenger said she needed a ride to the bank to withdraw $25,000.
Rajbir
Singh picked up a 92-year-old woman in Roseville, California, two weeks
ago. When he started chatting with her, Singh said she told him she was
about to withdraw the money to settle a debt with the IRS.
He
pleaded with the woman to reconsider, saying he thought this could be a
scam. Singh even detoured to a police station to help convince his
passenger not to withdraw her money.
"I am an honest guy, and these are old people. They need help," Singh, the owner of Roseville Cab, told CNN on Thursday. "It just made sense."
As
Singh talked to the woman, she told him that someone had called her and
asked for the money. When he asked if it was a family member, the woman
grew silent.
Singh said the woman agreed to let him call the number to the person who was posing as an IRS employee.
"We
called this number again and I asked the man, 'Do you know this lady?'
He said no," Singh said. "I knew something was wrong."
When
Singh pressed the man, saying the woman was 92 years old and she was
nervous, the man hung up on him. After repeated calls back, Singh said
the number blocked them.
Despite that, Singh said the woman still didn't believe him, so he came up with another idea.
"Raj
pleaded with the woman to reconsider so they agreed to stop by the
Roseville Police Station to ask an officer," the police department said
in a post on Facebook.
Singh spoke with an officer in the station, who then spoke with the woman, police said.
The conversation with the officer worked, and the woman believed she was being scammed.
"We love this story because several
times throughout, Raj could have just taken his customer to her stop and
not worried about her wellbeing," Roseville police said in the Facebook
post. "He took time from his day and had the great forethought to bring
the almost-victim to the police station for an official response."
Roseville police said Singh deserved a "great citizen award" in a statement.
"His quick thinking saved a senior citizen $25,000 and for that, we greatly appreciate his efforts," police said.
Singh
took his passenger home, her bank account saved. A week after the
potential scam was thwarted, Singh said he got a call asking him to come
back to the station.
Officers gave Singh a $50 gift card to thank him for what he did.
For
a second time, a panel of judges has dismissed an appeal by former
Orlando guardian Rebecca Fierle, who sought to quash an Orange County
judge’s order finding she violated state rules by misusing “do not
resuscitate” orders on incapacitated clients.
The
Fifth District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach on Thursday tossed
Fierle’s appeal, in which she argued Circuit Judge Janet C. Thorpe
overstepped when she wrote in a Sept. 12 order that she had “no confidence in Ms. Fierle’s actions, reliability, or truthfulness as a professional guardian.”
“This court finds probable cause to permanently remove Rebecca Fierle
from any appointment in Orange County as a professional guardian,”
Thorpe wrote.
The embattled guardian, who had overseen hundreds of wards across the state, was arrested last month on charges of aggravated abuse and neglect of an elderly person in the death of 75-year-old Steven Stryker, an incapacitated client who died at a Tampa hospital in May.
Medical
staff were unable to attempt to save his life because Fierle had signed
a DNR order against his wishes and the protests of his daughter,
health-care surrogate and psychiatrist.
The court-appointed decision maker later admitted to routinely filing DNRs on her wards.
Fierle’s
attorney, Harry Hackney, argued in the rejected appeal that Thorpe’s
decision should be reversed because she wrongly suggested the guardian
needed permission from a judge or family members before signing a DNR
for a ward.
“[Fierle]
can consult family and friends to discern what the ward would have done
when competent,” Hackney argued. “She is NOT required to get their
permission nor the court’s.”
Attorney
General Ashley Moody’s office called that a “strawman argument.” Thorpe
did not object to Fierle signing DNRs on behalf of incapacitated
clients but rather to her doing so against wards’ wishes, like in
Styker’s case, said Senior Assistant Attorney General William H.
Stafford III.
“The
circuit court found probable cause that [Fierle] failed to act in the
best interest of at least one of her wards by signing a DNR, not that
court approval was required in all instances,” Stafford wrote.
In November, the appeals court denied a separate petition by Hackney that sought to remove Thorpe from the case.
Hackney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
The
Stryker case embroiled Florida’s guardianship system in scandal. Since
Fierle resigned from all cases statewide in July, further investigations
have found she mismanaged wards’ fiances, double-billed for services and improperly billed AdventHealth Orlando for nearly $4 million in unauthorized payments.
A series of Orlando Sentinel special reports exposed gaps in Florida’s guardianship system, including potential conflicts of interest on committees that determine whether a person should be placed under guardianship and loopholes that allow guardians to seek their own appointments, despite state law generally requiring a rotation system.
State lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday to fix those flaws by requiring guardians to get a judge’s approval before signing DNRs
on behalf of incapacitated clients, prohibiting them from seeking their
own appointment to specific cases and revising provisions related to
conflicts of interest.
If signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the law would go into effect July 1.
