Randy Meisner's Friend Calls For Conservatorship

A friend of Eagles co-founder Randy Meisner is calling for a judge to place him under conservatorship over fears for his mental health.

Friends and family of the veteran rocker have been concerned for his wellbeing after his wife Lana shot herself during a domestic dispute at their Los Angeles home earlier in March (16).

Meisner's estranged children want him to be placed under their conservatorship, but he objected to their plans by filing his own legal papers asking a judge to name a "trusted friend" and financial adviser as his conservators instead of his kids.

His longtime friend James Newton has now filed his own legal documents asking for someone specialising in mental health to be awarded temporary conservatorship. He is concerned Meisner will appoint an unqualified friend for the role.

Newton fears Meisner, who has a history of drink and drug addiction, is back on the alcohol and risks doing harm to himself following the death of his wife, according to TMZ.com.  (Continue Reading)

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Randy Meisner's Friend Calls For Conservatorship

Technology, Educational Efforts Fight Exploitation Of Seniors

Howard Tischler’s mother didn’t want to burden her children, so the former accountant arranged her finances for retirement and maintained an independent lifestyle.

As she aged, Tischler noticed inconsistencies in her finances — credit card charges that made no sense, for example, and bills for an auto parts service even though she had no car or driver’s license. It didn't help that she was legally blind.

“I didn’t see any signs of dementia, it wasn’t something that was visible,” Tischler says. “Other people were calling and selling her things. She brought in a friend to help pay her bills, and the friend was writing herself checks out of my mother’s bank account.”

Her problems were mounting, but the nature of the exploitation made it difficult for financial institutions to detect. His mother stopped paying for a long-term care policy she had purchased. Then, when her expenses snowballed, she started to take early withdrawals out of an annuity to cover.

“If we stepped back and looked at it, there were a lot of indicators of a problem, but they weren’t all within one institution or account,” Tischler says. “It would be difficult for any one person to see what was happening and flag it.”

Tischler, a financial technology entrepreneur, didn’t let the issue go — he founded EverSafe, a Columbia, Md. firm that offers digital account monitoring to help safeguard senior citizens vulnerable to fraud and exploitation.

EverSafe addresses a growing issue: the U.S. Census Bureau expects the population of people ages 65 and up to double by 2050, and cognitive decline often begins for people in their late 50’s.

The 2010 Investor Protection Trust Elder Fraud study found that one in five Americans over the age of 65 has been the victim of a financial fraud. Additional research from that year by the National Institute on Aging found that victims of elder abuse had a one-year mortality rate, or more than twice that of individuals of similar age and health who had not been mistreated. Furthermore, a 2011 study by MetLife found that elder financial exploitation costs seniors more than $2.9 billion annually.

“The truth is that this just kills people,” says Elizabeth Loewy, EverSafe general counsel and vice president of industry relations. “It’s a heartbreaking problem, but I believe that this problem will be resolved in a number of years through the use of technology.”

Tischler and Loewy aren’t the only ones combatting elder abuse. As states consider laws to help protect vulnerable citizens, another initiative is combatting elder financial abuse through education.  (Continue Reading)

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Technology, Educational Efforts Fight Exploitation Of Seniors

State money allows for enhanced protection of senior citizens

With extra funding from the state, Athens County is doing more to protect the elderly from abuse, neglect and financial exploitation.

This effort includes distribution of personal safety alarms, an education campaign, and the formation of a special team to identify gaps in the delivery of services.

Normally, Athens County Department of Job and Family Services is allocated about $3,300 a year by the state to investigate reports of abuse of persons ages 60 and above. But this fiscal year the amount jumped nearly ten-fold to $30,000.

DJFS Director Bob Gallagher welcomes the increase but pointed out the allocation “provides less than half of the true cost of the service provided by the Athens County DJFS to the citizens of the county.”

The Ohio General Assembly also set aside $10 million to encourage counties to develop plans for improving services and to implement those plans. Athens County took advantage of the “one-time-only” offer and was awarded a total of $62,000.

So far, that money has been spent on personal safety alarms, distributed to seniors at various community events.

“These are a small electronic device which, when activated, produce a shrill warning sound similar to a car alarm,” said Gallagher. “The idea being that if (the person is) in a threatening situation or physically incapable of ambulation, the alarm will draw attention from neighbors or bystanders.”

Also, newspaper and radio ads were purchased in Athens to educate people on issues surrounding the elderly.

The advertisements ran “to increase the public awareness and community knowledge about services being available through DJFS to investigate or check in with older persons suspected of being mistreated, neglected or exploited,” said Gallagher. “A public event was held in conjunction with United Seniors which provided a guest speaker who specifically discussed financial and exploitation crimes and scams targeting the elderly.”

In addition, an emergency response radio was bought with some of the $62,000 to ensure the safety of the Adult Protective Services worker when he or she is in the field and unable to receive cell service.”

“Our investigation often leads to parts of the county which do not have reliable or any cell-phone service,” said Gallagher. “In order to remain in touch with the office or the need for calling in an emergency situation, our investigator is now equipped with an 'emergency responder' radio to access that network for communications.”

The biggest part of the special allocation ($50,000) will be spent to meet a series of goals established by Athens County Job and Family Services officials.

“These funds will be used to provide various services to Adult Protective Services clients in areas such as fees for guardianships and mental -health evaluations,” said Tara Wallace, director of Health Services for the Athens agency.

Wallace said Athens County also has established a team of people “willing to collaborate with our APS program, to address gaps in service delivery.” The group has been meeting once a month.

The members are creating “a plan of cooperation between community partners and public agencies… to ensure that the communication among first responders, local law enforcement and the Athens County DJFS is effective and timely,” said Gallagher. “The team has agreed to continue meeting on a regular basis to share information and discuss problems that may occur in the system of care for this vulnerable group of citizens.”

Current members include representatives from the Athens County Sheriff’s office and police departments in Athens and Nelsonville, Area Agency on Aging, Athens Senior Center, Athens County Probate-Juvenile Court and Hopewell Mental Health.

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State money allows for enhanced protection of senior citizens

Seniors Texting Code

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8 Nursing Home Pitfalls to Avoid

With an increasing aging population, being able to evaluate nursing homes on important issues is an essential skill for caregivers and children with aging parents. When one considers that their loved one might need a nursing home for either a short-term rehabilitation or more long term caregiving needs, one must realize that not all nursing homes are considered equal, and one must be able to differentiate between the good ones versus the unsafe profit-making ones. With more than 16,000 nursing homes in the US, there are several factors to consider.

In order for nursing homes to receive Medicare and Medicaid funds, they must pass health and safety inspections. The worst nursing homes will consistently fail to meet these standards, and will be given violations. These violations are accessible to the public, and one can actually compare local nursing homes via the Medicare website.

The Medicare Nursing Home Compare website will rate nursing homes on safety standards as well as availability of staff (patient to staff ratios). Consider the fact that a nursing home might meet all safety and health standards from an environmental perspective, but if there are insufficient staff available to answer call lights, assist patients to the bathroom, or provide necessary nursing care, the residents will suffer. Nursing homes must report staffing levels of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and nursing assistants to the government. The best nursing homes have administrators willing to pay for sufficient staff to best meet residents’ needs. There is no current federal standard for the minimum safe nurse to patient ratios.

Quality Measures

The website will also compare “quality measures” of nursing homes which are based on actual data submitted to Medicare. Some of the quality measures of nursing homes include…

1. Falls – Every year one in three older adults have a fall; for residents of nursing home, one third of these fall events result in a patient injury. Good nursing homes take proactive steps to prevent falls and supply adequate staff to prevent falls.


2. Urinary Tract Infections – The percentage of nursing home residents that develop a urinary tract infection directly relates to poor hygiene and toileting. The best nursing homes have lower incidences of UTI’s.


3. Moderate to Severe Pain – Long term residents who have unresolved moderate to severe pain complaints is another quality measure for nursing homes. Untreated pain leads to a poor quality of life and can cause decreased functional abilities, decreased mobility, decreased nutrition, depression, and overall poor health status. Having adequate nursing staff to assess and treat pain with medications and non-pharmacologic interventions is essential.


4. Pressure Ulcers – The worst facilities will have higher incidences of residents with pressure ulcers, if residents are not being turned and moved properly in bed, usually due to inadequate staff. Residents who develop pressure ulcers must be properly treated to ensure healing and this will require facilities to purchase proper dressings to cover the wound to prevent infection. Read more information on preventing and treating pressure ulcers.


5. Incontinence – Losing control of one’s bowel or bladder function can be due to an underlying cause that can be corrected. Residents who lose control of their bladders must have a plan in place to help them, including a regular toileting program. Incontinence puts residents at risk for skin breakdown and pressure ulcers if proper hygiene and skin care is not provided regularly by the facility staff.


6. Malnutrition/ Weight loss – How many residents demonstrated significant weight loss during the review period? If a higher percentage of residents are losing weight and malnourished, it may indicate that the facilities’ food is inadequate, or residents are not being fed properly. Weight loss can also be related to medical conditions such as untreated illness or depression. Generally no resident should lose more than 5% of their body weight in a month.


7. Restraints and Antipsychotic medications – Residents should never be put in restraints as a punishment, or to make things easier for the staff. Residents should also not be inappropriately medicated with antipsychotic medications, which can be harmful to the elderly, in order to chemically restrain patients by sedating them. Providing additional staff is one way to deal with patient behavioral problems. Only a doctor can order restraints for a medical reason.


8. Depression – Nursing home residents have high risk for developing depression and anxiety due to relocation, health concerns, loss, and isolation. Proper treatment for residents with depressive symptoms includes medication, social activities, and therapy. The worst facilities will have high percentages of depressed residents who are not being properly treated for their depression.

The Next Step

Once you’ve targeted your search a bit more, visiting each nursing home is the next step. Bringing a list of questions to ask will help ensure that you will get the information you need to make an informed decision.  Plan to ask questions of the director, as well as individual nurses and residents and compare answers. Nurses should be asked how many patients they are responsible for caring for that day to get an idea of nurse-to-patient ratios and how they compare in different facilities. Nurses can also be asked if they feel this is a safe number considering the patient’s needs, and if they have adequate support and supplies at the facility. Residents in public areas like hallways and dining rooms can be asked about their experiences and perceptions of the facility. Download this extremely helpful checklist of questions to ask during your visit.
Here are some additional questions to consider:

• Is the facility clean? Does it have a bad odor?
• How many citations did the facility have on their last inspection?
• Is the facility local or family-run or is it operated by a large profit making chain?
• Are the residents clean and well-dressed?
• Are there social events and activities for residents? Is there an activities calendar posted?
• How is the food and menu available? Ask to eat a meal at the facility.
• Are confused residents left in the hallways alone? Are there residents calling out?
• Do the staff treat the residents with respect and care?

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8 Nursing Home Pitfalls to Avoid

Task forces to probe elder abuse in Ohio

Photo by Chris Russell

WASHINGTON — A southwest Ohio task force will be among the 10 created across the country to investigate accusations of improper care to seniors living in nursing homes, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.

Each task force is designed to hold “bad actors in the nursing home and long-term care industry accountable for their treatment of the elderly,” Benjamin Mizer, principal deputy assistant attorney general, said at a press conference in Washington.

The task forces are modeled after the joint federal and state investigation in 2014 that led to a $38 million settlement between Extendicare Health Services and eight states — including Ohio.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, whose office played a role in the 2014 investigation, hailed Wednesday’s announcement, saying “it is essential that state, local and federal agencies work together to look after elderly residents’ best interests and hold accountable those who failed in their duty to protect these vulnerable citizens.”

Keesha Mitchell, director of the Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and president of the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, said the task forces will allow state and federal governments to better coordinate the investigations “to protect” seniors in nursing homes.

The Ohio task force Ohio will be established in the southern district, which includes Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati. The other task forces will be spread across nine other states.

Extendicare signed the settlement agreement in 2014 even as company officials denied the allegations. According to the settlement, Extendicare provided “worthless” or “materially substandard” service at 33 nursing homes, including six in Ohio.

The settlement said Extendicare “submitted false claims” to Medicare between 2007 and last year, charging the company demanded payment for “medically unreasonable and unnecessary rehabilitation therapy services” provided to Medicare beneficiaries at the 33 facilities.

The six Ohio nursing homes included one in Hamilton County and another one in Madison County. None of the others were in the Dayton, Springfield or Hamilton areas.

The allegations originally were raised through a lawsuit in Ohio. Extendicare operates 146 skilled nursing facilities in 11 states.

“The department worked closely with other agencies and state governments to reach this resolution,” Mizer said of the 2014 settlement.

Each task force will include federal, state and local prosecutors, officials of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and state Medicaid fraud units.

“Bringing all of these entities together will provide more tools to address complaints about nursing home or other long-term care providers,” Mizer said.

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Task forces to probe elder abuse in Ohio

Professional guardian appointed to end feud over Montgomerys’ legacy

After a hearing closed to the public and the media, a judge on Monday appointed a professional guardian to oversee the care — as well as the millions of dollars — of Mary Montgomery, the Palm Beach socialite and widow of legal legend Robert Montgomery.

The guardianship of one of the county’s most celebrated philanthropists comes the same month the Florida Legislature passed a bill to establish the state’s first regulatory authority over professional guardians whose ranks have come under fire for gouging the life savings of incapacitated senior citizens through fees for themselves and their legion of attorneys.

The Palm Beach Post’s series in January, Guardianships: A Broken Trust, explored cronyism in the county judiciary that allowed professional guardians to take fees without prior judicial approval and act without fear of reprisal. As a result, one judge was transferred from the guardianship division and reforms were instituted to address conflicts of interest.

The hearing Monday in front of Circuit Judge John Phillips pitted Montgomery’s daughter, Courtnay, against her mother’s long-time administrative aide Hilda Santana.

The Post reported on Sunday that Santana petitioned to become Montgomery’s guardian, stating in court documents that the 85-year-old suffers from dementia. She cited Courtnay’s arrest in Minnesota last October in which the daughter allegedly tried to bite a law enforcement officer checking on her mother’s welfare. Santana said Courtnay was unfit to oversee her mother’s case or her vast finances.

After a hearing closed to the public and the media, a judge on Monday appointed a professional guardian to oversee the care — as well as the millions of dollars — of Mary Montgomery, the Palm Beach socialite and widow of legal legend Robert Montgomery.

The guardianship of one of the county’s most celebrated philanthropists comes the same month the Florida Legislature passed a bill to establish the state’s first regulatory authority over professional guardians whose ranks have come under fire for gouging the life savings of incapacitated senior citizens through fees for themselves and their legion of attorneys.

The Palm Beach Post’s series in January, Guardianships: A Broken Trust, explored cronyism in the county judiciary that allowed professional guardians to take fees without prior judicial approval and act without fear of reprisal. As a result, one judge was transferred from the guardianship division and reforms were instituted to address conflicts of interest.

The hearing Monday in front of Circuit Judge John Phillips pitted Montgomery’s daughter, Courtnay, against her mother’s long-time administrative aide Hilda Santana.

The Post reported on Sunday that Santana petitioned to become Montgomery’s guardian, stating in court documents that the 85-year-old suffers from dementia. She cited Courtnay’s arrest in Minnesota last October in which the daughter allegedly tried to bite a law enforcement officer checking on her mother’s welfare. Santana said Courtnay was unfit to oversee her mother’s case or her vast finances.

Hilda Santana, long-time administrative aide to Mary Montgomery, waits for a hearing to begin in Palm Beach County court Monday morning, ... read more

The resolution on Monday came after Montgomery’s attorney Theo Kypreos asked Judge Phillips to close the hearing to the public, which is allowed under the guardianship statute. As a result, a Post reporter and photographer had to leave the courtroom after Phillips denied a hearing sought by The Post on First Amendment grounds.

Neither Montgomery nor Courtnay were present for the proceeding, but attorneys said the daughter agreed to veteran professional guardian John Cramer overseeing Montgomery’s care. Cramer will be assisted by Montgomery’s nephew John Neasen, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska.

Unlike in some guardianships, Montgomery will retain certain legal rights, but it was unknown late Monday which ones or how much her assets will be managed. (Continue Reading)

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Professional guardian appointed to end feud over Montgomerys’ legacy

Senator Serino’s Elder Abuse Protection Bill Passes NYS Senate

Bill to Implement Health Care Provider’s Screening Process Passes Senate


Senator Sue Serino Chairs the NYS Senate Aging Committee

ALBANY, NY— On Monday, Senator Sue Serino’s (R, C, I—Hyde Park) bill to empower health care providers to detect elder abuse in their patients passed in the Senate, adding a critical layer of protection for New York’s Seniors.

“There are few people better positioned to screen for elder abuse than the physicians our seniors know and trust,” said Senator Serino. “This bill gives physicians the tools they need to recognize the signs of abuse and get their patients the help they need, stopping abuse in its tracks. It is time to put our seniors first, change the elder abuse statistics and ensure that New Yorkers have the opportunity to live out their Golden Years free from harm.”

Specifically, the bill (S. 6925) aims to engage trusted medical professionals to help identify and assist patients at a high risk for abuse by directing the Commissioner of Health to establish protocol for voluntary screening to aid physicians, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners in identifying and reporting cases of abuse or maltreatment. To that end, the tool will provide practitioners with guidance that articulates, among other things, common definitions of abuse, questions that may be used for those who have cognitive impairments as well as a list of resources that may be provided to those patients identified as being victims of abuse.

As Senator Serino notes in the bill’s memo, elder abuse has emerged as one of the nation’s most underreported crimes, with an estimated 300,000 cases going unreported each year and she notes that it has been shown that elders who experience abuse, even moderate in severity, have a 300% higher risk of death when compared to those who have not been abused.

Unfortunately, those being abused frequently refuse to report abuse as it too often occurs at the hands of loved ones, friends, neighbors and people our seniors have known and trusted for significant amounts of time. Detecting elder abuse is made even more challenging given the fact that there have been systematic issues with implementing comprehensive elder abuse screening and intervention, even at the federal level, because it cuts across areas impacting not only physical health, but mental and financial health as well as personal safety.

Over a decade ago, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force found that, in the primary care setting, there are no uniform screening tools available to identify abuse of elder adults. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) developed and implemented an elder abuse screening tool within the Physician Quality Reporting System in 2009 in order to decrease hospitalizations, readmissions, and mortality. Senator Serino’s bill was modeled after the Elder Maltreatment Screen and Follow-Up Plan that was developed for CMS and aims to set the standard for screening in New York.

“Whether out of shear inability, fear, embarrassment, or the desire to protect an abuser that they know and trust, our seniors too often choose not to report abuse,” said Senator Serino. “We have a duty to ensure that we have systems in place to protect those most vulnerable to abuse. With health care professionals uniquely positioned to gain their patient’s trust and ensure their health and safety, giving them the tools they need to recognize and report abuse is a commonsense measure that can save lives.”

(Provided by Senator Sue Serino’s Office)

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Senator Serino’s Elder Abuse Protection Bill Passes NYS Senate

The Good News About Elder Fraud

While elder financial abuse is undoubtedly still a major problem — $3 billion stolen annually, by one estimate — older Americans are a little less likely to be victimized than in 2010, according to a new survey from the Investor Protection Trust (IPT), a nonprofit devoted to investor education.

More good news on the elder fraud front, especially if you have parents in their 70s, 80s or 90s: there are now a bunch of efforts underway to prevent these scams and aid victims. Federal and state government regulators are pitching in. So are AARP, IPT and some financial services firms. “Many times, the financial adviser is the first person to notice a problem,” said Cynthia Hutchins, director of gerontology at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Rampant, Expensive and Lethal

Older consumers will likely be especially glad that some banks are taking seriously elder financial abuse, a category of crime Kathleen Quinn, executive director of the National Adult Protective Services Association, has called “rampant, largely invisible, expensive and lethal.” A recent survey for the AARP BankSafe campaign found that 81% of bank customers 50 and older prefer to establish their accounts at banks that protect them from exploitation or provide an age-friendly service.

As for the “good” news in the IPT survey: Although the poll found that 17% of Americans age 65 and older have “been taken advantage of financially in terms of an inappropriate investment, unreasonably high fees for financial services, or outright fraud,” that’s down from 20% in 2010.

This is not a huge drop, but it’s a drop, nevertheless. (The 2016 survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling, interviewed 2,257 Americans 65 and older and 703 adults with parents 65 and older.)

Why Fewer Are Becoming Victims

IPT President and CEO Don Blandin said fewer older adults are becoming victims partly because scammers are getting “more sophisticated about who they target.” They’re taking a rifle approach, going where the big money is, rather than taking a shotgun approach and hoping to score random hits. As Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray said last week: “Older Americans make attractive targets for financial exploitation because many have accumulated some wealth in the form of retirement savings or home equity. They can be isolated and lonely, and some may have impaired physical or mental capacity that makes them especially vulnerable.”

IPT’s survey also pleasantly discovered that the percentage of older Americans exhibiting one or more of the warning signs of financial victimization fell from 50% in 2010 to 43% in 2016. The reason for the drop, said Public Policy Polling’s Jim Williams, is that just 5% now said they didn’t feel confident making big financial decisions alone, down from 16% in 2010. “There could be more of a support network and more vigilance out there,” said Williams.

And in what IPT calls a “major improvement,” 51% of people 65 and older correctly answered all the poll’s investment questions; in 2010, just 44% did.

(More: What You Can Do to Curb Elder Financial Abuse)

However, 21% of the adult children surveyed said they think their parents would be ashamed to tell them if they thought they were being swindled and would hide this from them. Worse, 47% of the adult children think it’s not likely that they could figure out if their parent had been swindled if the parent didn’t disclose it; that’s up from 35% in 2010. So not everything is rosy on the elder fraud front.

How Doctors Are Helping

The IPT survey finding that surprised me most: A full 21% of the adult children said their parents’ health care providers mentioned concerns about how the parents were handling money; this was up sharply from just 5% in 2010.

Blandin gives some credit to IPT’s Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation (EIFFE) Prevention Program, encouraging doctors to spot and report signs of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which can make older people more vulnerable to money swindles. More than 8,600 medical professionals have been trained and some physicians keep IPT’s “pocket guide” handy to help them ask key questions. “My doctor now has something on his intake form to see if patients have any financial issues,” said Blandin.

One problem: The IPT survey also found that 61% of adult children are not in touch with their parents’ health care providers.  (Continue Reading)

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The Good News About Elder Fraud