Why Is James Brown’s Estate Still Unsettled? Ask the Lawyers

January 13, 2019, 11:00 pm

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A statue of James Brown in Augusta, Ga., where he grew up. Mr. Brown’s will had set aside money to distribute scholarships for children from the state.CreditMichael Holahan/Augusta Chronicle

It seems fair to say, 11 years after James Brown’s death, that his estate planning has failed in its major mission: to distribute his wealth efficiently.

Not a penny has gone to any of the beneficiaries of his will, who include underprivileged children in Georgia and South Carolina, to whom Mr. Brown sought to donate millions, perhaps tens of millions, of dollars.

But as a petri dish for cultivating legal disputes, Mr. Brown’s will may have few rivals.

More than a dozen lawsuits related to the estate have been filed since Mr. Brown died on Christmas Day in 2006, including one filed last month in federal court in California.

In that case, nine of Mr. Brown’s children and grandchildren are suing the estate’s administrator and Mr. Brown’s widow, Tommie Rae Hynie, asserting that she made “illegal back-room agreements” with the estate involving copyrights for songs Mr. Brown wrote.

Another lawsuit now in the appellate stage challenges whether Ms. Hynie actually ever was his wife. (A lower court ruled she was.)

There have also been several suits by people who contest the will; another by a person who thought she should have been appointed a trustee of the estate; still another by people who were trustees of the estate but then were removed; and still another filed by James Brown II, 16, to assert his right to be viewed as a son and heir.

The court records themselves are largely dry recitations of estate and copyright law, but the larger debate over Mr. Brown’s financial legacy has been a louder affair, one chock-full of accusations of bigamy and corruption, racism and the fraternity of the South Carolina legal and political establishment.

“This is a mini-series,” said Jay Cooper, a lawyer who handles estates and has represented Katy Perry, Jerry Seinfeld and Etta James. “You really need a map to go through this whole thing.”

Of course, Mr. Brown’s life as the Godfather of Soul was a bit messy too, marked by divorce; estrangement from some of his children; and arrests on drug, weapons and domestic violence charges. That kind of instability fed, in part, the first effort to overturn the will, in which several of his children and grandchildren said his drug problems had prevented him from making sound decisions about his estate.

The will had set aside $2 million to underwrite scholarships for the grandchildren, and it gave his costumes and other household effects to the six children he recognized, a bequest thought to be worth perhaps another $2 million. But the bulk of the estate was to be given over to the I Feel Good Trust, which he set up to distribute scholarships for children from South Carolina, where he was born, and Georgia, where he lived for much of his life.

After the will was challenged, the South Carolina attorney general, Henry McMaster, who is now the governor, proposed a settlement: Mr. Brown’s children and grandchildren would receive a quarter of the estate and Ms. Hynie would receive another quarter. But the state’s Supreme Court overturned the settlement, arguing in court papers that the reformulated asset distribution amounted to a “total dismemberment of Brown’s carefully crafted estate plan.”

Tommie Ray Hynie and James Brown II

At that point, Ms. Hynie and several of the Brown children were near-allies in their efforts to overturn the will. Now they are opposing one another, not only in the latest suit but in the ongoing effort to determine whether she was, in fact, legally married to Mr. Brown. Ms. Hynie, a singer who worked in Mr. Brown’s band, was apparently married to another man in 2001 when she wed Mr. Brown, a circumstance that led to the legal challenge of her status. Mr. Brown had filed for an annulment at one point, but a South Carolina judge ruled in 2015 that she had been the wife and was a legal heir, and that her child, James Brown II, was Mr. Brown’s son. (The paternity decision has not been appealed.)

The value of the estate itself also remains very much a matter of debate. The administrators of the estate have suggested in court papers that it could be worth less than $5 million but others have given estimates as high as $100 million. 

There is little argument that the bulk of the value comes from the song copyrights that Mr. Brown retained as the songwriter.

In addition, the portion of any copyrights that were sold to a music publisher revert to the writer, or his or her heirs, either 35 or 56 years after a song is published, depending on when it first came out. The heirs regain these so-called “termination rights” and can strike deals to license the use of the songs or to sell the copyrights.

The results can be incredibly lucrative. Mr. Brown’s songs are routinely used in commercials, including recent ads by L. L. Bean and Walmart.

In the new federal lawsuit, Mr. Brown’s children and grandchildren assert that Ms. Hynie sold her share of the termination rights to just five of Mr. Brown’s 900-some compositions to Warner/Chappell, a large song publisher, for nearly $1.9 million, a payday that would speak to the collection’s potential worth.

Typically copyright termination rights, which are not bound by the terms of a will, are split between the spouse and the children, with each receiving half. “In order to do anything, it has to be a majority — it’s got to be 51 percent to make a decision,” Mr. Cooper, the estate lawyer, said. “You can’t convey it to anybody.”

The federal suit charges that Ms. Hynie and James Brown II made deals regarding these rights without fully informing Mr. Brown’s other children and grandchildren, and thus “conspired to unlawfully deprive plaintiffs of their valuable termination interests.” It says Ms. Hynie agreed to give back 65 percent of her share of the termination rights to the estate in exchange for its dropping the challenge to her spousal status, and it questions why she would agree to turn over such a potentially large benefit.

“The Estate of James Brown has long been marred by dubious back-room dealings between the Estate and James Brown’s putative wife, Tommie Rae Hynie, as described in our lawsuit,” a lawyer for the children and grandchildren, Marc Toberoff, said in a statement.

Robert Rosen, a lawyer for Ms. Hynie, said that he had not reviewed the California lawsuit as yet. He noted that the lower court had already ruled that Ms. Hynie was Mr. Brown’s wife and said he and his client have “full confidence in the appellate courts of South Carolina to decide this issue.”

The estate’s administrator, Russell Bauknight, did not respond to a request for comment.

Daryl Brown, a son of James Brown who is not a party to the recent suit and never challenged his father’s will, said that he has lost faith in the South Carolina justice system.

“This stuff wouldn’t happen to Elvis Presley,” he said.

Alan Leeds, who once managed tours for Mr. Brown and was a consultant to the 2014 HBO documentary “Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown,” which was made with the support of the estate, said, “I just feel sorry for everybody.”

“Whatever good was going to come out of it that would benefit the community that James had originally intended — and whatever good would benefit his family, for that matter, was all jeopardized,” he continued. “There are no winners in this.”

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Why Is James Brown’s Estate Still Unsettled? Ask the Lawyers

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Rob Lowe: Who Cares for the Carer?

January 14, 2019, 10:00 pm

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An estimated 43.5 million Americans are taking care of aging relatives and friends, sacrificing time, money and sometimes their careers and personal health. They are doing the work of professional caregivers, who spend years training for the job. As baby boomers age, the demand for unpaid caregivers is rising. Meanwhile, thanks to smaller family sizes, higher divorce rates and increasingly demanding jobs, the number of people available to take care of their elderly loved ones is shrinking. A growing number—25 percent—are between the ages of 18 and 34. 

If there’s one thing that’s bipartisan, it’s caring for the elderly. In January 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act, a law that directs Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to develop and maintain a strategy to support caregivers in the next 18 months. Ten months later, implementation has been slow, to the frustration of Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who introduced the bill in the Senate along with Republican Susan Collins of Maine. 

In September, Congress finally allocated $300,000 to establish a family caregiving advisory council, which will address potential policy solutions. Additionally, 36 states have passed the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act, which requires hospitals to identify the patients’ caregivers, keep them informed and provide basic training for medical tasks they’ll be expected to perform.

Embracing Carers, a global initiative launched in 2017 by pharmaceutical company EMD Serono, hopes to call attention to the needs of this overworked and underappreciated community. According to the initiative, nearly a quarter of the 3,516 unpaid caregivers they surveyed in 2017 said their careers had suffered because of caring for a family member. In honor of National Family Caregivers Month this November, actor Rob Lowe (St. Elmo’s Fire, Parks and Recreation) teamed up with the company to tell his story and send some encouragement to the millions struggling to care for a loved one.
I had my first experience with unpaid caregiving fairly early. My father, Charles, was diagnosed with lymphoma at age 50. I was 26. Luckily, he was financially successful and had a loving wife, my stepmother. It was challenging, but she was there for him. He got through it and went into remission.

Two years later, they divorced. I’ve always thought it had to do with the stress that resulted from my stepmother taking care of my father during his illness.

In my late 30s, my mother, Barbara Hepler, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. That was when I was introduced to the front lines of what so many millions are experiencing. She did not have a husband or a significant other, so it fell to me and my two brothers to navigate everything from her initial diagnosis to doctor shopping, treatment options, driving her to appointments and, finally, hospice care and the end of life—which was profoundly difficult, obviously.

At the time, I was starring in and producing a network television show, The Lyon’s Den. It was fighting for its ratings life. If I took time off, the show would be canceled. I was responsible for 150 crew members, so I had to find a way to do both. My time was divided equally between trying to save the television show and trying to save my mother’s life. I don’t know what’s more stressful, having to quit your job or not being able to quit your job. (The show, by the way, was canceled.) Fortunately, I had brothers to pass the baton to. We’re also a family that has some means, and we were able to bring in people as needed. For people who don’t have that, I can’t imagine how hard it must be.

 

 Rob (left) and Chad Lowe with their mother Barbara in 2001. Lowe and his siblings cared for their mother after she was diagnosed with breast cancer until her death in 2003. Kevin Winter / Getty 

There are so many little ways a dedicated caregiver can be a game changer—someone who can dramatically increase the chances of a successful outcome for your loved one. It is critical, for example, for patients with a serious illness to have a third party with them at doctor’s appointments. When I was helping to promote an awareness campaign for a new chemotherapy drug in 2002, I came across a startling number: Patients often retain just 10 percent of the information they are being given. Ten percent!

On top of that, there is the negotiation of medical coverage, which requires phone calls, weeding through paperwork and talking to insurance companies and doctors. I remember thinking, Jesus Christ, if I were sick and had to do this on my own? I don’t think I could get out of bed in the morning.

The people we are talking about—the friends and family members who are out there doing crucial work—are unpaid. Watching a loved one go through an illness, possibly ending in death, is stressful and depressing. Add financial and scheduling burdens, and the load for caregivers is enormous. To them I say, Don’t forget about yourself. When you get on an airplane, the crew says, “Secure your own mask first before helping others.” Why? Because without you taking care of yourself, you can’t take care of anybody else.

It’s an intimidating role to step into, and there’s no set way to do it. You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to know all the answers. You are likely to make some mistakes—and that’s fine! Just know that the care you give has the potential to be one of the most rewarding acts of your life.

Taking care of my mother was scary, unbelievably stressful and painful. It was also a time to be with her in a way that might never have happened under other circumstances. When she passed in 2003, I felt that we’d had the talks we needed to have, that we’d spent the time together we needed to spend. I have friends who’ve been through deaths of parents and they feel cheated; if only they’d been able to tell them how much they loved them, if only they’d done this or that. One of the hidden gifts of being a caregiver is that you’re with them. You’re able to do and say all of those things in its proper time.

So be present for it. There is every reason to believe that you will look back on this chapter with satisfaction. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to get help. That’s why I’ve partnered with EMD Serono and EmbracingCarers.com, where you’ll find invaluable information regarding everything you’ll be, or are, going through.

As told to Anna Menta.

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Rob Lowe: Who Cares for the Carer?

Former attorney sentenced to four years in state prison

January 14, 2019, 10:30 pm

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Albert Boasberg

More than three years after suspicions were raised about an attorney who failed to pay for the long-term care for a 92-year-old woman and her disabled and dependent son, the 83-year-old Daly City resident who once served as the mother and son’s power of attorney was sentenced to four years in state prison on convictions of felony elder fiscal abuse and one count of insurance fraud.

In delivering Albert Boasberg’s sentence Friday, Judge Stephanie Garratt said she felt heartbroken for the male victim, who is in his 60s and living at the Burlingame Long Term Care Center, and the life he will live after someone he considered a close friend squandered funds his mother saved for his care.

Acting as the financial and medical power of attorney for the elderly woman, who is living with dementia at the Marymount Greenhills Retirement Center in Millbrae, as well as her son, Boasberg is said to have embezzled nearly $460,000 from the woman and her son between 2010 and 2014.

Instead of helping the 63-year-old man maintain the level of care he was supposed to receive, Boasberg had him sign over everything he had so the attorney could take trips to Canada and the Philippines and pay off credit card debt he and his wife accrued, noted Garratt. She added the man could not later offer an explanation as to why he would cede his assets to Boasberg to his own detriment and did not understand what was going on at the time.

Having attempted to end his life in August, the man who once considered Boasberg a friend will now likely never leave the care facility because the attorney acted in his own self-interest, she noted.

“This person is living in hell and probably will for the rest of his life,” she said. “It comes down to greed and that’s all it is.”

Boasberg is believed to have filled out 12 life insurance applications using false information about the man’s medical history and listing himself as the beneficiary. He also allegedly stole some $17,000 from the man’s mother over the course of four years and used the funds he took for personal reasons, including diversion of some $100,000 to his wife’s home country, the Philippines, and luxury vacations in Las Vegas, prosecutors said previously.

The thefts were discovered when both facilities, where the victims receive 24-hour care, reported his failure to make monthly payments for their care to the county Health System’s Adult Protective Services, which resulted in his removal as the victims’ power of attorney in 2015. The county’s Public Guardian has been the victims’ conservator after Boasberg was removed as their attorney, according to prosecutors previously.

Released on his own recognizance after his July 10 plea deal, Boasberg was given an opportunity to make progress on the restitution he would owe the victims, noted Deputy District Attorney Kristin Nimau. But he was remanded back into custody in August after it was discovered he violated a condition of his release from custody by practicing law with elderly clients and had surrendered an expired passport instead of a valid one.

Boasberg faced a three-year prison term when he pleaded to his charges in July, and his defense attorney Adam Gasner asked Garratt to consider the maximum sentence once set for his client just before he was sentenced Friday. Gasner acknowledged the egregious nature of his client’s actions, and noted Boasberg is remorseful for his behavior with regard to the victims as well as in violating the terms of his release earlier this year, when he was winding down his legal practice.

Having taken on several pro bono cases in his 60 years as a lawyer in California, Boasberg is a man of advanced aging with non-violent convictions and who is committed to making the victims whole again, said Gasner, who noted several character letters had been submitted on behalf of his client. At 83 years old, Boasberg is a first-time offender likely to suffer physically in a prison environment, where he will serve his sentence those who have committed serious, violent crimes and been in and out of prison, he said.

“He took advantage of a position of trust with a client and friend,” he said. “The reality is there is a totality here and there are other characteristics of the defendant that shouldn’t be overlooked.”

Nimau said Boasberg’s actions left the victim in a depressive state and with few options for his required 24-hour care, noting Boasberg squandered the opportunity to return some of the funds he stole from him. In advocating for a four-year prison sentence, Nimau underscored the permanence of Boasberg’s actions.

“The financial harm Mr. Boasberg has inflicted on both victims in this case is irreparable,” she said. “They will live with this harm for the rest of their lives.”

Boasberg, who will receive 376 days credit for time served, said he was sorry and remorseful for his actions and appeared to wince when Garratt rebuked him for living the high life with his wife at the expense of the victims, to whom he is expected to pay $456,782 in restitution.

“It may be non-violent but it certainly isn’t non-serious,” said Garratt. “The level of greed here is disgusting.”

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Former attorney sentenced to four years in state prison

After nursing home stay, bedsores lead to man's agonizing death

January 14, 2019, 11:00 pm

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Frank Williams died Dec. 21, 2016, from sepsis, with bedsores he suffered at Safire Rehabilitation at Northtowns, a nursing home in the Town of Tonawanda, listed as a likely cause of the sepsis.

Frank L. Williams didn't have bedsores when he left Kenmore Mercy Hospital and entered a nursing home for rehabilitation after a stroke.

That fact is established in a document detailing his condition when he entered Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns in the Town of Tonawanda.

Four months later, when he returned to Kenmore Mercy, the 82-year-old retired ironworker had seven bedsores on the lower half of his body. He died 14 days later from cardiac arrest caused by sepsis – an extreme response to infection – according to his death certificate. Hospital records cite infections from bedsores as the most likely cause of the sepsis.

"They told me this is the worst case of bedsores they have ever seen from that nursing home," his son, Mark F. Williams Sr., recalled doctors and nurses telling him in the emergency room. "The sores were black. I'd never seen that before. I was shocked. I thought it was the black plague."

Williams' case illustrates how vulnerable individuals who go to poorly rated and understaffed nursing homes for rehabilitation can quickly succumb to preventable but lethal ailments like bedsores.

A New York State Health Department spokesman declined to say whether an investigation into Williams' death was conducted, citing "privacy concerns," but inspection records show Safire Northtowns wasn't cited for the care provided to Williams in late 2016.

However, health department inspectors cited the facility three times from 2015 through 2018 for failing to provide proper treatment and prevention of bedsores to other residents. Those violations included conditions inspectors observed two days after Williams was transferred to Kenmore Mercy.

Among the 47 nursing homes in Erie and Niagara counties, Safire Northtowns had the worst record for residents with bedsores in 2017, according to data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Nearly 13 percent of the long-term, high-risk residents at Safire Northtowns had bedsores. That was almost double the statewide average of 7 percent at nursing homes in New York. Only 43 of about 620 nursing homes statewide in 2017 had a higher percentage of long-term residents with bedsores than Safire Northtowns.

In the first two quarters of 2018, the latest available, Northtowns' bedsore percentages have grown even worse, with 16 percent of its long-term, high-risk residents having pressure sores in the second quarter.

Michael Balboni, a Safire Northtowns spokesman, said the facility has higher percentages of residents with bedsores, in part, because it accepts a greater number of obese individuals than other nursing homes. Of the 85 residents at the nursing home, he said, 12 are bariatric patients.

"Care of patients with this condition requires specialized equipment, beds and chairs, and is more complicated," Balboni said.

Obesity, however, should not result in bedsores if a facility is providing proper care, according to a medical official and a wound treatment researcher.

"Because you have accepted bariatric patients, you have a responsibility to have appropriate staffing to reposition them without dragging them," said Dr. Laura E. Edsberg, director of Daemen College's Center for Wound Healing Research.

Safire Northtowns, a 100-bed facility, ranks low in the federal government's five-star rating system. Its overall rating is one star, which is "much below average," according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Ten of the 47 nursing homes in Erie and Niagara counties are rated that low.

Bedsores in nursing homes

 

The percentage of long-term high-risk residents with bedsores at nursing homes in Erie and Niagara counties in 2017.  (Click for chart)

Provider Name	% of high risk long-stay residents with bedsores in 2017
Safire of Northtowns	12.84
Fiddlers Green	12.74
Absolut Gasport	12.62
Elderwood Hamburg	11.68
Jennie B Richmond	11.52
Emerald North	11.32
Absolut Aurora Park	10.83
Buffalo Center For Rehab	10.67
Absolut Orchard Park	10.59
St Catherine Laboure	10.42
Schofield Residence	10.31
Ellicott Center	10.2
Comprehensive Rehab	9.97
Degraff Memorial	9.91
Safire of Southtowns	9.65
Highpointe on Michigan	9.27
Beechwood Homes	8.99
Elderwood at Cheektowaga	8.83
Niagara Rehab	8.68
Elderwood at Wheatfield	8.2
Humboldt House	8.07
Terrace View	7.83
Elderwood at Amherst	6.93
Elderwood at Williamsville	6.7
Williamsville Suburban	6.18
Mcauley Residence	5.9
Newfane Rehab	5.88
Our Lady of Peace	5.73
Mercy Hospital	5.69
Canterbury Woods	5.63
Garden Gate	5.57
Father Baker	5.1
Schoellkopf	5.05
Elderwood at Lockport	4.57
Greenfield	4.5
Rosa Coplon	4.42
Emerald South	4.12
Brothers of Mercy	4.07
Seneca Health Care	3.73
Autumn View	3.71
North Gate	3.33
Lockport Rehab	2.76
Fox Run	1.77
Elderwood at Grand Island	1.15
Harris Hill	1.09
Elderwood at Lancaster	0.46

 

Bedsores in nursing homes

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Preventable injuries
Bedsores, also known as pressure ulcers, occur when a section of the body is pressing against a surface for too long and not repositioned to alleviate the pressure. Several other factors, such as nutrition, the surface on which the body is pressing and moisture also contribute to bedsores, according to experts in the prevention of  these injuries.

Yet there is consensus among nursing homes and other health care providers that most bedsores can be prevented.

Several years ago, nursing homes, hospitals and the Health Department assembled the best practices for preventing and treating bedsores. The effort paid off, said Nancy Leveille, executive director of the Foundation for Quality Care at the New York State Health Facilities Association, an industry group.  The statewide average of  bedsores among long-term residents dropped from 13 percent to 7 percent.

But Mark Williams, who sued Safire Northtowns in May, says the nursing home failed to provide proper care for his father. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Michael Scinta of the Brown Chiari law firm.

Caitlin Robin & Associates, the law firm representing Safire Northtowns, denied the allegations in a response to Mark Williams' lawsuit in State Supreme Court. A lawyer at the firm declined to comment on the case.

Safire Northtowns has also been sued by the family of another man, which alleges he developed severe bedsores in 2016 while at Safire Northtowns because of the nursing home's negligence. That case is also pending.

Bedsore lawsuits can be costly. Earlier this month, a Niagara County jury awarded $1.25 million to 72-year-old Shirley Burrows after determining Newfane Rehab & Health Care Center was negligent in its care of her bedsores.

The state Health Department can also cite or fine nursing homes for allowing bedsores that are deemed avoidable.

Problems from the start

Frank Williams raised his family on the Tuscarora Indian Reservation in Niagara County, where he and his late wife had operated a smoke shop.

After he suffered a stroke, he was treated at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, according to medical records. He was transferred to Safire Northtowns on Sept. 9, 2016.

Public records do not provide many details about his stay at Safire Northtowns, but his son provided an account.

"He was placed in long-term care for three days. I had to tell them he was a rehab patient. They didn't have a bed for him in rehab. The place smelled of urine and it was hot. There were no open windows and my father was sweating," Mark Williams said.

With assistance, Williams could walk. But when he was in bed, the son said, caution was necessary. His father was restless.

"He liked to roll. I'd asked them to place rails on the sides of his bed," Mark Williams said.

The request, he said, was not addressed.

"One day when I came in, he had a big old bump on his head. I asked, 'What happened to you?' He said, 'Oh, I fell out of bed.' The nursing home never told me about that," the son said.

Mark Williams said the nursing home staff informed him in early December 2016 that his father had developed a bedsore in the groin area.

"We were told it was a little pressure sore. I asked, 'Can we look?' and we were told, 'No,' " Mark Williams recalled.

Frank Williams, who had diabetes and high blood pressure, had also been diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, according to hospital records.

In the coming days, Mark Williams said, he noticed his father's health deteriorating.

'Down to the bone' 

On Dec. 7, 2016, Frank Williams was readmitted to Kenmore Mercy Hospital because of generalized weakness, a cough and fever, hospital records stated.

After he arrived, hospital records note, Kenmore Mercy staff discovered bedsores on the lower half of his body, including one with "foul smelling drainage" and greenish gray and black spots, along with dead tissue.

According to hospital medical records, there were bedsores on his lower back, right ankle, right and left heels and right big toe. There were two lesser wounds on his right pelvis and scrotum. 

"The sore on his right ankle looked like it was down to the bone," Mark Williams said.

Doctors removed dead tissue and muscle from Williams' lower back, scrotum and ankle, medical records stated. So much tissue was removed in his rectal area, that a colostomy bag was required, according to Scinta, Williams' attorney.

"The doctors told us that they had gotten to the point where they were down to his tail bone and couldn't do anything more," said Mark Williams.

Preventable pain

Williams' attorney said the bedsores could have been prevented if the nursing home staff had regularly changed Williams' position in bed.

Safire Northtowns is operated by a limited liability company with five New York City area partners: Judy Landa, Richard Platschek, Solomon Abramczyk, Robert Schuck and Moshe Steinberg, according to Health Department records.

Theresa Lyman, administrative organizer for the union that represents certified nursing aides at Safire, said the facility's estimated 80 certified nursing assistants and licensed practical nurses were cut to 38 after the partners bought the nursing home in 2014.

"If there are not workers, how can you change a resident's position?" said Tanya Goffe, a certified nursing aide at Safire, said when asked about the high percentage of bedsores at the facility. Goffe and other unionized nursing home workers rallied in June against the staffing cuts by out-of-town owners.

Balboni, the spokesman for Safire Northtowns’ owners, said the owners have hired nonunion certified nursing assistants to supplement the hours worked by the nursing home’s staff. The total hours worked by all certified nursing assistants – union and nonunion – have not decreased, he said.

"We believe the cause in the bedsore percentages is taking in bariatric patients, not staffing cuts," Balboni said.

Tanya Goffe, a certified nursing aide at Safire Rehabilitation of Northtowns, says the nursing home's owners cut the number of nurses and certified nursing aides working there after they purchased the facility in 2014. Goffe participated in an 1199 SEIU union protest outside Emerald South nursing home in Buffalo on June 28, 2018. Union members protested understaffing and unsafe conditions at Emerald South. (Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News)

An expert's insights

While repositioning is the No. 1 preventive measure for bedsores, there are other necessary steps to avoid pressure injuries, according to Edsberg at the Center for Wound Healing Research.

They include closer attention to the different surfaces the skin comes in contact with, whether it is on a bed or in a chair, and the friction that causes.

"It all comes down to what are the different forces on the tissue. When a bed is raised up, you start to slide down the bed and there is friction," Edsberg said.

Able-bodied individuals can shift to lessen pressure when they become uncomfortable. But nursing home residents may not have that ability, said Edsberg, a former president and member of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, a think tank. Sweat and incontinence can also weaken tissue.
Close watch of residents also figures into prevention and treatment, according to Mark Dirlam, the assistant administrator of Elderwood at Lancaster, the nursing home with the lowest percentage of bedsores in Erie and Niagara counties in 2017.

Nurses at that Elderwood home make daily checks of residents for possible breakdowns in the surface of the skin, Dirlam said.

He said the facility also has a "skin team" that has been in place for several years and conducts weekly rounds to assess and treat individuals with bedsores. Team members include nurses, occupational or physical therapists and a dietitian.

Frank Williams' death

Williams died at 4:10 p.m. Dec. 21, 2016, at Kenmore Mercy.

Williams' son said he remains upset that Safire Northtowns did not tell him how bad the pressure sores were on his father's body.

"I arrived at the hospital a few seconds after he died," Mark Williams recalled. "The nurses told me he had smiled when he died. He finally had relief."

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After nursing home stay, bedsores lead to man's agonizing death

New laws protect aging Kentuckians also reduce confusion

January 15, 2019, 10:00 pm

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Aging Kentuckians are the fastest growing population in our state. Yet when these individuals would need guidance as to Kentucky’s guardianship proceedings or power of attorney protections, our statutes caused a lot of confusion with little protection. Two laws, effective July 2018, aim to increase protection for our aging Kentuckians while reducing confusion.

The first updated law amends KRS 210.290 and KRS Chapter 387 which detail guardianship proceedings. The objective of guardianship proceedings is to preserve individual dignity, respect, and independence of the aging and disabled Kentuckians who can no longer make certain decisions.

The importance of guardianship continues to grow given the rising number of disabled Kentuckians and the number of guardians neglecting their duties. Not everyone with a disability is cognitively impaired and in need of a state guardian. Further, it was not the intent of the legislature that every disabled person has a guardian or conservator appointed.

The new amendments provide instruction, clarification, and efficiency for the guardianship process. The most radical section of this amendment is that the guardianship proceedings can be concluded without a jury trial if (1) the parties agree, (2) there is no objection from interested parties, and (3) professionals preparing the interdisciplinary report unanimously agree that the person is at least partially disabled. This amendment is in-line with other states in the country. For other important amendments, see the linked article.

KRS 457

The second updated law is a complete revamp of Kentucky’s power of attorney laws, repealing 386.093, and is codified as KRS 457. Powers of attorney (POA) are tools that are designed to help individuals plan for both short-term and long-term disability. These tools allow the individual (the “principal”) to choose who they want to make decisions for them if they are unable. These tools also allow the principal to decide what amount of power they want to designate to their attorney-in-fact.

Kentucky law and powers of attorney have been vague. Because our statutory law was so vague, powerless POAs resulted. The new statute aims to provide guidance, balance, and instruction to the agent, the principal, the attorney drafting the document, and the institutions asked to recognize the documents. Not all powers of attorney are affected by KRS 457 and POAs created prior to July 2018 are not affected and remain valid so long as they complied with the law of the state as it existed at the time of execution.

Some of the most important updates codified in KRS 457 are: allowing for individuals who are not physically able to sign to direct another individual to sign so long as the reason for this method is recited somewhere in the power of attorney; the requirement that a power of attorney to be signed in the presence of two disinterested witnesses; the designation of agents appointed under the new law now considered fiduciaries; and third-parties asked to accept powers of attorneys now are afforded options to verify the power of attorney, and if verified, the third party must accept the power of attorney in the form it was presented. For more information and other important amendments, click here.

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New laws protect aging Kentuckians also reduce confusion

The law in Virginia to protect elders fails us all.

January 15, 2019, 10:30 pm

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This is a follow up to my last blog about being subpoenaed in an elder fraud case. Sadly, the commonwealth attorney and police detective both know that the woman stole money money from my client. At 91, she suffers from Parkinson’s but can walk on her own, feed herself (and help feed others), and you can often have pleasant conversations with her and she initiates questions back to you. She also has the cognitive issues that can come in tandem with Parkinson’s. When I first met her she presented with more short-term memory loss and had organization issues. The Parkinson’s was diagnosed a year after I stepped in to help with the daily money management and bill pay support.

The caregiver admitted to the detective she asked for the money. My client apparently told the detective the woman asked her for money. Taking money from clients is against the employment agreement she signed in addition to being an ethical failure.

I do know that my client had no idea where the checkbook was located in her apartment, nor could she have written the check on her own. The caregiver rooted through my clients belongings to find the checkbook.

I studied the check and it was easy to see that my client started to write the check (shaky, sloping hand-writing), but then someone else finished writing the check. I had samples to show that the way the check was written was very different (she wrote dollars and cents which my client never did). I figured a handwriting expert would not be on hand, but as a Daily Money Manager I could point out how I could tell that someone else finished writing the check.

After waiting for three hours for the case to be called, the attorney tells me (and the community care manager who was also there to testify) that only if we can confirm that my client didn’t understand that writing the check took money from her account would we get a conviction. So they DISMISSED the case. It will be VERY hard to convict someone based on how the current law is written. You will see the statute below which also illustrates the lack of knowledge around dementia.

Two good outcomes from this include:

1) The charge is now on her record so hopefully it will dissuade other
home care agencies and communities from hiring her again.

2) She is paying back the money.

The reality for those of us that have loved ones with dementia is that we know one could NEVER truly say they don’t understand that the money came from their account until very late stages of the disease. We witness a variety of ways their intellect shines through this horrible diagnosis.

So the LAW will fail us … at least in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I am putting together best practices to consider now that we know our hands are tied when we try to prosecute those who would take advantage of older adults with cognitive issues. Even if we can’t get the conviction, it is in our best interests to always report it to the police. The fighter in me is just getting going. Alerted.

§ 18.2-178.1. Financial exploitation of mentally incapacitated persons; penalty.

A. It is unlawful for any person who knows or should know that another person suffers from mental incapacity to, through the use of that other person’s mental incapacity, take, obtain, or convert money or other thing of value belonging to that other person with the intent to permanently deprive him thereof. Any person who violates this section shall be deemed guilty of larceny.

B. Venue for the trial of an accused charged with a violation of this section shall be in any county or city in which (i) any act was performed in furtherance of the offense or (ii) the accused resided at the time of the offense.

C. This section shall not apply to a transaction or disposition of money or other thing of value in which the accused acted for the benefit of the person with mental incapacity or made a good faith effort to assist such person with the management of his money or other thing of value.

D. As used in this section, “mental incapacity” means that condition of a person existing at the time of the offense described in subsection A that prevents him from understanding the nature or consequences of the transaction or disposition of money or other thing of value involved in such offense.

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The law in Virginia to protect elders fails us all.

Lee Clerk of Court: Help us uncover guardianship fraud

January 15, 2019, 11:00 pm

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Lee County Clerk of Court Linda Doggett.

Each year, elderly Americans are defrauded an estimated $37 billion, according to various reports.

What’s even more alarming is almost 52 percent of the perpetrators are the victims’ family members. This disturbing statistic hits very close to home, where more than a quarter of Lee County’s aging population is over 65 years old.

At the Clerk’s office, we don’t take this lightly. For years, we’ve been focusing on ways to combat exploitation of our most vulnerable citizens.

Our Probate office audits more than 1,500 guardianship cases annually. If we suspect or detect fraud, waste or financial mismanagement, our Inspector General Department conducts enhanced guardianship audits and refers alleged criminal activities to the State Attorney’s Office for further investigation and possible prosecution.

Last September, we closed one of our investigations involving a guardian who exploited more than $1 million from a 70-year old woman over several years. Unfortunately, she passed away before her guardian pleaded guilty and was brought to justice.

While these incidents are hard to uncover, there are several red flags that may help us identify whether our family members, friends and neighbors are suffering from guardianship fraud. Suspected incidents of fraud and financial mismanagement include:

• Missing money or property
• Changes in bank accounts or credit lines, opening loans, or funds transfers
• Elderly ward is removed from their home
• Purchase/sale of property
• Violations of the law or local ordinances

Help us uncover guardianship fraud. If you suspect a guardian, family member, caregiver, attorney or others of committing guardianship fraud, please report it to our online Inspector General Hotline by visiting leeclerk.org. You can also email and submit tips to Info_InspectorGeneral@leeclerk.org or call 239-337-7799.

Linda Doggett is Lee County Clerk of Court. The Florida Constitution established the Clerk of the Circuit Court as a public trustee, responsible for safeguarding public records and public funds. In addition to the role of Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Clerk is the County Recorder and Clerk of the Board of County Commissioners, and the Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Auditor for Lee County.

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Lee Clerk of Court: Help us uncover guardianship fraud

Another elderly victim gets soaked by Scientology, is talking to law enforcement

January 16, 2019, 10:00 pm

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[Scene of the crime, the Advanced Org of Los Angeles (AOLA)]

Last summer, we told you about a shocking case of elder abuse involving a man named Efrem Logreira. He had joined Scientology at the age of 74, and a year later he was almost homeless because Scientology had burdened him with so much debt and then refused to refund him or allow him to attend its events.

After we began speaking to Efrem, and after he also spoke to law enforcement, Scientology suddenly wanted to pay him back at least part of what he said they owed him. And we could certainly understand why. Using various means of cajoling him — including an ice cream date with three young women which Efrem caught on camera — Scientology convinced him to fork over tens of thousands of dollars for counseling that he would never use. The church seemed to realize that such a blatant rip-off of a senior was extreme even by Scientology standards. We have not spoken to Efrem in some time, but we have an update on him that we’ll save for the coda to this story.

A few weeks ago we got a tip from one of our longtime sources, and learned that nearly the same thing has happened again. But this time, the 82-year-old victim wasn’t new to Scientology.

She had been in it for more than fifty years.

The subject of this story wants very badly to tell her story on the record, but she is concerned about how her family will be affected, and so for now she asked that we not identify her. However, she was very cooperative, sent us documentation, and said she is still hoping to identify herself later on.

Her story is deeply disturbing.

She’s a delightful woman from the Midwest who fell into Scientology in the late 1960s and even joined the Sea Org in 1974, working for a time under Yvonne Jentzsch at the original Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles. But eventually she left the SO and returned home.

She was still passionately devoted to L. Ron Hubbard and the “tech,” and believed that it had the potential to perform miracles — she was convinced that she had lived into her 80s with no health issues because of her involvement in Scientology.

Her one real problem was that she was very hard of hearing. So she was interested when two “missionaires” visited her last March, telling her that she should go to Los Angeles for Scientology auditing that would improve her hearing.

Even with her faith in the tech, she regrets being taken in by the pitch. “I should know better,” she says. But she decided to go.

“They asked me for $3,500 for an intensive in LA to get my hearing back. And $300 for six days in the hotel there, at $50 a day — which turned out being $75 a day.” When she balked at the overall cost, one of the missionaires offered to pay for her flight. (An “intensive” is a block of 12.5 hours of auditing, Scientology’s brand of counseling.)

In Los Angeles, she did the auditing at the Advanced Org, AOLA, and she says she enjoyed it. “I thought I was doing better. I was having wins. I was excited,” she says. (Later, when she returned home, she had herself tested and was disappointed to learn that she had lost another four percent of her hearing.)

On her second day, however, she was asked to meet with some of Scientology’s very persistent fundraisers, known as “registrars.”

“They put me in a room for five hours. ‘You want to go up the Bridge,’ they said. I said I can’t afford it. ‘If we can find you a way, will you do it? We’ll get you a line of credit,’ they said. So, OK, we’ll get a line of credit.”

One of the people pestering her, a man named Morgan, was using a laptop computer the entire time, she says. She found out later that Morgan was applying for credit on her behalf, using all of her private information they had on file. “They said I was the one on the computer. Then they had me sign a paper — ah, I was so stupid I signed whatever they gave me.”

They escorted her from AOLA to a local bank to complete the transaction. “They had all of my information. My Social Security Number, my mother’s maiden name. So the bank said it was a proper transaction.”

At some point, she says, one of the other registrars asked for her smartphone, saying that he wanted to put the Scientology TV app on it. “I thought I was getting a letter of credit. But what it turned out to be was three credit cards. I only later realized that what he actually did with my phone was activate the three cards.”

At the time, she was just glad the “regging” session was over. She assumed that a letter of credit was something she could draw on later, and wasn’t an issue at the time. She went on with her auditing.

As the week came to a close, she was looking forward to going home. But as her return date neared, she realized that they had other ideas. “They didn’t want to lose the stat. There were very few people there. They didn’t want anyone to leave.”

They wanted her to draw on her credit to buy many more intensives of auditing. She was told that what she really needed was another 23 intensives, or 287 hours in total of counseling.

She just wanted to go home. By 1:30 pm on her final day, she had completed a routing form except for one final signature, showing that she had completed what she came to do. “For hours and hours, they worked on me, trying to get me to stay.”

She sat in the Advanced Org, and sat. At 11:30 pm, she decided that she was going to walk out.

“I said I was going home. They all surrounded me, walking me down the front of the building. They wanted me to go to Ethics. But I went to the hotel, and they followed me. A little later, at 12:30, they called me in my room, saying that I had to come by in the morning at 8:30.”

She then learned to her surprise that her flight reservation the next day was still intact. (She assumed they would have changed it to keep her there.) At about 4:30 am, she put on as many sets of clothes as she thought she could get away with, and made her way to the lobby. She knew that she had to leave her luggage behind.

“The only way I could leave was to pretend I was going for a walk. I walked down the block, and I found some men who looked sketchy. I went into a Motel 6 or something and asked the guy behind the counter to call Uber for me.” Within minutes her ride picked her up and went to the airport. “I was shaking like crazy.”

She got home without incident. But then, she finally discovered that it wasn’t a letter of credit she had obtained, but three credit cards — and a balance of $59,500.

“I had no idea until I got home. Two of the cards arrived in the mail, the third one never arrived. I took the two down to our local church,” she says. She complained, but she was told that she had approved the transaction. “I never said yes. I don’t have that kind of money,” she insisted.

Meanwhile, she went to her bank, reporting the transaction to the fraud department.

“The bank decided it wasn’t fraud,” she says. “I went to everyone I could think of. I appealed the decision. They said it would go to the executive office, the highest it could go. In November, they said they would call me the next day. I never heard from them again.”

She also sent letters to local law enforcement, and even to the attorney general of her state. Again, she got nowhere.

But in the meantime, one thing she was sure of: She was no longer a member of the Church of Scientology.

“My kids are happy that I’m out. They’ve been very supportive.” At one point, when she told them she was trying to get her money back from Scientology and would probably be the subject of harassment, she said she planned to leave town so they wouldn’t be targeted as well. But they immediately drove over and told her not to leave.

“I was afraid of them. I’m not as afraid now. But I was still a Scientologist — until I got home and found out what they had done. It gradually dawned on me what they did. I’d been brainwashed. I’m still working on it.”

A couple of weeks after our initial conversation, we checked back with her and she told us that she was very pleased: She had just spoken to another law enforcement agency that seemed very interested in what she had been through, and asked for copies of her documentation.

We hope something comes of it.

CODA: Now, that update we promised. We heard last night from Graham Berry, whom we first wrote about almost 20 years ago (wow, how time flies). He sent us this happy dispatch…

“I am pleased to inform you that I successfully represented Efrem Logreira in his claim against the church. A confidential settlement agreement permits me to state that Logreira’s dispute with the church has been resolved to the parties’ mutual satisfaction. Consequently, Efrem is doing very much better and his situation is greatly improved.”

Wow, that’s good to hear. And Graham had another update for us that he asked us to relate to our readers…

“I am now preparing another pre-litigation demand letter in connection with a similar situation to the one Efrem described and endured. If it must go to litigation it will be worth substantial damages. It should also be worth an award of punitive damages. However, a plaintiff who wishes to sue a California religious corporation for punitive damages must make an early showing of merit. To that end, I would very much like to hear from anyone who, during the last five years, signed up for Scientology books, courses or auditing with bank loans, overdrafts, credit cards, or other forms of loan or credit; particularly where a staffer has assisted with the opening of new credit cards or obtaining increased credit card or overdraft limits. I can be DM’d on Facebook, emailed on grahamberryesq@gmail.com, telephoned at (310) 745-3771, texted at (310) 902-6381. I also have an encrypted account at Hushmail.com.”

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Another elderly victim gets soaked by Scientology, is talking to law enforcement

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Once victims, now suspects: Couple accused of bilking family member out of $800k

January 16, 2019, 10:30 pm

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ROCKY RIVER, Ohio — While they were being victimized by a now disgraced contractor, a Rocky River couple was allegedly victimizing an elderly family member. Patrick and Lori Smith were indicted on felony theft, fraud and forgery charges, accused of bilking a 94-year-old, nursing home-bound family member out of more than $800,000.

A Cuyahoga County grand jury indicted the couple on two counts of level one felony theft, two counts of forgery and one count of identity fraud on Monday. The Smiths will be arraigned on January 29.

According to Rocky River Police Chief Kelly Stillman, detectives were notified in September 2018 by the elderly victim’s nursing home. The nursing home administrator told police that it appeared the victim’s niece and nephew in-law had been taking money from his bank accounts, leaving the man’s nursing home bills unpaid.

“He had a large sum [of money] to begin with when he got there. We went up there and took the original report and as soon as we got there, there were various red flags,” Chief Stillman said. “Obviously the gentleman, who is elderly and in his 90s, gave full control of his finances to these people for his best interests. They unfortunately spent the coin and used it for their best interest.”

The man’s niece, Lori Smith, and her husband, Patrick, became the man’s powers of attorney after his wife died. As part of the power of attorney agreement, the couple was prohibited from using the man’s substantial life savings, which exceeded $1 million, for their personal benefit. However, the police department’s investigation determined the Smiths spent more than $800,000 on various things, including sports tickets, a vehicle, a boat, and a bevy of purchases on Amazon, Costco, Giant Eagle, Lowes and QVC.

One of the first expenditures was more than $150,000 for a home remodel, police said.

“We trusted [the contractor] and he did nothing but take advantage,” Patrick Smith said in February 2018 interview with News 5 .

News 5 had multiple stories detailing the Smiths’ plight after a Lakewood contractor, ProCode Construction, walked off the still-unfinished job site. The Smiths sued the company and owner Michael Delmonico before reaching a settlement in 2018. Despite the settlement, the shoddy and questionable craftsmanship had left the Smiths’ home in total disarray: the floors and ceilings sagged, electrical lines were not properly hooked up and the addition wasn’t properly affixed to the home’s main structure, allowing rain water to seep into the attic.

Delmonico would later be indicted in late 2018 on felony theft charges. He’s accused of taking thousands of dollars for a kitchen remodel that he never started. He has pleaded not guilty.

The irony of the situation involving Delmonico and the Smiths’ newly-filed criminal charges wasn’t lost on Chief Stillman.

“They claimed they were bilked by a contractor for doing something unethical. It’s kind of like the pot calling the kettle black as I see it,” Chief Stillman said.

The Smiths vehemently insisted the criminal charges against them were nothing more than a misunderstanding. The couple didn’t deny making the purchases. However, they maintained that every one of the 3,800 bank transactions came with the blessing of Lori’s uncle. According to police, some of the transactions included purchases for NBA Conference Finals and Finals tickets in 2015 and 2016.

“There are so many variables in the entire story. For this portrayal of us to come out with the headline of couple steals elderly man’s money is not accurate,” Patrick Smith said. “They called him from the bank and he gave them the okay then. I had a phone conversation and a visit with [the bank] saying are you sure this is okay? We went over it with the bank several times, asking, ‘are you sure this is okay?’”

The Smiths’ claim that the expenditures came with their family member’s blessing is hard to believe, Chief Stillman said.

“That’s a statement in futility because we’ve investigated a lot of people in a lot of these crimes. This is not uncommon. This is not the first and won’t be the last. Very rarely if at all in 38 years have I seen anybody say, ‘go ahead, here’s [$800,000], spend it as you like.’ Not under these circumstances,” Chief Stillman said. “I don’t think those monies were given to them for their blessing to go to see the NBA Finals in 2015 and 2016 and go buy a boat and trailer and do whatever they wanted to do.”

Lori and Patrick Smith both said their family member was eager to disburse his sizable nest egg because “he didn’t want the nursing home to get it,” the Smiths said. Patrick Smith also stated that every one of his family member’s nursing home bills were paid with the exception of an outstanding pharmacy bill that the couple was contesting.

The Smiths also stated that some of the money was disbursed among family members.

As for why the couple would knowingly make purchases using the uncle’s money despite it being prohibited by the power of attorney agreement, the Smiths said they did not read the document’s finer details.

Police said when detectives interviewed the couple in mid-December, they presented an addendum to the power of attorney agreement. That document, according to the indictment, was a forgery. The Smiths denied the allegation.

“Bottom line is my love for my uncle will never change. I do have my side of the story,” Patrick Smith said. “I’m an advocate for him. We hope that people listen to our side instead of just concluding -- like they already have -- that [we] are just horrible people and stole from this man. That’s just not accurate.”

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Once victims, now suspects: Couple accused of bilking family member out of $800k

Twenty-Seven Euthanasia Killings at Ohio Hospital?

January 16, 2019, 11:00 pm

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Dr. Jack Kevorkian’s ‘Thanatron,’ often referred in the media as the ‘Death Machine,’ is seen during a press preview for the Sale of the Estate of Jack Kevorkian at the New York Institute of Technology, N.Y., October 27, 2011. (Shannon Stapleton/REUTERS)

A major euthanasia scandal is brewing at a hospital in Ohio, where a doctor and other staff professionals are being investigated for lethally overdosing dying patients. From the Columbus Dispatch story:

Mount Carmel Health System says one of its intensive-care doctors gave “significantly excessive and potentially fatal” doses of pain medication to at least 27 near-death patients between 2015 and 2018.

Dr. William Husel, who had worked for the system since 2013, has been fired, and details of an internal investigation by Mount Carmel have been turned over to authorities, the health system’s top executive said in a statement Monday.

The alleged perpetrator may have thought he was doing the patients a favor by cutting the dying process short:

The families of all patients involved had requested that lifesaving measures be stopped, but the amount of painkiller prescribed was beyond what was needed to provide comfort, said Ed Lamb, president and CEO of the Columbus-based health system.

It is one thing to refuse life-support. Then, if death comes — sometimes it doesn’t — the demise is natural, the person’s “time” as the saying goes. It is quite another to make that happen by ending the patient’s life.

The problem apparently involved more than a lone-wolf killer:

Along with Husel’s firing, 20 employees have been placed on administrative leave, among them pharmacists who were involved with related patient care, and nurses who administered the medication, Mount Carmel executives said. The health system said only one doctor was involved.

If these allegations prove true — innocent until proven guilty — does the euthanasia movement bear some of the blame? Not directly. The acts are the sole responsibility of the perpetrator(s). Moreover, such crimes have happened before legalizing assisted suicide was a dark cloud on the horizon.

Still, I think that the ubiquitous presentation — even celebration— in media and popular culture of dying by overdose as “death with dignity” contributes to a cultural atmosphere around death and serious illness that might lead a disturbed person to feel justified in speeding things up.

 

This seems particularly so if these deaths involved a conspiracy among hospital personnel or a clear willingness by some staffers to look the other way. What would have given them the idea that administering a mass overdose of fentanyl was in any way acceptable?

I’ll keep an eye on this and report as there are further developments.

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Twenty-Seven Euthanasia Killings at Ohio Hospital?

State group critical of elder abuse report

January 17, 2019, 10:00 pm

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The association representing Pennsylvania’s Area Agencies on Aging said that two major findings in a report released last week criticizing the Department of Aging’s oversight of elder abuse investigations was inaccurate.

WRITTEN BY NICOLE C. BRAMBILA

A statewide association representing Pennsylvania's 52 Area Agencies on Aging responded to a report criticizing the Department of Aging's oversight of elder abuse investigations, saying the two major findings were inaccurate.

Rebecca May-Cole, director of the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging, or P4A, said Tuesday that State Inspector General Bruce Beemer and his office erred in finding 20.4 percent of the reviewed cases did not conduct in-person interviews within 72 hours. May-Cole said the regulations only require an attempt.

Also at issue was the report's determination that in nearly half of the cases local agencies did not complete abuse investigations within 20 days.

Released last week, the State Office of Inspector General's summary report was critical of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging's oversight of protective services. The report focused on whether the network was complying with state statutes and timelines for investigations.

Clarke Madden, Beemer's spokesman, could not be reached for comment.

Pennsylvania's aging population has increasingly made elder abuse a high-visibility issue. Over the past decade the number of complaints has surged roughly 40 percent, and advocates expect the problem to worsen as Baby Boomers age.

"It's difficult and I in no way want to blame it all on the funding," May-Cole said. "But it really is difficult when there's been no significant increase in many, many years."

To keep up with the demand, May-Cole estimates another $6 million is needed annually.

Although tasked with protecting Pennsylvanians 60 and older, local agencies provide a range of services that are often more visible to seniors, such as community centers and feeding programs.

May-Cole added, "There's this balance that needs to happen."

The inspector general summary report contained a dozen recommendations that included a centralized call center for reporting and increased training.

Clayton "JR" Reed, the association's Protective Services and Guardianship Committee chair and executive director of the Lehigh County Office of Aging and Adult Services, said the network's shortcomings could be addressed with updating the state statute.

"Nobody's talking about looking at legislation," Reed said. "The laws were written in 1987."

A possible fix, Reed said, would be extending the length of time to complete reports from 20 to 30 days, something that would be in line with timelines for investigations by Child Protective Services. He also suggested increasing the number of investigators to lower caseloads from about 30 to 20.

While highlighting some very real issues, the way Reed sees it, performance reports can detract from what's important.

"A lot of people's lives are affected because of the work that we do," Reed said. "I think that's what gets lost in these kinds of reports that come out."

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State group critical of elder abuse report

Judge to face ethics hearing over theft allegations

January 17, 2019, 10:30 pm

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Mack Crawford Photo - 072518 judge

The state’s judicial watchdog panel has set a Jan. 30 hearing date to consider possible discipline against a Griffin Judicial Circuit judge who faces theft charges.

Superior Court Judge Mack Crawford was indicted in October for the alleged theft of court funds. The judge, who oversees cases in Fayette, Spalding, Pike and Upson counties, has pleaded not guilty. Crawford is currently suspended from his duties while the case is pending against him.

His criminal trial has not yet been set. In the meantime, a Judicial Qualifications Commission panel will hear testimony about the accusations against Crawford late this month at the Henry County government building. The panel’s members are presiding officer Robert McBurney, the chief Superior Court judge in Fulton County; Atlanta lawyer Jamala McFadden; and Cobb County Police Chief Michael Register.

If the panel finds against Crawford, a former state lawmaker who once headed Georgia’s public defender system, it can recommend to the Georgia Supreme Court that he be removed from office.

The theft charges against Crawford stem from a case he handled as a private attorney more than 15 years ago. In 2002, he represented two clients who placed $15,675 into the Pike County court’s registry while their foreclosure case was pending. In 2009, a judge dismissed the case and ordered the funds be returned to Crawford’s clients.

The funds stayed in the registry until last December when the clerk told Crawford she planned to send the money to the state as unclaimed property. But Crawford directed her to give him the funds, which she did, and the indictment alleges that was theft.
 
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Judge to face ethics hearing over theft allegations

Former volunteer lashes out at nursing home over mother's treatment

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Cindy Harris says her mother went weeks without the pain medication she needed.

St. Petersburg, Fl. (WFLA) - 77 year old Ruth Jones was a patient at the Laurellwood Nursing Center in St. Petersburg for 3 years.

She suffered from Alzheimer's.

Osteoporosis fractured vertebrae leaving her in constant and severe pain.

Her daughter Cindy Harris volunteered at Laurellwood until an illness in 2018 kept her away for a few months.

When she returned in August, patients she knew told Cindy that her mother cried all the time.
 
Cindy provided 8 On Your Side records that show, 2 months earlier, in May, a doctor at Laurellwood discontinued Ruth's pain killing drug, Percocet, the only pain medication that really helped her.

"They never informed me that they were going to withdraw that medication," Cindy said.   "77 years old and they let her pain get so bad that she had to holler for an entire day and night, it's inhumane."

According to Cindy, Laurellwood insisted that she take her mother to a doctor where she could get a new pain medication prescription.

Unable to sit up, Ruth made what turned into a grueling trip by ambulance.

"She was crying all the way up to the office on the stretcher, she was in so much pain," Cindy tearfully explained.  "Every time I think about it, my heart hurts for her."

The pain management office Cindy and Ruth went to didn't have a bed to accomodate Ruth.
 
Ruth was in such agony the doctor recommended she be taken to a hospital emergency room.

There, hospital staff discovered a bed sore.

"Nursing homes have an obligation to provide patients the best care possible," Brian Lee, executive director of Families for Better Care said.  

Lee, the former Ombudsman for the state of Florida points out that nursing homes must also make sure that patients do not endure hardships when seeking assistance.

If there was no bed at the pain clinic to accommodate Ruth, Brian Lee says it is obvious the nursing home did not help coordinate the visit and was not looking out for the patient's best interests.

Earlier this month 8 On Your Side profiled Tonya Baker's complaints about Laurellwood.

Tonya showed us pictures of her father's bed sore.

She complained to the Department of Children and Familes, Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration and Elder Abuse.

DCF confirms it is investigating Tonya's complaints.

Once Ruth was stabilized at the hospital in August, she returned to Laurellwood for another two months.

On the day she was moved to hospice, Cindy says she learned that Laurellwood had run out of Percocet a week before.

"They didn't notify me," Cindy added.  "I had no idea."

I reached out to Laurellwood this morning.

The telephone rang and rang, no one picked up.

Later in the day I was told no one was available to answer my questions.

Ruth moved to hospice in November and passed away 3 days later.

"I told my sister,  after what I saw, don't ever let me go into one of these homes, don't let it happen," Cindy explained.  "If I'm an Alzheimer's take me down the street and let me walk into traffic. I would never want to go through what she went through."

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Former volunteer lashes out at nursing home over mother's treatment

Patient alleges abuse at Hacienda Healthcare, two staff members placed on leave

January 18, 2019, 10:00 pm

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PHOENIX — A patient has come forward alleging assault at Hacienda Healthcare.

According to a statement from the facility, a survey of the ICF-ID unit was conducted Thursday by federal and state auditors.

A patient who suffers from a “serious intellectual disability” reportedly said she was abused by two female staffers, a registered nurse and certified caregiver.

She said she was yelled at by staff members and struck in the head and arm.

Hacienda leadership reportedly called police immediately about the report and alerted the patient’s legal guardian.

The staffers who the allegations were made against were immediately placed on administrative leave pending investigation.

Both of the staffers reportedly have clean records.

No signs of abuse or injury were found during a medical exam.

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Patient alleges abuse at Hacienda Healthcare, two staff members placed on leave

Editorial: The state's public guardians help Nebraskans vulnerable to financial abuse

January 18, 2019, 10:30 pm

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The Office of Public Guardian is under the Nebraska court system, headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican, shown here.

No one, no matter one’s profession, income or background, has an absolute guarantee they won’t become incapacitated in later life. That debilitation, physical or mental, can cause them to need help in managing personal financial and household needs.

Vulnerable, too, are non-elderly residents coping with disabilities, mental health challenges, substance abuse problems or other impairments.

Troubling instances of financial abuse of such individuals have sometimes arisen in Nebraska, such as the court-appointed guardian in Omaha who took at least $350,000 from several wards.

To prevent such abuses, the Nebraska state government took commendable action in 2014 by creating publicly funded guardians, under the Nebraska court system, to help vulnerable adults. Then-State Sen. Colby Coash of Lincoln introduced the legislation after World-Herald investigative reporting on the issue.

The program has charted encouraging successes, but it also faces daunting challenges as the state-paid public guardians work to provide these needed services, according to a new report from the Office of Public Guardian. The state currently has 17 public guardians, who each handle a maximum of 20 wards. Cases are assigned based on their crisis level, with lower-level cases placed on a waiting list. At the end of October, 40 cases had been referred to the waiting list.

The guardians face considerable stress in their work, the report says, and turnover is considerable, which adds to the burdens of remaining guardians and lengthens the waiting list. Six applicants died in 2017 while waiting for services. The Supreme Court is trying to help by allowing guardians to earn compensatory time or overtime for handling cases after hours or on weekends.

A frequent problem, the report says, is that medical and mental health services are inadequate in many cases for wards’ needs. The report cites concern, for example, regarding “hospitals and inpatient facilities (that) discharge wards without appropriate discharge planning resulting in lack of adequate services, putting at risk the health and well-being of wards.”

Other problems: “lack of permanent supportive housing for individuals with mental illness,” “nursing home and assisted living facilities with multiple licensure and regulation issues” and “difficulties in obtaining Medicaid when a ward has been a victim of financial abuse.”

The Office of Public Guardian works to recruit guardians and promote alternative supports. The office held 102 presentations across Nebraska from December 2017 through October 2018 to train private guardians and conservators. The office has developed procedures to better identify relatives and friends who could help individuals in need.

This need for assistance for elderly Nebraskans from public or private guardians is likely to increase in coming years. From 2010 to 2030, the number of the state’s residents ages 65 and above is projected to increase from 240,000 to 400,000.

The new report describes encouraging instances of how public guardians have helped wards. One example is a retired minister, described in the report by the pseudonym Mark. Mark had properly prepared his retirement finances through investments, annuities, long-term care insurance and a pre-paid burial plan. But he fell into a catastrophic situation after entrusting his assets to his only grandchild, who suffered from a drug addiction. The granddaughter liquidated his assets, had check deposits redirected to her and took out multiple lines of credits in Mark’s name. Mark lost personal items dear to him, including family photos and heirlooms.

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services nominated Mark for emergency protection by a state guardian, and matters turned around. He entered a nursing home and enrolled in Medicaid. He was able to resume contacts with friends in a local club. The guardian helped document Mark’s preferences for his memorial service, burial and organ donation.

Before he died, he told his guardian, “I feel so fortunate to have you.”

The Office of Public Guardian is to be commended for the services it’s providing to such Nebraskans — the need is great. This initiative deserves continued support, buttressed by a strengthening of Nebraska’s medical and behavioral health communities.

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Editorial: The state's public guardians help Nebraskans vulnerable to financial abuse

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Woman finds mentally ill dad sleeping on sidewalk after hospital workers sent him home in wrong cab

January 18, 2019, 11:00 pm

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Robert Hill was discovered on the side of the road after being discharged from Detroit Receiving Hospital. (Photo: Fox 2)

A woman in Detroit was expecting her mentally ill father to be driven from the hospital to their shared home on Friday, but instead her dad went missing after being discharged. To her horror, she later discovered him sleeping on the sidewalk as if he didn’t have a home.

Rosalee Smith had admitted her dad, Robert Hill, to Detroit Receiving Hospital on Dec. 14 for assessment and medication management because he has bipolar schizophrenia and had been refusing treatment, according to Fox 2 Detroit. Smith, who is her dad’s legal guardian, was at work when he was due to be discharged, so she entrusted hospital workers with sending him home in a Detroit City Cab — just as she had done in the past.

Smith told Fox 2 that the hospital even gave her the taxi number — 606 — and assured her they’d help Hill inside her house. But by 2:30, he still hadn’t arrived — and Smith was shocked to receive a phone call from the hospital asking whether her father had made it home safe because he hadn’t. She called Detroit City Cab company and says they told her that her dad was a “no-show.” She added: “He was never placed in cab 606 through the Detroit City Cabs.”

So she filed a missing person’s report and went out to search spots her dad was likely to be when he was well. While driving, she spotted a man on the side of the road, sleeping under a blanket. It was her father.

“He didn’t know who I was,” Smith told Fox 2. “He barely spoke his name.” An unknown person had apparently even taken his shoes and stripped him naked. “Someone did place a blanket and food out there,” she said, “but he’s not homeless.” Disoriented and suffering from hypothermia, Hill was brought directly back to the hospital in critical condition. The police department then launched an investigation into how this could possibly happen.

The police report revealed that Hill was never actually placed in a Detroit City Cab, as the hospital had confirmed. Officers discovered via video surveillance that a staffer had placed him in a gray Chrysler Pacifica owned by a different taxi service. “Whoever brought him down … they waited for the cab,” Smith said the police told her. “The cab I guess never showed up in their time frame, and they flagged another service down that had no knowledge of his home.”

Police officers could not figure out, however, how Hill ended up on the side of the road.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Detroit Receiving Hospital and will update this story should they reply. In the meantime, a spokesperson for the facility told Fox 2 that Hill had been given “a safe discharge.”

“I just want to know what happened,” Smith told Fox 2. “Horrible. Disgusting. Is that what they do to mentally ill people or old people that have no say so in the matter?” Though Smith hadn’t heard from hospital officials as of Thursday afternoon, she said she wants to make sure they never do this to another individual.

Hill continues to recover, and Smith told Fox 2 his condition has been upgraded from serious to stable.

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Woman finds mentally ill dad sleeping on sidewalk after hospital workers sent him home in wrong cab

The Negative Effects of Elderspeak

January 19, 2019, 10:00 pm

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Talking down to older adults is not only disrespectful, but it can be detrimental

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• By Julie Pfitzinger Senior Editor for Features January 9, 2019

Credit: Adobe Stock

Faye Kirtley doesn’t appreciate it when store clerks talk down to her and act as if “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she said.

“It’s embarrassing, and I don’t know why they think it’s okay to treat an older person like that,” added the 88-year old resident of Bardstown, Ky. “Maybe they have people in their family that they talk down to, too.”

Barbara Tack, 76, of Exeter, N.H. cringes at diminutives such as “miss” and “little lady” and has been known to correct a supermarket cashier on the impact of those monikers.

“I told him, ‘I am not young, and I think it’s an insult to call attention to my age at all,’” said Tack. “He did seem chagrined, so I tempered it with something like, ‘It makes me feel bad that all you can see is my age.’ But I hear that kind of condescending comment way too often.”

Tack also shared a story about a friend, a 70-year-old man, who was offended by what he perceived to be very childlike instructions given to him by a nurse in a doctor’s office: “Sorry, you have to remove your sweater for me to take your blood pressure. I know it’s cold outside and you can put it back on right away.”

Elderspeak Reveals Perception

What Kirtley and Tack are describing are signs of what is referred to as “elderspeak.” It occurs when an older adult is spoken to by health care workers, service personnel, neighbors or even family members as if he or she is a child with limited understanding.

In a recent article in The Chicago Tribune, Anna I. Corwin, an anthropologist and professor at St. Mary’s College of California in Maroga, noted that elderspeak “sounds like baby talk or simplified speech” and is, in fact, a symptom of how older adults are often perceived.

“Americans tend to view and treat older adults as no longer productive in society. And that’s how we define personhood, as an adult who is a productive member of society,” Corwin said.

Elderspeak involves talking slowly and at a louder volume, with pronounced enunciation; it also employs the frequent use of words such as “sweetie,” “dear” or the pronoun “we” when referring to the older person (as in, “Do we want to go to dinner now?”).

The Negative Impact of Elderspeak

Not only is this type of speech condescending and disrespectful to older adults, it can be damaging to their mental health and well-being.

According to Becca Levy, a researcher on a study on the effects of elderspeak, by Yale University, the practice “sends a message that the patient is incompetent, and begins a negative downward spiral for older adults who react with decreased self-esteem, depression and withdrawal.”

Further, those living with mild to moderate dementia can be even more negatively impacted by this type of language. These people can become aggressive or uncooperative when elderspeak is used, according to the Yale report.

The Importance of Respect

In an article about the dangers of ageism by LifeCare Advocates, a care management practice based in Newton, Mass., one of the tactics mentioned for reducing the use of elderspeak involves training health care workers not only to refrain from using diminutives, but to ask the older adult how he or she wants to be addressed. For some of them, the automatic use of their first names demonstrates a lack of respect.

Kirtley, who tends not to correct those who speak down to her for fear of “causing an incident,” still decries the practice of elderspeak. She’d be happier to always be treated with the respect she said everyone deserves.

“It’s an issue of dignity,” Kirtley said.

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The Negative Effects of Elderspeak

VA whistleblower complaints allege abuse, retaliation from regional director

January 19, 2019, 10:30 pm

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DURHAM, NC (WBTV) – A senior leader with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has been accused of abusing her power, harassing employees and retaliating against other senior leaders who report to her.

The accusations have come in three separate complaints filed by employees who work in VISN 6—the VA’s regional office that is responsible for healthcare in North Carolina and Virginia—with the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.

OAWP was created by President Donald Trump in April 2017 to “discipline or terminate any VA manager or employee who has violated the public’s trust and failed to carry out his or her duties on behalf of veterans, and to recruit, reward, and retain high-performing employees,” among other things.

The office was further codified in a law enacted by Congress in June 2017.

Each of the three employees outlined grievances against DeAnne Seekins, the VISN 6 Director.

WBTV has agreed to conceal the details of two of the complaints, including the identity of the complainants, because the two employees feared further reprisal for blowing the whistle.

The third complaint was filed by Joseph Edger, who served as Deputy Network Director—the second-in-command in VISN 6—before Seekins got the job as director and continued in the role afterwards.

Edger is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who managed healthcare in the Army.

He filed his complaint with OAWP in February 2018.

“The Network Director (Mrs. Seekins) has actively abused her authority by defaming, harassment & intimidated, and threatening myself and VISN staff,” Edger wrote in his complaint.

Later in his submission to OAWP, Edger alleges Seekins’ behavior towards him was retaliation for disciplinary action he took against her when he was Deputy Network Director and she was the director of the Durham VA Medical Center, which reported to VISN 6.

“I feel that Mrs. Seekins may be retaliating against me for my actions while assigned as the Deputy Network Director under Mr. Dan Hoffmann’s leadership,” Edger said. “Mr. Hoffmann would oftentimes use me as an enforcer of policy and directives.”

Specifically, Edger said he was told to counsel Seekins when she ran a $20 million budget deficit one year while working as the director of the Salisbury VAMC.

A second VISN 6 employee who filed a complaint with OAWP accused Seekins of taking similar retaliatory action.

Through a spokesman, Seekins refused to issue a statement for this story.

The spokesman insisted that Seekins could not respond unless Edger filled out a waiver allowing her to speak. Seekins did not seek such a waiver from Edger and, instead, insisted a WBTV reporter obtain it.

Later, a second VA spokesman insisted the waiver was required as a “standard practice” of the agency but, when challenged by a WBTV reporter, could not provide a specific policy to support the claim.

Instead, Seekins sent an email to all VISN 6 staff on Friday in which she responded to the upcoming story.

The subject of her email was “Heads Up – Negative News Story (VISN 6).”

In the email, Seekins issued a response to details of the upcoming story that a WBTV reporter had provided a spokesman in an effort to obtain a comment to include in the story.

“I want to give you a heads up regarding a negative news story that we understand will run tomorrow in the Charlotte news market. Nick Ochsner of WBTV in Charlotte has notified us that the station intends to run his story about employee whistle blower complaints that allege I have personally fostered a hostile work environment for some employees in VISN 6,” Seekins’ email said.

“Mr. Ochsner is a very competent, aggressive and hard-hitting reporter who I respect. However, in this case, I believe he has been misguided. While the story contends that it is based on official complaints submitted to the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower protection (OAWP), I am aware of only one open complaint and unaware of any previous complaints of hostile work environment,” she continued.

By law, OAWP cannot disclose the identity of an employee who has filed a complaint with the office to the employee’s supervisor.

Sources familiar with Seekins’ communications strategy told WBTV on Friday that the same message sent to VISN 6 employees ahead of WBTV’s story was also sent to North Carolina’s congressional delegation and to various veterans service organizations.

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VA whistleblower complaints allege abuse, retaliation from regional director

Lawyer: Incapacitated woman who gave birth not in coma

January 19, 2019, 11:00 pm

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PHOENIX - A lawyer for the family of an incapacitated Arizona woman who gave birth in a long-term care facility said she is not in a coma as previously reported.

The Arizona Republic reported Friday that attorney John Micheaels said the 29-year-old woman has "significant intellectual disabilities" and does not speak but has some ability to move, responds to sounds and is able to make facial gestures.

Phoenix police have said the woman was the victim of a sexual assault and have disclosed little other information.

A Jan. 8 statement by San Carlos Apache Tribe officials said the woman, a tribal member, gave birth while in a coma.

News media outlets have reported that the woman, who has not been publicly identified, was in a vegetative state at the facility where she spent many years.

"The important thing here is that contrary to what's been reported, she is a person, albeit with significant intellectual disabilities. She has feelings and is capable of responding to people she is familiar with, especially family," Micheaels told the newspaper.

He responded to a request Saturday by The Associated Press for comment by saying in an email that the information reported in the Republic is correct. He did not comment further.

The woman gave birth to a baby boy on Dec. 29 as staff at Hacienda HealthCare frantically called 911 for assistance, telling an operator that they had not known she was pregnant.

Police investigators have been collecting DNA samples from male employees at the facility and any other men who could have had contact with the woman. State regulatory officials have also launched investigations.

The victim and the newborn have reportedly been recovering at a hospital, but no information has been released about their conditions.

The woman's guardian, her mother, described her in a May 29 annual guardian report filed in court as "an incapacitated adult." An attached doctor's report said the woman has a brain disorder, a form of retardation, recurrent pneumonia, paralysis of the limbs, seizure disorder and other conditions.

Hacienda spokesman David Leibowitz told the AP on Saturday that patient privacy laws precluded him from discussing the woman's condition.

The director of the facility has resigned and the company subsequently hired former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley to conduct an independent investigation into management procedures and patient safety.

On Friday, Hacienda announced that another female patient had alleged physical abuse by staff members.

Hacienda officials said in a news release that the patient accused a registered nurse and a certified caregiver, both women, of yelling at her and hitting her head and arm.

Hacienda officials said the patient showed no signs of injury or abuse and that the two workers had no history of complaints and denied the allegations. They were placed on administrative leave during an investigation.

Police say they were informed about the complaint but weren't able to corroborate anything.

 more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article224814265.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/article224814265.html#storylink=cpy

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Lawyer: Incapacitated woman who gave birth not in coma

See Also:
Patient alleges abuse at Hacienda Healthcare, two staff members placed on leave

Facility CEO resigns after woman in vegetative state gives birth; new allegations emerge

Patient in vegetative state gives birth, sex abuse investigation underway: report

VOICES project to curb elder abuse kicked off at Yale event with Blumenthal

January 20, 2019, 10:00 pm

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Left to right: Bruce Barber of WNPR; Gail D’Onofrio, chair, Yale Department of Emergency Medicine; U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Fuad Abujarad, assistant professor, Yale Department of Emergency Medicine (Photo credit: Marco Roldan)

The Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) at Yale School of Medicine kicked off the start of a new project to combat elder mistreatment (EM) with a community event at Monterey Place in New Haven, Connecticut on Friday, Jan. 4.

“We are honored that Senator Richard Blumenthal, a longtime advocate for elderly rights and protection, joined us in raising awareness about this critical issue that affects 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 60,” said Fuad Abujarad, the project’s principal investigator.

Funded by a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging, the project — Virtual cOaching in making Informed Choices on Elder Mistreatment Self-Disclosure (VOICES) — is aimed at developing an interactive tool to screen for EM that would facilitate the reporting of elder abuse to providers.

Moderated by Bruce Barber, general manager at WNHU and host at WNPR-FM, the event was attended by 40 residents of the Monterey Place apartment complex for seniors in New Haven. Abujarad emphasized that only 1 in 24 cases of suspected elder abuse or neglect are reported to authorities. DEM chair Gail D’Onofrio spoke about why the emergency department (ED), a critical catchment area for screening for all types of mistreatment, is often the only opportunity for older adults to get help. “There is a critical need to implement a healthcare provider-based protocol in a busy ED,” she said. “The VOICES project is important because it will help identify those who do not, will not, or cannot speak on their own behalf and be their own voice.”

Blumenthal, a member of the Special Committee on Aging, stressed the importance of bringing attention to the issue, saying: “Elder abuse and neglect, be it physical, emotional, sexual, or financial, is a crime, but it is under-reported because of shame, fear, and embarrassment. It is a dirty little secret — not so little; it’s actually huge, prevalent, persistent, and pernicious throughout our society.”

Nickia McAuley, resident services coordinator for Monterey Place said the residents were thrilled to have the opportunity to meet the senator, to learn about VOICES, and to express their views on this topic that affects so many people in their age group.

VOICES, a virtually guided decision-making intervention tool to screen for EM in a point-of-care setting, utilizes virtual coaching, interactive multimedia libraries (e.g. graphics, video clips, animations, etc.), techniques from electronic screening for intimate partner violence, and brief motivational interviewing to promote self-disclosure. “EM is a social justice problem for all members of society,” said Abujarad. “The effects of EM include injury, increased dependence on services, mental distress, and increased mortality, and we are currently developing a tool that will allow older adults to feel safe about disclosing EM to their provider.”

A nationally recognized expert in health information technology, Abujarad has over 20 years of experience in research focused on mobile-health technology, human-computer interaction, elder mistreatment, informed consent, system development, and systems that provide real-time background searches for childcare and eldercare workers.

VOICES is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health.

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VOICES project to curb elder abuse kicked off at Yale event with Blumenthal