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THIS SITE IS
DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF
MY LOVING MOTHER,
CLARA G. McCARTY
June
27, 1904 - July 17, 2001
THE ABOVE
is a picture of mother taken
in a
nursing home in Jacksonville,
Florida,
before she entered Palm garden of
clearwter
on March 11, 1997, a superior rated facility
in C;earwater,
florida.
Introduction
As
a child growing up and throughout most of my adulthood, I
had no reason not to have high regard for members of the
medical community - many of whom were family members,
others personal friends. I thought nurses, doctors and
health care providers were characteristically set apart
and isolated from wrongdoing and medical establishments
had one sole purpose - to humbly treat
and care for the sick and reap
benefits from sowing good seed.
Less than the best care and using our elderly patriots
for financial gain was beyond my comprehension.
Not
so today! The more infirmed or elderly one is, the more
susceptible one is to fraud and other wrongdoing.
I have high regard for
those who devote their lives unselfishly to the medical
field, however this site will focus primarily on my
personal experience when working with health care
providers, probate lawyers, and my familiarity with
lawmakers - who in my opinion have shown little or no
regard for the needs of the elderly and disabled and the
sanctity of human life. Those who are morally bankrupt
and have cast a dark shadow over the legal and medical
profession, the Department of Health and Human Services,
the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Dept.
of Justice, other government entities, both on the state
and federal level. Deservingly so.
I was totally unprepared
to greet the shocking revelation as to what would soon
follow after my precious 91 year young,
petite, and defenseless mother was placed in a nursing
home for 24 hour supervision and assistance after
fracturing her hip. I didn't have big expectations but I
did expect that she would be safe,
receive basic care, be fed,
hydrated and kept
clean. Even this wasn't done on a regular
basis as required by the simplest of federal and state
guidelines regulating nursing homes.
After entering Palm Garden
of Clearwater, a facility owned by Integrated Health
Services (IHS), and approx. 45 lb. lighter, mother had a
thin dried layer of flesh covering her bones as a result
of malnutrition and dehydration which often reeked from
urine and fecal matter.
During the days mother
slept the majority of time. When not sleeping her eyes
were slits from poor eye hygiene, untreated cataracts,
and drowsiness from overmedication. She also suffered
deafness from lack of a hearing device. All of the above
grossly interfered with her ability to effectively
communicate.
During mother's stay at
Palm Garden she was deprived of appropriate exercise! As
time went on she appeared as though rigor mortis had
already set in! Whereas, prior to surrendering her care
to others, mother maintained her health and body
respectfully as God's temple and did very well on her own.
This precious soul who gave her entire live serving and
giving to others suffered a slow agonizing, cruel and
torturous existence while helplessly waiting for the Lord
to take her home.
A place I thought was a safe
haven was nothing more than an alluring
death trap and a for-profit
real estate business where health care providers serve as
profiteers or landlords who take advantage of the
disabled and elderly! In short, my mother was a real
estate tenant who was fraudulently zapped not only of her
life but her entire life savings which evaporated like
morning dew.
Quality of care is the
same whether one is self-pay or receiving subsidy. It
matters not!
As many fragile loved ones
whose care is entrusted to long-term care providers,
mother too was a victim of despicable conspiracy to
commit fraud, fraud which resulted in unnecessary
medical treatment, care for
convenience, gross neglect,
abuse, exploitation,
which ultimately led to her death.
Animal rights are revered
and if basic care isn't provided, neglectful owners and
abusers receive stiff penalties and are subject to and
receive jail time. But how often do we see health care
providers held accountable for their crimes against the
elderly and disabled?
It is my sincere belief no
federal or state law enacted for the elderly and disabled
is acknowledged or adhered to consistently, and no law
contemplated is sufficient to prevent atrocious crimes
against America's vulnerable patriots, most particularly in health
care institutions.
The pay off to keep these
criminals free and in perpetual receipt of illegal
reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid funds must be
astronomical. As is the billions of dollars of health
care fraud which our government acknowledges but forgives
and hasn't attempted to collect in total. Allegedly, at
the tune of over 1/4 of our health care budget last year.
Yet, with out-of-control fraud, our health care community
whines and cries for additional funding, the state and
federal government generally listens and obliges -- at
tax payers expense. Feeling no remorse or consequences,
fraud escalates.
To be succinct, there is
sufficient law and government workforce in place to
prevent health care atrocities against our elderly and
disabled, but continual funding and misuse of citizen tax
dollars to an industry who is known to provide improper
care is treason and a deliberate betrayal of US citizens
- an act, in my opinion, which results in terrorism and
genocide American style, toward Americans!
If it were not so, why isn't
the federal code of regulations and state guidelines
enforced and health care providers appropriately held
accountable for crimes committed against our elderly?
Why is it thought by law
enforcement that $270 billion
of $1 trillion spent on health care last year wasted on
fraud, when virtually no fraud of this magnitude would
exist if the government didn't forgive fraud but imposed
stiff penalties to hold white collar criminals
accountable?
Why are these health care
criminals permitted to carry on business as usual and be
rewarded for improper care and filing false claims,
encouraging additional fraudulent acts?
Why is the simplest and
common standard of basic care not protected by the letter
of the law?
Why are new laws enacted
to replace those implemented to protect the elderly but
favor the nursing home industry, their trade groups and
big business?
When
fraud and mother's health care issues were reported to
the proper authorities, rather than accountability, there
was an endless myriad of lies and excuses by providers to
cover-up, and an insulting authoritarian kiss offby Uncle Sam's righteous warriors who hear and see no evil?
During
the tedious process of searching for resolve, health care
providers continued to file claims for care not received
by mother, by law, and care received by her that wasn't
medically necessary. This is fraud, but like thousands of
other cases of fraud it is not figured into the
previously mentioned $270 billion wasted on
fraud last year!
In
essence, not only are nursing home residents raped of
their assets, dignity, life and justice, but honest hard
working citizens have been raped of billions of their tax
dollars to support this criminal activity.
I
found that a favorite and well rehearsed twist used by
health care providers and regulators to deny and wiggle
out of an onslaught of wrongdoing was to pass the buck by
blaming health care issues and resident decline on
fabricated causes, a lucrative methodology, rather than
attempt to appropriately address and assist in the matter
of concern. In the interim, fraud is increasing upward to
1/2 a trillion dollars, half of our national health care
budget!
Consequently,
ageism is rampant and perpetrators of crimes against the
elderly, disabled and our society as a whole, are free!
Free to practice their skill as doctors in nursing homes,
private practice and hospitals; specialized therapists'
in Medicare sub-acute rehabilitation units;
administrators in nursing homes, bureaucrats who govern
federal and state health care policy, medical suppliers,
and on. All of which is sadly why this site exists.
The
above does not exclude judicial officers of the probate
court with whom we depend as a last resort for
resolution when health care decisions and capacity is in
question, particularly if a patient/residents' assets are
a deciding factor in awarding guardianship. For example,
if there is no money in a resident's kitty, and no
financial gain to be had for the court, court appointed
attorneys and guardians, there is no need for
guardianship procedures, other than to go through the
motions obliged by a judge to line lawyers pockets. On
the other hand, guardianship can be a lucrative deal if
sizable assets exist, then guardianships are often
awarded whether competency is a real issue or not! (Please
learn who the
players are and read Retirement
Nightmare authored by Dr. Diane G. Armstrong, clinical psychologist and
daughter of an elderly victim of the courts.)
If
you are contemplating placing a loved one in a long-term
care facility, and to avoid unexpected pitfalls, it is
with my warmest regard to share with you what I wish I
had known before mother's placement in a for-profit
nursing home environment.
My
first suggestion would be to thoroughly do your homework
and do not depend solely on Medicare's "Nursing Home
Compare" list or state ratings for nursing homes. For example, mother was placed
in a nursing home which the Florida Agency for Health
Care Administration (AHCA) rated as a Superior facility,
however, the facility was superior in aesthetic
value only!
Palm Garden of Clearwater
and the Florida health care system showed absolutely no
desire to thoroughly investigate legitimate health care
complaints, thus the initial violations escalated in
excess of 39 federal and state violations, all of which
contributed to an unnecessarily long, drawn out, and
torturous premature death, blamed on natural causes!
Ila Swan for
providing
Shocking Nursing Home Abuse Pictures and many other contributions, too many to list
here.
Judy Murphy, founder
and Exc. Dir. for the Association
for Protection of the Elderly (APE), who is
instrumental in forming a national coalition to combat
nursing home neglect, abuse and exploitation.
Dr. Diane G. Armstrong,
a clinical psychologist and author
of Retirement Nightmare, a breakthrough book inspired by the million-dollar
court battle that ensued when four of her six siblings
attempted to establish an involuntary conservatorship
over their competent 72-year-old mother.
Mary Ann Miller, PA - Exc. Board of Directors
(APE) and LongTerm Care - Hotlinefor hercourageous fight
in a court of law for nursing home accountability on
behalf of nursing home residents.
Barbara Becker, IN
- Exc. Board of Directors (APE), for
updating national advocates on current events in regard to the
Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Center for Medicare
and Medicaid (CMS), the financial status of the Nursing Home
Industry and ongoing neglect, abuse and exploitation issues for
the elderly and disabled. .................
And all advocates throughout our nation who
work non-stop to promote positive change on behalf of our elderly
and disabled nursing home residents.
Excerpts
from:
THE
SHAMEFUL FATE OF OUR ELDERLY
"They
are our Golden Years. After a lifetime of hard work,
after sacrificing much to provide our offspring with the
start they need, we finally reach the age when we have
fulfilled all our responsibilities and rid ourselves of
liabilities. Our reward is the freedom to pursue our
happiness. And to spend time with our loved ones.
It
is the way it should be, a wonderful image, one we all
wish for our parents and, indeed, for ourselves and,
eventually, even for our children.
But
sadly for many, far too many, it is not the way it is.
Reality
is different. And often harsh.
The
fact is, there is hardly any group more victimized and
exploited than the elderly. And for many, life becomes a
fate worse than death.
Rather
than being revered, cherished and respected, our senior citizens
are too often dismissed as unimportant inconveniences. Not only
are they warehoused in "homes" where they have little
to do but wait for death, but their savings and assets are bled,
their dignity is assaulted and their rights are violated."
"Aging
can, by its very nature, be a difficult process, both for those
who experience it and those around them. In more enlightened
times, before the weakening of the family structure, the elderly
were appreciated and cared for--certainly never abandoned. No
longer. Now we are willing to place them in the hands of so-called
experts--out of sight and out of mind."
"And too often, in times of
difficulty, even well-intentioned families turn to these experts
for what they think is help. It never is. Instead, these "professionals"
reduce the ordeal of aging to the status of a biological disease",
"not the soul or the mind, and they ignore the central and
inescapable fact of age, a person's very real consciousness of
his own mortality."
WASHINGTON (April
9)--The Subcommittee on Government Efficiency,
Financial Management and Intergovernmental Relations released
its annual report card grading departments agencies on
their financial management during fiscal year 2001.
MEDICAID
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT -- Better
Oversight of State Claims for Federal Reimbursement
Needed. Click
here for full report.
Americans spent more than $1
trillion on health care last year. Law
enforcement officials say $270billion
of it may have been wasted on fraud.
(Law enforcement officials
say they are finding fraud at every level of the U.S.
health care industry, and that the billions of dollars
lost each year are driving up the cost of medical care in
the country.)
Comment by
Thomas Scully: "Everyone knows the
perception [of nursing homes] is horrible," said Tom
Scully, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services ........
Congressional Press
Releases
April 17, 2002 Wednesday
WASHINGTON – GRASSLEY, WAXMAN SEEK PUBLIC
ACCESS TO NURSING HOME STUDY. Sen.
Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on
Finance, and Rep. Henry Waxman, ranking member of the
Committee on Government Reform, today asked the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services to increase public
access to a key nursing home staffing study.
Note: For more updates on
the Nursing Home Industry, Dept. of Health and Human
Services (HHS), and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) visit
the web sites of Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on
Finance, and Rep.
Henry Waxman,
ranking member of the Committee on Government Reform.
NURSING
HOMES: Search for more General Accounting Office (GOA)INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS.
For a quick reference visit the Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
Resource Center an informational website designed to
help the elderly and their families. Also, you will find a
variety of links below.
If
time permits, please read the series on "WHO
CARES? MONEY AND POLITICS ENTER THE PICTURE".
This series was published several years ago, however it
is my opinion that conditions in these investigative reports are
magnified many fold in USA nursing homes today.
Note: Before placing a loved one in a
nursing home, try to find a facility that isn't
a for-profit business! Why? A facility whose focus is not on
profit is apt not to cut corners, have suffient staff, and
provide better care.
In every nursing home there should be
a Bill of Rights posted. We must know our RIGHTS and the
LAW governing facilities. These laws should be etched in our mind!
If you have unresolved neglect issues, prolonged neglect leads to
abuse and generally wrongful death. It is important to be
diligent, know who to contact when the law is
violated. Insist on answers and actionto
resolve care issues to your satisfaction! Don't give up.
On all occasions insist that the law is applied.
Don't wait or waste any time! If you
are not satisfied with your results, contact a personal injury (plaintiff)
attorney who has a proven track record in winning cases on behalf
of nursing home residents, who will accept your case on a
contingency fee bases. Do your homework and do not rely on TV
advertisements - ONLY RELY ON A LAWYER'S PROVEN TRACK RECORD. Don't
be intimidated and DON'T GIVE UP!
If you or someone you know has a
quality of care issue, we encourage you to use our state advocacy map to locate
the nearest advocate for assistance.
The
following select GAO reports from 1983 - 2002 will
provide a historical background for LONG-TERM CARE - VA
NURSING HOMES - MEDICARE - MEDICAID and the OMBUDSMEN
PROGRAM.
GAO-02-431R) - NO relationship
between nursing home spending and quality of care