Music aids Alzheimer's patients in remembering new information
Boston University Medical Center
Public release: 12-May-2010
Contact: Gina DiGravio
gina.digravio@bmc.org
617-638-8480
(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have shown that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are better able to remember new verbal information when it is provided in the context of music even when compared to healthy, older adults. The findings, which currently appear on-line in Neuropsychologia, offer possible applications in treating and caring for patients with AD.
AD, the most common form of dementia, is characterized by a general, progressive decline in cognitive function that typically presents first as impaired episodic memory. The onset and rate of this decline tends to vary across cognitive domains, and some functions may be preferentially spared in patients with AD.
To determine whether music can enhance new learning of information, AD patients and healthy controls were presented with either the words spoken, or the lyrics sung with full musical accompaniment along with the printed lyrics on a computer screen. The participants were presented visually with the lyrics to 40 songs. Twenty of the song lyrics were accompanied by their corresponding sung recording and 20 were accompanied by their spoken recording.
After each presentation, participants were asked to indicate whether or not they were previously familiar with the song they had just heard. The BUSM researchers found accuracy was greater in the sung condition than in the spoken condition for AD patients but not for healthy older controls.
"Our results confirmed our hypothesis that patients with AD performed better on a task of recognition memory for the lyrics of songs when those lyrics were accompanied by a sung recording than when they were accompanied by a spoken recording," said senior author Brandon Ally, PhD, an assistant professor of neurology and director of Neuropsychology Research at the BUSM Center for Translational Cognitive Neuroscience. "However, contrary to our hypothesis, healthy older adults showed no such benefit of music, he added.
These results suggest a fundamental difference in the encoding and retrieval processes for musical versus nonmusical stimuli between patients with AD and healthy older adults. "Music processing encompasses a complex neural network that recruits from all areas of the brain, that are affected at a slower rate in AD compared to the areas of the brain typically associated with memory. Thus, stimuli accompanied by music and a sung recording may create a more robust association at encoding than do stimuli accompanied by only a spoken recording in patients with AD," explained Ally.
According to the researchers understanding the nature of musical processing and memory in patients with AD may allow the development of effective and comprehensive therapies for this increasingly prevalent disease.
This research was supported by National Institute on Aging.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Guardianship FAQs
Guardianship FAQs: "-by- Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D. © 2011, AV Woodhull
At least every couple of weeks, I receive a frantic call from a predatory guardianship victim—hoping, somehow, that I will have an answer for him or her.
Each time I receive one of these calls, I am torn up for hours afterwards.
I literally cry.
I have no answers for you. I am simply 100 yards down the road watching you walk the same path I/We have already walked.
Today was one such day. I spoke to the grandson of an 89-year-old woman who is being held hostage in a dungeon they call a nursing home.
She was removed from her grandson’s lovely home--based upon a false allegation. And even though he was cleared of all the allegations, a guardianship was commenced and continues.
That’s it. An allegation. I have stated before that these allegations need not be true.
The grandson wants only the best for his grandmother.
“Can I at least get the guardian to put her in a nicer nursing home?”
My answer to him: Probably not.
“Why not?”
Because the Guardianship Mafia is not about taking care of your grandmother. It’s about converting her money into attorneys’ fees.
“But I have a power of attorney! I’m the designated pre-need guardian! There’s Florida case law on this! I’m the one who’s supposed to be the guardian!! When will I be appointed the guardian so that my grandmother can come back home?”
My answer to him: When all of your grandmother’s money has been spent.
“But she has more than $400,000.00! They can’t spend all that!”
My answer to him: Yes, most of that $400,000.00 will be converted to
attorney’s fees—in less time than you can imagine.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! This can’t be real!!!”
My answer to him: [No answer. He is adjusting (or not adjusting) to the reality of the situation—something all guardianship victims have to go through.]
“What about the FBI! I’m going to call the FBI!!!”
My answer to him: Yes, we’ve all called the FBI.
“And what did they do?! This is so wrong! This is outrageous!”
Have you ever watched an accident in progress?
Seven years ago, I was part of an accident in progress. I came upon
black ice on the interstate and my brakes would not engage. As my vehicle
approached the accident scene, there was no way to stop the inevitable.
I was about to crash into Car Number Six and I was about to break my right leg in eight places.
There was no way to stop this reality.
The next time I receive a call from a victim, I will continue, as usual, to listen patiently.
I will empathize with you.
However, I cannot solve your situation.
I already know your questions, so here are the answers:
Q: Can you recommend a “good” attorney who will make this unnecessary guardianship stop?
A: No. There is no such thing as a “good attorney” who wants to end the nightmare that has been created for you and your loved one. All attorneys are paid out of the “ward’s” assets. This is like asking an oil company to stop drilling for oil. The only way an oil corporation will stop drilling for oil (in a particular area) is when they are certain that all the oil in that area has been depleted. Likewise, attorneys will stop the proceedings when all of your loved one’s money has been converted to attorneys’ fees.
Q. What government agency can I contact to make this unnecessary guardianship stop? It is so wrong!
A. There is no government agency who will listen to you. Your predecessors (i.e., fellow guardianship victims) have already called every government agency imaginable. Here’s a partial list of (government as well as non-government) agencies that have been already contacted on multiple occasions by a plethora of guardianship victims while your loved one is being held hostage in a marginal nursing home, overmedicated, and all of his or her money is being spent on attorneys’ fees:
--State Guardianship Offices
--National Guardianship Association
--Federal Bureau of Investigation
--State legislators
--Local Police
--Elder Abuse Hotline
--Agency for Health Care Administration
--Local Sheriffs Departments
--State Police
--Government Accountability Office
--State senators
--AARP
--ACTEC
--State attorneys offices
--Governors’ offices
--County attorneys offices
--Department of Children and Families
--Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Hotline
--Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation
--President Obama
--Government Accountability Office
--Judicial Qualification Commissions
--American Bar Association
--Local Bar Associations
--The Media (i.e., 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, local news channels, local news papers, national news papers, Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc., etc., etc.)
--Your congressman
(I, personally, can put a check mark next to each and all of the above. Most of us who are outspoken guardianship reform advocates have done the same—or even more.)
Q)But they accused me of things that are absolutely NOT TRUE!
A)Yes, I know that.
Q)When I prove that the allegations of financial exploitation are untrue, they’ll have to stop the guardianship, right?
A)No. They will continue asserting the false allegations and use it to continue the guardianship—even after you have proved your innocence. They will continue to say it is true—even if it’s not true.
Q)Well, I just don’t believe you. This is too preposterous to believe. I’m going to count on my attorney getting something done!
A)Okay. That’s fine. I’m sure I’ll be hearing back from you sometime in the near future—and thousands of dollars later.
Q)Then what should I do?
A)Join fellow/sister guardianship victims. Stop wasting your money on attorneys who are fighting the fight with local judges and courts of appeal. This is a NO WIN situation. The local judges and courts of appeal will gain you nothing except an empty bank account. There are three things we, as a group, are doing: (1) fighting for legislative reform, (2) speaking up and out—the more people you educate, the less likely the guardian and her attorneys will be able to do this, (the creation of websites are a good thing—expose the guardian, the judge, and the attorneys involved on the internet) (3) save what little money you have left and join us in a class action federal RICO lawsuit.
Q)But I really am innocent!
A)Yes, I know, and there’s a law enforcer who gives seminars to fellow police officers on “signs to look for” of people who are guilty of financial exploitation of the elderly. One of the “signs” is someone who says they are innocent. So, the more you say you are innocent to law enforcement, they will see this as a “red flag” of guilt. They are also taught in the seminar that elder exploiters always say, “But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!” By saying this, you are “proving” you are guilty!
Q)But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!
A)Yes! I believe you!!! But by the time the guardian and her attorneys are done with your loved one, he or she REALLY WILL BE “mentally incapacitated.” There are drugs that mimic dementia.
Q)But I was given a Power of Attorney!
A)Ah! More evidence of guilt! Anyone with a “power of attorney” is viewed as a manipulator and exploiter of the elderly!
Q)That makes no sense at all! What was my loved one supposed to do to protect herself and her assets if she didn’t give me such authority? She was trying to protect herself from the Bad Relatives!
A) Yes, I know that. But in the Guardianship Game, the Predatory Relatives become the Good Guys who team up with the Predatory Guardian and her attorneys, and, typically, the people who have been doing the most, (sacrificing their time and their life) are portrayed as the “Evil Ones.”
Q)So, when will this nightmare end??
A)I already answered that: When all the money has been spent/converted into
attorneys’ fees.*
*Exact quote of Attorney “Reverend” Anthony Nardella (attorney for “professional” “guardian” Rebecca “Fierle”) when we were leaving the courthouse after my mother was declared “100% mentally incompetent”—even though the video tapes we showed the judge showed just the opposite and the judge even stated, “I almost said the opposite” when asked if Louise A. Falvo is mentally incompetent.
As I passed “Reverend” Attorney Nardella, I said to him, “You are disgusting.”
He chuckled and replied, “We’re not finished with you yet.”
Angela Woodhull can be reached at :chachaangelina@yahoo.com
"
At least every couple of weeks, I receive a frantic call from a predatory guardianship victim—hoping, somehow, that I will have an answer for him or her.
Each time I receive one of these calls, I am torn up for hours afterwards.
I literally cry.
I have no answers for you. I am simply 100 yards down the road watching you walk the same path I/We have already walked.
Today was one such day. I spoke to the grandson of an 89-year-old woman who is being held hostage in a dungeon they call a nursing home.
She was removed from her grandson’s lovely home--based upon a false allegation. And even though he was cleared of all the allegations, a guardianship was commenced and continues.
That’s it. An allegation. I have stated before that these allegations need not be true.
The grandson wants only the best for his grandmother.
“Can I at least get the guardian to put her in a nicer nursing home?”
My answer to him: Probably not.
“Why not?”
Because the Guardianship Mafia is not about taking care of your grandmother. It’s about converting her money into attorneys’ fees.
“But I have a power of attorney! I’m the designated pre-need guardian! There’s Florida case law on this! I’m the one who’s supposed to be the guardian!! When will I be appointed the guardian so that my grandmother can come back home?”
My answer to him: When all of your grandmother’s money has been spent.
“But she has more than $400,000.00! They can’t spend all that!”
My answer to him: Yes, most of that $400,000.00 will be converted to
attorney’s fees—in less time than you can imagine.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! This can’t be real!!!”
My answer to him: [No answer. He is adjusting (or not adjusting) to the reality of the situation—something all guardianship victims have to go through.]
“What about the FBI! I’m going to call the FBI!!!”
My answer to him: Yes, we’ve all called the FBI.
“And what did they do?! This is so wrong! This is outrageous!”
Have you ever watched an accident in progress?
Seven years ago, I was part of an accident in progress. I came upon
black ice on the interstate and my brakes would not engage. As my vehicle
approached the accident scene, there was no way to stop the inevitable.
I was about to crash into Car Number Six and I was about to break my right leg in eight places.
There was no way to stop this reality.
The next time I receive a call from a victim, I will continue, as usual, to listen patiently.
I will empathize with you.
However, I cannot solve your situation.
I already know your questions, so here are the answers:
Q: Can you recommend a “good” attorney who will make this unnecessary guardianship stop?
A: No. There is no such thing as a “good attorney” who wants to end the nightmare that has been created for you and your loved one. All attorneys are paid out of the “ward’s” assets. This is like asking an oil company to stop drilling for oil. The only way an oil corporation will stop drilling for oil (in a particular area) is when they are certain that all the oil in that area has been depleted. Likewise, attorneys will stop the proceedings when all of your loved one’s money has been converted to attorneys’ fees.
Q. What government agency can I contact to make this unnecessary guardianship stop? It is so wrong!
A. There is no government agency who will listen to you. Your predecessors (i.e., fellow guardianship victims) have already called every government agency imaginable. Here’s a partial list of (government as well as non-government) agencies that have been already contacted on multiple occasions by a plethora of guardianship victims while your loved one is being held hostage in a marginal nursing home, overmedicated, and all of his or her money is being spent on attorneys’ fees:
--State Guardianship Offices
--National Guardianship Association
--Federal Bureau of Investigation
--State legislators
--Local Police
--Elder Abuse Hotline
--Agency for Health Care Administration
--Local Sheriffs Departments
--State Police
--Government Accountability Office
--State senators
--AARP
--ACTEC
--State attorneys offices
--Governors’ offices
--County attorneys offices
--Department of Children and Families
--Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Hotline
--Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation
--President Obama
--Government Accountability Office
--Judicial Qualification Commissions
--American Bar Association
--Local Bar Associations
--The Media (i.e., 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, local news channels, local news papers, national news papers, Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc., etc., etc.)
--Your congressman
(I, personally, can put a check mark next to each and all of the above. Most of us who are outspoken guardianship reform advocates have done the same—or even more.)
Q)But they accused me of things that are absolutely NOT TRUE!
A)Yes, I know that.
Q)When I prove that the allegations of financial exploitation are untrue, they’ll have to stop the guardianship, right?
A)No. They will continue asserting the false allegations and use it to continue the guardianship—even after you have proved your innocence. They will continue to say it is true—even if it’s not true.
Q)Well, I just don’t believe you. This is too preposterous to believe. I’m going to count on my attorney getting something done!
A)Okay. That’s fine. I’m sure I’ll be hearing back from you sometime in the near future—and thousands of dollars later.
Q)Then what should I do?
A)Join fellow/sister guardianship victims. Stop wasting your money on attorneys who are fighting the fight with local judges and courts of appeal. This is a NO WIN situation. The local judges and courts of appeal will gain you nothing except an empty bank account. There are three things we, as a group, are doing: (1) fighting for legislative reform, (2) speaking up and out—the more people you educate, the less likely the guardian and her attorneys will be able to do this, (the creation of websites are a good thing—expose the guardian, the judge, and the attorneys involved on the internet) (3) save what little money you have left and join us in a class action federal RICO lawsuit.
Q)But I really am innocent!
A)Yes, I know, and there’s a law enforcer who gives seminars to fellow police officers on “signs to look for” of people who are guilty of financial exploitation of the elderly. One of the “signs” is someone who says they are innocent. So, the more you say you are innocent to law enforcement, they will see this as a “red flag” of guilt. They are also taught in the seminar that elder exploiters always say, “But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!” By saying this, you are “proving” you are guilty!
Q)But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!
A)Yes! I believe you!!! But by the time the guardian and her attorneys are done with your loved one, he or she REALLY WILL BE “mentally incapacitated.” There are drugs that mimic dementia.
Q)But I was given a Power of Attorney!
A)Ah! More evidence of guilt! Anyone with a “power of attorney” is viewed as a manipulator and exploiter of the elderly!
Q)That makes no sense at all! What was my loved one supposed to do to protect herself and her assets if she didn’t give me such authority? She was trying to protect herself from the Bad Relatives!
A) Yes, I know that. But in the Guardianship Game, the Predatory Relatives become the Good Guys who team up with the Predatory Guardian and her attorneys, and, typically, the people who have been doing the most, (sacrificing their time and their life) are portrayed as the “Evil Ones.”
Q)So, when will this nightmare end??
A)I already answered that: When all the money has been spent/converted into
attorneys’ fees.*
*Exact quote of Attorney “Reverend” Anthony Nardella (attorney for “professional” “guardian” Rebecca “Fierle”) when we were leaving the courthouse after my mother was declared “100% mentally incompetent”—even though the video tapes we showed the judge showed just the opposite and the judge even stated, “I almost said the opposite” when asked if Louise A. Falvo is mentally incompetent.
As I passed “Reverend” Attorney Nardella, I said to him, “You are disgusting.”
He chuckled and replied, “We’re not finished with you yet.”
Angela Woodhull can be reached at :chachaangelina@yahoo.com
We Will Not Forget What We Witnessed: Part 6 Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley
We Will Not Forget What We Witnessed: Part 6 Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley: "-by-Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D. (Part 6)
Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley*
Back at the probate court files in Seminole County, things were heating up. Rebecca “Fierle’s” attorney in my mother’s case (Reverend Attorney Anthony Nardella) actually began billing my mother’s estate every time I was observed reading the court files. Imagine that.
“Phone call from probate clerk stating that Woodhull is reading the probate files once again.” Charge: $58.”
The next file I began assessing was yet another veteran. By now, we clearly understood that Rebecca “Fierle” had quite an appetite for veterans, since she automatically receives five per cent of their monthly income—no matter what is done or not done during the course of a month.
Another veteran, Carlisle Bosworth, we noticed that $250,000.00 of his assets had been spent in a very short period of time.
What about Bruce McNalley, a veteran? First of all, becoming increasingly savvy at ascertaining the court records more quickly, we noticed that “Fierle” had placed McNalley in a regular nursing home, rather than a veteran’s nursing home. There is a “reason” for this. A veteran’s nursing home is free. Therefore, there would be nothing to bill for. However, if “Fierle” places a veteran in a non-veteran’s nursing home, not only can she bill, but she can also GENEROUSLY bill. I called the nursing home where McNalley was staying and posed as a concerned daughter looking to place my father somewhere in an upscale nursing home. The administrator told me that a top-of-the-line private room, with all the bells and whistles, would cost about $6,000.00 per month.
And what was “Fierle” claiming to the court? “Fierle” was claiming that she was spending $12,000.00 a month in McNalley’s care. We wondered: Where is the other $6,000.00 per month going?
Because of the exorbitant and completely unnecessary spending (to reiterate, McNalley is a veteran—between his monthly income and the fact that he could be placed in a veteran’s nursing home for free, McNalley should have had enough money to sustain himself indefinitely), “Fierle” had initiated a lawsuit against Wade McNalley, Bruce’s son. Wade was facing
being evicted from his homesteaded residence if he could not find the money to purchase his father’s half of a trailer home. The title was “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” but that hadn’t stopped Rebecca “Fierle” for attempting to make Bruce’s son homeless. It was time to visit Wade McNalley.
************************
How can I describe Wade McNalley? The words that come to mind are “fun” “vivacious” “opinionated” “strong willed” “straight shooter.” Wade likes to drink beer, kick back, tell a few jokes, and use a lot of colorful language, especially when describing his feelings toward Rebecca “Fierle.”
After introducing ourselves at his door, one of his first comments were, “Oh, don’t even get me started talking about that c---.” We knew we were in for an interesting evening.
Wade and his father had lived together quite amiably on several occasions. He described Dad as a “skirt chaser” and somehow he ended up in an expensive retirement center due to that fact where he could flirt with all the gals. There were some health problems and soon he had been transferred to a nursing home. Wade had been out of town when he learned, upon his return, that a woman named “Rebecca Fierle” was now his father’s guardian.
“What the hell was that sh-- all about!? You tell me. It’s gotta be about his money! The b---- just wants his money. Don’t even get me started talking on that subject. Then she moves Dad so far away that I can’t even get to go see him. I’m on a very limited budget and I suffer from arthritis.
How the hell am I supposed to go clear across town to visit my dad?
As far as that lawsuit against me, she can go f--- herself! I have an attorney on it and she ain’t gonna get a g—d---m dime outta me!”
Wade told us how his attorney had been very good to him. Wade had recently been released from a hospital and his attorney had actually been paying for groceries and delivering them to Wade’s door. “What a fantastic guy! I couldn’t ask for better.”
Truthfully, an attorney going out of his way THAT much for a client just didn’t sound right. We wondered what it all meant. We were soon to find out. Wade was in the middle of suing someone, a personal injury case.
The “nice” attorney was actually pre-spending the few dollars that Wade would end up with from the settlement. In the end, there wasn’t much left for Wade out of the settlement money, and at that time, “Fierle” just happened to want to “settle out” with Wade. She offered to let him stay in his homesteaded home if he would simply turn over $10,000.00 to her—the same, exact amount of money Wade was about to get in a settlement. (How ‘bout that there.)
We asked Wade, after he cooked us supper and gave us a few beers, if he would like to drive to the neighboring town and see his father. “Would you like to go see your dad this evening?”
“Hell, yeah, I’d love to go see my father! I’m going to get him the hell out of there once I get my settlement money and then I’m going bring him back home. I’m going to be the guardian! I mean, what the hell, I am his son! Who ever heard of some f------ c--- stranger being my dad’s guardian?! Who ever instituted this crazy f---ed up shit?! I was doing one hellofa job taking care of my dad and I know he was happy here. He needs to come home. There’s nothing mentally wrong with him. You’ll see.”
The three of us piled into my van and Wade directed us to the nursing home. It was late at night and we found his father laying in bed, this tall man who seemed very similar natured to his son. The hugs and tears between these two macho men brought tears to the eyes of both David and me. We were ecstatic to have brought them together. “Honey, let’s videotape this because I see no mental incompetence whatsoever.”
Bruce seemed a little startled at first that were videotaping him. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. These are my new friends. They’re here to help you.
I wanna get you back home, Dad, and this can help.”
Bruce was then all right with the videotaping. He stated on many occasions that he would like to come home, that he wanted his son to definitely stay in the trailer home and he was definitely upset to learn that Rebecca Fierle was in the process of trying to make his son homeless.
“When you bail me out of here, we’re going to sue the hell out of her.
Oh, yeah, just you wait and see,” Bruce declared adamantly.
Staff workers, not used to seeing visitors in Bruce’s half of the room, kept peeking into the room. We would hide the phone camera every time a staff worker appeared.
Soon, it was time to leave. “I don’t see any mental incompetence with your dad,” David stated. “Neither do I.”
“See? I told you so!” Wade responded. “We got to get him the hell out of there. I’ve never seen him in such bad physical shape. This place is killing him. I want my dad home.”
************************
The following day, Rebecca “Fierle” found out that Wade had managed to go see his father.
Her response? She had Bruce Baker- acted—put into a straight jacket and medicated on psychotropic drugs. She then contacted her attorney and they wrote a Petition to the court asking the judge to NOT permit Wade McNalley to see his father any more. “Fierle” claimed that it upset the father so much to see his son—and whom he “didn’t really want to see” according to “Fierle”—that she had to Baker Act him. Little did “Fierle” know that we have video footage of the father that is so contrary to these claims that it is rather surrealistic to even fathom that such a statement would be written in the court records.
Lo and behold, at the court hearing, Judge John D. Galluzzo actually decided he would not go along with “Fierle’s” petition. He denied the motion and stated that Wade was free to see his father any time he wanted.
However, Galluzzo’s decision did not stop Rebecca “Fierle” from wielding her unlimited authority. Her response? She simply moved Bruce McNalley to yet ANOTHER nursing home so far away that Wade would have to spend the entire day taking a series of buses just to get to the new location.
***********************
Wade never saw his father alive ever again.
**********************
The next time we saw Wade, he told us hold his attorney was planning on having “Fierle” removed as the guardian—a motion serious enough, that if awarded, “Fierle” could lose her license as a professional guardian.
“I thought we were moving ahead. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from one of ‘Fierle’s’ staff members. The b---- didn’t even have the nerve to call me herself. Fierle’s employee stated to me, ‘Where do you want us to drop off your father’s ashes?’”
“What!?! My father died?! When did my father die?”
“More than a month ago,” the staff member responded in a flat tone.
“You mean to tell me my father has been dead for more than a month and this is the first time you’re even telling me about it! What the f--- bull---sh-- is this!?”
This big, warm-hearted man, a true man’s man, stood there in front of us and wept. He broke down and he literally wept.
“Oh, there’s a special place in hell for people like Rebecca ‘Fierle,’ Wade stated. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye to my father. My dad had a pre-paid burial plot. He didn’t ever want to be cremated! What the f--- kind of sh—is that?!” “Oh, believe you me, there’s gonna be a payback time!”
Wade could not stop weeping.
************************
Shortly thereafter, Wade became seriously ill – to the point of almost dying. He was hospitalized on several occasions and needed extensive home health care. “I can’t focus on any of this Rebecca ‘Fierle’ bullsh—any further,” Wade told us. “It literally ruined my health. At least that b---- wasn’t able to get a f------ dime out of me. At least I have my home.”
************************
*Not their real names.
***********************
"
Wade McNalley and his Father, Bruce McNalley*
Back at the probate court files in Seminole County, things were heating up. Rebecca “Fierle’s” attorney in my mother’s case (Reverend Attorney Anthony Nardella) actually began billing my mother’s estate every time I was observed reading the court files. Imagine that.
“Phone call from probate clerk stating that Woodhull is reading the probate files once again.” Charge: $58.”
The next file I began assessing was yet another veteran. By now, we clearly understood that Rebecca “Fierle” had quite an appetite for veterans, since she automatically receives five per cent of their monthly income—no matter what is done or not done during the course of a month.
Another veteran, Carlisle Bosworth, we noticed that $250,000.00 of his assets had been spent in a very short period of time.
What about Bruce McNalley, a veteran? First of all, becoming increasingly savvy at ascertaining the court records more quickly, we noticed that “Fierle” had placed McNalley in a regular nursing home, rather than a veteran’s nursing home. There is a “reason” for this. A veteran’s nursing home is free. Therefore, there would be nothing to bill for. However, if “Fierle” places a veteran in a non-veteran’s nursing home, not only can she bill, but she can also GENEROUSLY bill. I called the nursing home where McNalley was staying and posed as a concerned daughter looking to place my father somewhere in an upscale nursing home. The administrator told me that a top-of-the-line private room, with all the bells and whistles, would cost about $6,000.00 per month.
And what was “Fierle” claiming to the court? “Fierle” was claiming that she was spending $12,000.00 a month in McNalley’s care. We wondered: Where is the other $6,000.00 per month going?
Because of the exorbitant and completely unnecessary spending (to reiterate, McNalley is a veteran—between his monthly income and the fact that he could be placed in a veteran’s nursing home for free, McNalley should have had enough money to sustain himself indefinitely), “Fierle” had initiated a lawsuit against Wade McNalley, Bruce’s son. Wade was facing
being evicted from his homesteaded residence if he could not find the money to purchase his father’s half of a trailer home. The title was “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” but that hadn’t stopped Rebecca “Fierle” for attempting to make Bruce’s son homeless. It was time to visit Wade McNalley.
************************
How can I describe Wade McNalley? The words that come to mind are “fun” “vivacious” “opinionated” “strong willed” “straight shooter.” Wade likes to drink beer, kick back, tell a few jokes, and use a lot of colorful language, especially when describing his feelings toward Rebecca “Fierle.”
After introducing ourselves at his door, one of his first comments were, “Oh, don’t even get me started talking about that c---.” We knew we were in for an interesting evening.
Wade and his father had lived together quite amiably on several occasions. He described Dad as a “skirt chaser” and somehow he ended up in an expensive retirement center due to that fact where he could flirt with all the gals. There were some health problems and soon he had been transferred to a nursing home. Wade had been out of town when he learned, upon his return, that a woman named “Rebecca Fierle” was now his father’s guardian.
“What the hell was that sh-- all about!? You tell me. It’s gotta be about his money! The b---- just wants his money. Don’t even get me started talking on that subject. Then she moves Dad so far away that I can’t even get to go see him. I’m on a very limited budget and I suffer from arthritis.
How the hell am I supposed to go clear across town to visit my dad?
As far as that lawsuit against me, she can go f--- herself! I have an attorney on it and she ain’t gonna get a g—d---m dime outta me!”
Wade told us how his attorney had been very good to him. Wade had recently been released from a hospital and his attorney had actually been paying for groceries and delivering them to Wade’s door. “What a fantastic guy! I couldn’t ask for better.”
Truthfully, an attorney going out of his way THAT much for a client just didn’t sound right. We wondered what it all meant. We were soon to find out. Wade was in the middle of suing someone, a personal injury case.
The “nice” attorney was actually pre-spending the few dollars that Wade would end up with from the settlement. In the end, there wasn’t much left for Wade out of the settlement money, and at that time, “Fierle” just happened to want to “settle out” with Wade. She offered to let him stay in his homesteaded home if he would simply turn over $10,000.00 to her—the same, exact amount of money Wade was about to get in a settlement. (How ‘bout that there.)
We asked Wade, after he cooked us supper and gave us a few beers, if he would like to drive to the neighboring town and see his father. “Would you like to go see your dad this evening?”
“Hell, yeah, I’d love to go see my father! I’m going to get him the hell out of there once I get my settlement money and then I’m going bring him back home. I’m going to be the guardian! I mean, what the hell, I am his son! Who ever heard of some f------ c--- stranger being my dad’s guardian?! Who ever instituted this crazy f---ed up shit?! I was doing one hellofa job taking care of my dad and I know he was happy here. He needs to come home. There’s nothing mentally wrong with him. You’ll see.”
The three of us piled into my van and Wade directed us to the nursing home. It was late at night and we found his father laying in bed, this tall man who seemed very similar natured to his son. The hugs and tears between these two macho men brought tears to the eyes of both David and me. We were ecstatic to have brought them together. “Honey, let’s videotape this because I see no mental incompetence whatsoever.”
Bruce seemed a little startled at first that were videotaping him. “Don’t worry about it, Dad. These are my new friends. They’re here to help you.
I wanna get you back home, Dad, and this can help.”
Bruce was then all right with the videotaping. He stated on many occasions that he would like to come home, that he wanted his son to definitely stay in the trailer home and he was definitely upset to learn that Rebecca Fierle was in the process of trying to make his son homeless.
“When you bail me out of here, we’re going to sue the hell out of her.
Oh, yeah, just you wait and see,” Bruce declared adamantly.
Staff workers, not used to seeing visitors in Bruce’s half of the room, kept peeking into the room. We would hide the phone camera every time a staff worker appeared.
Soon, it was time to leave. “I don’t see any mental incompetence with your dad,” David stated. “Neither do I.”
“See? I told you so!” Wade responded. “We got to get him the hell out of there. I’ve never seen him in such bad physical shape. This place is killing him. I want my dad home.”
************************
The following day, Rebecca “Fierle” found out that Wade had managed to go see his father.
Her response? She had Bruce Baker- acted—put into a straight jacket and medicated on psychotropic drugs. She then contacted her attorney and they wrote a Petition to the court asking the judge to NOT permit Wade McNalley to see his father any more. “Fierle” claimed that it upset the father so much to see his son—and whom he “didn’t really want to see” according to “Fierle”—that she had to Baker Act him. Little did “Fierle” know that we have video footage of the father that is so contrary to these claims that it is rather surrealistic to even fathom that such a statement would be written in the court records.
Lo and behold, at the court hearing, Judge John D. Galluzzo actually decided he would not go along with “Fierle’s” petition. He denied the motion and stated that Wade was free to see his father any time he wanted.
However, Galluzzo’s decision did not stop Rebecca “Fierle” from wielding her unlimited authority. Her response? She simply moved Bruce McNalley to yet ANOTHER nursing home so far away that Wade would have to spend the entire day taking a series of buses just to get to the new location.
***********************
Wade never saw his father alive ever again.
**********************
The next time we saw Wade, he told us hold his attorney was planning on having “Fierle” removed as the guardian—a motion serious enough, that if awarded, “Fierle” could lose her license as a professional guardian.
“I thought we were moving ahead. Next thing I know, I’m getting a call from one of ‘Fierle’s’ staff members. The b---- didn’t even have the nerve to call me herself. Fierle’s employee stated to me, ‘Where do you want us to drop off your father’s ashes?’”
“What!?! My father died?! When did my father die?”
“More than a month ago,” the staff member responded in a flat tone.
“You mean to tell me my father has been dead for more than a month and this is the first time you’re even telling me about it! What the f--- bull---sh-- is this!?”
This big, warm-hearted man, a true man’s man, stood there in front of us and wept. He broke down and he literally wept.
“Oh, there’s a special place in hell for people like Rebecca ‘Fierle,’ Wade stated. “I didn’t even get to say good-bye to my father. My dad had a pre-paid burial plot. He didn’t ever want to be cremated! What the f--- kind of sh—is that?!” “Oh, believe you me, there’s gonna be a payback time!”
Wade could not stop weeping.
************************
Shortly thereafter, Wade became seriously ill – to the point of almost dying. He was hospitalized on several occasions and needed extensive home health care. “I can’t focus on any of this Rebecca ‘Fierle’ bullsh—any further,” Wade told us. “It literally ruined my health. At least that b---- wasn’t able to get a f------ dime out of me. At least I have my home.”
************************
*Not their real names.
***********************
*Note: Dr. Angela V. Woodhull, a licensed private investigator, spent more than two and a half years investigating court records in Seminole and Orange Counties, Florida and interviewing family members and victims in order to compose this story. All court records that verify the contents of this article were submitted as attachments to the editor of the F.B.I. journal as verification of accuracy. Woodhull can be reached at (352) 327-3665 or
(352) 682-9033.
Letter to the: Senate Special Committee on Aging
Letter to the: Senate Special Committee on Aging: "Written Testimony of Latifa S. Ring National Organization to End Guardianship Abuse (NOTEGA)
To the: Senate Special Committee on Aging for the hearing on Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation
March 15, 2011
Senate Special Committee on Aging
G31 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Attn: Senator Herb Kohl
Dear Chairman Kohl, Senator Corker and distinguished Committee members:
Thank you for holding the recent hearing “Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation” to address the crisis of elder abuse and financial exploitation of America’s elderly citizens and thank you for allowing Mickey Rooney to share his cry for an end to elder abuse with the committee and with the American Public.
Financial Exploitation and Abuse of the Elderly has become the crime of the 21st Century and has truly placed a black mark on our nation. Hubert Humphrey once said
“the moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of their life, the children, those who are in the twilight of their lives, the elderly and those who are in the shadows of life, the disabled the weak and the vulnerable. “
How will we be judged as a nation and as a government if we do not take the steps necessary to end this crime against America’s most vulnerable citizens?
Elder abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly in our communities and when done by private citizens is being called a crime, yet quietly all across this nation elderly and disabled citizens are being abused and financially exploited under Adult Guardianships under the guise of protection and the color of law. In the courtrooms of our States, abuse and exploitation of vulnerable citizens is treated as if it is perfectly legal. Judges routinely rubber stamp exorbitant fees for services that do not benefit the wards resulting in financial exploitation of their estates. Family members and friends all over this country are crying out about the abuse and neglect of their loved ones in guardianship that they are powerless to protect yet it appears there is no one listening because there is a guardian and the court appointed them.
Under guardianships a person can lose all of their civil rights and their right to ask for protection under the law. Lives and assets can essentially be stolen. The perpetrators of financial exploitation and abuse in guardianships are getting bolder and often times elderly citizens with assets are targeted and adjudicated as incapacitated and placed under a guardianship or conservatorship just to give someone else control over an estate which they can then loot. Other times elderly citizens who are alleged to be incapacitated are placed into guardianships when they have family and friends who are willing and able to help them or when they only have a minor ailment; again only to give the perpetrators access to the estate. Many family members are tricked into believing that seeking guardianship will help to protect a loved one only to find themselves on the end of a never-ending onslaught of unproven allegations of wrong-doing deliberately launched to malign the family member and prevent them from being appointed as guardian. This tactic clears the list of available guardians and makes room for the perpetrators intent on looting the estate. When greed is the motivating factor in guardianships, the welfare of the ward takes a back seat and abuse of the wards is allowed by the guardians and other professionals more intent only on lining their pockets than caring for the vulnerable person. It seems that the “name of the game” in guardianships is to bill for as many services as possible as fast as possible knowing that the judge will routinely rubberstamp the fee applications. This routine approval occurs either because the judges are busy trying to clear an overloaded docket, they do not have time or resources to review the fee applications, they know the American Taxpayers will take care of the ward with Medicaid dollars or they want to make sure the guardians and attorneys (some of whom may have owe political favors to) get paid. It is just easier that way. Family members who complain may find themselves losing the right to visit their own loved ones or being told by the Court that they have no standing to speak on behalf of the ward that now has a guardian.
As I stated in my testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security, it is almost as if guardianships can be used as a form of identity theft. The guardian can execute any and all documents on behalf of the ward. This powerful position gives them unfettered access to the ward’s life and property. In the wrong hands this power can be and is enormously abused and can even be lethal to the vulnerable person. Without proper controls lives can be are being stolen.
When will our National Leaders finally address the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation of the Elderly that is occurring in Guardianships?
We have been calling for National Reforms to address Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation in guardianships since 2008 when our group the “National Elder Abuse and Guardianship Victims Taskforce for Change” submitted a platform proposal to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse for the senior’s plank of the DNC platform. Many other groups and citizens have also been calling for reform and since 2008 and we have continued our call for National reforms with online petitions and letters to our State and National leaders.
I could fill reams of papers with examples of abuse and exploitation in guardianships but will limit this to the summaries I have attached to this testimony as appendix (A) and the comments made as part of the petition attached as appendix (B). I simply ask the following questions:
Why is it legal to abuse and rob the elderly in guardianships?
Why is it legal to force an “alleged” incapacitated person into guardianship with an emergency or some other hearing without due process of the law where the ward is not present and/or not represented by counsel? Why are our constitutional due process rights under the 14th amendment not protected in guardianships?
Why is it legal to isolate a ward, to over medicate, to chemically restrain, to sterilize and even authorize an early death through hospice in guardianships?
Why do the advance directives of these dear elderly citizens appear to mean nothing? The designation of a pre-need guardian, a power of attorney or health care surrogate are routine ignored in the incapacity process.
Why is it legal for one person (a judge) to give one human being to another private citizen (“the guardian”), then walk away, and let that person have their way with the incapacitated person and their estate?
Why are there no jury trials?
Why are these wards of the State in guardianships not being protected by the State… are they not wards of the State?
Why is it that when someone allegedly steals from an elderly or vulnerable person that the alleged victim can be sent into a guardianship instead of the crime being investigated by the criminal justice system and adult protective services? The victim is forced to pay for the crime in a probate court instead of it being handled by the criminal justice system where the victim doesn’t have to foot the bill to get justice? Furthermore, rarely are the allegations of wrong doing that create the need for guardianship ever proven in these guardianship cases. Instead, they are being used as an excuse to take over the life of the person and their property. Why do the American Rules of Civil Discovery not apply to Guardianship Proceeding?
Why do we need to have emergency hearings for guardianships when adult protective services should be able to do their job and protect the vulnerable alleged incapacitated person until they can be afforded due process?
Why is it legal to bill tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a ward for services that do not benefit them in breach of any fiduciary duty and yet it is not called a crime, it is called protection of the ward ?
Why is it legal for a guardian to deny visitation to a ward, to allow them to be isolated from their community and their loved ones ?
All over this country, people are outraged by what they are seeing done to their loved ones in guardianships. Many families are torn apart and many are secondary victims who suffer from the horrific abuse of not being able to visit their loved ones, not being able to protect them and sometimes not even being notified of a loved one’s death so they can attend their funeral.
There is nothing new about guardianship abuse to report. It is the same broken system with the same crimes that have gone on for over 30 years since the Claude Pepper days when the late Congressman submitted the “1989 Guardianship Rights Act” that clearly stated that the 14th amendment rights of the elderly in guardianship were being violated. Three GAO reports have been issued since 2004 that all spell out the problems in guardianships. Numerous Media outlets have reported horrifying cases of abuse and exploitation. Agencies have reported the problem. This committee has held several hearing including one in 2006 and the record reflects the enormous problem our seniors are facing. In May 2010, I testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security about this problem. I stand by my stated belief that without real and meaningful reforms, guardianships can and will continue to be used to steal lives and assets under what I can only equate to a legalized form of identity theft. Attached to this written testimony is a petition signed by close to 1200 people calling for National Reforms to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse. This petition can also be viewed online at http://www.facebook.com/l/f742ckOISH6OKSm5kKz_NPTovuA/www.endguardianshipabuse.org . I respectfully request that this petition be put on the record with this written testimony.
Members of the committee, it is time for action on guardianship abuse and it is time to recognize that elder abuse and financial exploitation in and under a guardianship or conservatorship is no less a crime that it is when the perpetrator is a family member or nursing home in the community. In fact, elder abuse and exploitation of the incapacitated person is the worst form of abuse as it is perpetrated against the most vulnerable of our society, the victims who have had their voice stripped of them and who are powerless to report the crime.
The federal government and your Senate Special Committee on Aging should take an interest in ending the abuse and exploitation in guardianship. They should take an interest because of the cost to the taxpayers in State Medicaid and matching federal Medicaid dollars, because of the 14th amendment rights that are violated in guardianships and because elder abuse and financial exploitation is a crime even if done under the guise of protection and under the color of law.
I close by echoing the request made by Mickey Rooney that you PLEASE STOP ELDER ABUSE and STOP IT NOW … not only in the communities, not only in a private homes, not only in our nursing homes but also when it is perpetrated under guardianships and conservatorships through our courts.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit this testimony and I hope the committee will consider having a separate hearing on the problems with guardianships and respectfully request we be permitted to have a member of our organization testify and provide more additional information on this problem. I also ask that the committee please take a serious look at the problems raised in the GAO report issued in 2010 and invite victims and family members to come to Washington and share their stories so the committee can understand what is really happening on the ground. They can bring the perspective of the victims have been stripped of their voice to speak, they are the constituents of the members of this committee and they are the eyewitnesses to this terrible silent crime of elder abuse and exploitation that is being perpetrated under the guise of protection.
Respectfully submitted,
Latifa S. Ring
President
The National Organization to End Guardianship Abuse
Houston, Texas
stopelderabuse@ http://www.facebook.com/l/f742cSyyeKSjiEhi7szwfNFrfjg/stopelderabuse.net
endguardianshipabuse.org
www.endguardianshipabuse.org
"
To the: Senate Special Committee on Aging for the hearing on Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation
March 15, 2011
Senate Special Committee on Aging
G31 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Attn: Senator Herb Kohl
Dear Chairman Kohl, Senator Corker and distinguished Committee members:
Thank you for holding the recent hearing “Justice for All: Ending Elder Abuse, Neglect and Financial Exploitation” to address the crisis of elder abuse and financial exploitation of America’s elderly citizens and thank you for allowing Mickey Rooney to share his cry for an end to elder abuse with the committee and with the American Public.
Financial Exploitation and Abuse of the Elderly has become the crime of the 21st Century and has truly placed a black mark on our nation. Hubert Humphrey once said
“the moral test of a government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of their life, the children, those who are in the twilight of their lives, the elderly and those who are in the shadows of life, the disabled the weak and the vulnerable. “
How will we be judged as a nation and as a government if we do not take the steps necessary to end this crime against America’s most vulnerable citizens?
Elder abuse and financial exploitation of the elderly in our communities and when done by private citizens is being called a crime, yet quietly all across this nation elderly and disabled citizens are being abused and financially exploited under Adult Guardianships under the guise of protection and the color of law. In the courtrooms of our States, abuse and exploitation of vulnerable citizens is treated as if it is perfectly legal. Judges routinely rubber stamp exorbitant fees for services that do not benefit the wards resulting in financial exploitation of their estates. Family members and friends all over this country are crying out about the abuse and neglect of their loved ones in guardianship that they are powerless to protect yet it appears there is no one listening because there is a guardian and the court appointed them.
Under guardianships a person can lose all of their civil rights and their right to ask for protection under the law. Lives and assets can essentially be stolen. The perpetrators of financial exploitation and abuse in guardianships are getting bolder and often times elderly citizens with assets are targeted and adjudicated as incapacitated and placed under a guardianship or conservatorship just to give someone else control over an estate which they can then loot. Other times elderly citizens who are alleged to be incapacitated are placed into guardianships when they have family and friends who are willing and able to help them or when they only have a minor ailment; again only to give the perpetrators access to the estate. Many family members are tricked into believing that seeking guardianship will help to protect a loved one only to find themselves on the end of a never-ending onslaught of unproven allegations of wrong-doing deliberately launched to malign the family member and prevent them from being appointed as guardian. This tactic clears the list of available guardians and makes room for the perpetrators intent on looting the estate. When greed is the motivating factor in guardianships, the welfare of the ward takes a back seat and abuse of the wards is allowed by the guardians and other professionals more intent only on lining their pockets than caring for the vulnerable person. It seems that the “name of the game” in guardianships is to bill for as many services as possible as fast as possible knowing that the judge will routinely rubberstamp the fee applications. This routine approval occurs either because the judges are busy trying to clear an overloaded docket, they do not have time or resources to review the fee applications, they know the American Taxpayers will take care of the ward with Medicaid dollars or they want to make sure the guardians and attorneys (some of whom may have owe political favors to) get paid. It is just easier that way. Family members who complain may find themselves losing the right to visit their own loved ones or being told by the Court that they have no standing to speak on behalf of the ward that now has a guardian.
As I stated in my testimony to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security, it is almost as if guardianships can be used as a form of identity theft. The guardian can execute any and all documents on behalf of the ward. This powerful position gives them unfettered access to the ward’s life and property. In the wrong hands this power can be and is enormously abused and can even be lethal to the vulnerable person. Without proper controls lives can be are being stolen.
When will our National Leaders finally address the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation of the Elderly that is occurring in Guardianships?
We have been calling for National Reforms to address Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation in guardianships since 2008 when our group the “National Elder Abuse and Guardianship Victims Taskforce for Change” submitted a platform proposal to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse for the senior’s plank of the DNC platform. Many other groups and citizens have also been calling for reform and since 2008 and we have continued our call for National reforms with online petitions and letters to our State and National leaders.
I could fill reams of papers with examples of abuse and exploitation in guardianships but will limit this to the summaries I have attached to this testimony as appendix (A) and the comments made as part of the petition attached as appendix (B). I simply ask the following questions:
Why is it legal to abuse and rob the elderly in guardianships?
Why is it legal to force an “alleged” incapacitated person into guardianship with an emergency or some other hearing without due process of the law where the ward is not present and/or not represented by counsel? Why are our constitutional due process rights under the 14th amendment not protected in guardianships?
Why is it legal to isolate a ward, to over medicate, to chemically restrain, to sterilize and even authorize an early death through hospice in guardianships?
Why do the advance directives of these dear elderly citizens appear to mean nothing? The designation of a pre-need guardian, a power of attorney or health care surrogate are routine ignored in the incapacity process.
Why is it legal for one person (a judge) to give one human being to another private citizen (“the guardian”), then walk away, and let that person have their way with the incapacitated person and their estate?
Why are there no jury trials?
Why are these wards of the State in guardianships not being protected by the State… are they not wards of the State?
Why is it that when someone allegedly steals from an elderly or vulnerable person that the alleged victim can be sent into a guardianship instead of the crime being investigated by the criminal justice system and adult protective services? The victim is forced to pay for the crime in a probate court instead of it being handled by the criminal justice system where the victim doesn’t have to foot the bill to get justice? Furthermore, rarely are the allegations of wrong doing that create the need for guardianship ever proven in these guardianship cases. Instead, they are being used as an excuse to take over the life of the person and their property. Why do the American Rules of Civil Discovery not apply to Guardianship Proceeding?
Why do we need to have emergency hearings for guardianships when adult protective services should be able to do their job and protect the vulnerable alleged incapacitated person until they can be afforded due process?
Why is it legal to bill tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to a ward for services that do not benefit them in breach of any fiduciary duty and yet it is not called a crime, it is called protection of the ward ?
Why is it legal for a guardian to deny visitation to a ward, to allow them to be isolated from their community and their loved ones ?
All over this country, people are outraged by what they are seeing done to their loved ones in guardianships. Many families are torn apart and many are secondary victims who suffer from the horrific abuse of not being able to visit their loved ones, not being able to protect them and sometimes not even being notified of a loved one’s death so they can attend their funeral.
There is nothing new about guardianship abuse to report. It is the same broken system with the same crimes that have gone on for over 30 years since the Claude Pepper days when the late Congressman submitted the “1989 Guardianship Rights Act” that clearly stated that the 14th amendment rights of the elderly in guardianship were being violated. Three GAO reports have been issued since 2004 that all spell out the problems in guardianships. Numerous Media outlets have reported horrifying cases of abuse and exploitation. Agencies have reported the problem. This committee has held several hearing including one in 2006 and the record reflects the enormous problem our seniors are facing. In May 2010, I testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime Terrorism and Homeland Security about this problem. I stand by my stated belief that without real and meaningful reforms, guardianships can and will continue to be used to steal lives and assets under what I can only equate to a legalized form of identity theft. Attached to this written testimony is a petition signed by close to 1200 people calling for National Reforms to End Elder Abuse and Guardianship Abuse. This petition can also be viewed online at http://www.facebook.com/l/f742ckOISH6OKSm5kKz_NPTovuA/www.endguardianshipabuse.org . I respectfully request that this petition be put on the record with this written testimony.
Members of the committee, it is time for action on guardianship abuse and it is time to recognize that elder abuse and financial exploitation in and under a guardianship or conservatorship is no less a crime that it is when the perpetrator is a family member or nursing home in the community. In fact, elder abuse and exploitation of the incapacitated person is the worst form of abuse as it is perpetrated against the most vulnerable of our society, the victims who have had their voice stripped of them and who are powerless to report the crime.
The federal government and your Senate Special Committee on Aging should take an interest in ending the abuse and exploitation in guardianship. They should take an interest because of the cost to the taxpayers in State Medicaid and matching federal Medicaid dollars, because of the 14th amendment rights that are violated in guardianships and because elder abuse and financial exploitation is a crime even if done under the guise of protection and under the color of law.
I close by echoing the request made by Mickey Rooney that you PLEASE STOP ELDER ABUSE and STOP IT NOW … not only in the communities, not only in a private homes, not only in our nursing homes but also when it is perpetrated under guardianships and conservatorships through our courts.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to submit this testimony and I hope the committee will consider having a separate hearing on the problems with guardianships and respectfully request we be permitted to have a member of our organization testify and provide more additional information on this problem. I also ask that the committee please take a serious look at the problems raised in the GAO report issued in 2010 and invite victims and family members to come to Washington and share their stories so the committee can understand what is really happening on the ground. They can bring the perspective of the victims have been stripped of their voice to speak, they are the constituents of the members of this committee and they are the eyewitnesses to this terrible silent crime of elder abuse and exploitation that is being perpetrated under the guise of protection.
Respectfully submitted,
Latifa S. Ring
President
The National Organization to End Guardianship Abuse
Houston, Texas
stopelderabuse@ http://www.facebook.com/l/f742cSyyeKSjiEhi7szwfNFrfjg/stopelderabuse.net
endguardianshipabuse.org
www.endguardianshipabuse.org
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