Abuse of Our Elders - "Time to Stop The Shame!"

by Ray Fernandez

Many people are horrified by stories of elder and elder financial abuse all over this country and write then off to sibling rivalry or happenstance.

However we at E.A. will tell the truth "Elder abuse is such an ugly crime". Its victims are left to suffer in silence and loneliness, often at the hands of the very people charged with their care." This quote was taken from Napa Register article by Paul Seave entitled; "Facing the facts on elder abuse."

We will continue to tell you about this non regulated, wide open field, where there is no Federal or State Legislation requiring fingerprinting for non-certified caregivers who are going into the homes of our elderly.

When we hear that County District Attorney Gary Lieberstein stated that he had heard stories from the State Parole System that parole officers are telling convicts that home care giving is a promising field for gainful employment. Parolees are able to get the work without a lot of background checking we are going to tell you.

Opportunist thrive and the people that profit on the misery of others make millions, often with the help of the very same people that we thought could be trusted, while cold and ruthless predators "Line Our Elders Up, One by One, Until Our Savings Are Completely Gone."

What a shame.

In this Murky, Topsy, Tervy world of Elder Abuse, nothing is as it seems, not even medical records are to be trusted in this deceitful field that takes in the millions in revenue.

Two Elder Abuse lawsuits filed on January 16, 2008 claim 82-year-old Sylvia Saucedo (Case No. 1265784) and 66-year-old Judith Fortmeier (Case No. 1265782) bear this horrible reality.

Each were each found with serious and unexplained injuries. One suit alleges Ms. Saucedo was found by Mission Terrace staff with terrible bruises covering the left side of her face. Mission Terrace kept Ms. Saucedo for 2 days following the fall despite a deterioration of her condition, and only transferred her to the hospital for evaluation at the family's insistence, the lawsuit says.

Ms. Fortmeier, a resident of the assisted living facility, Cliff View Terrace, suffered 6 fractured ribs, a traumatic injury which her medical records describe as "akin to a motor vehicle accident." According to the lawsuit, her medical records also reveal that she told the doctors and nurses treating her that she was pushed. Three days after the incident, paramedics were summoned and they found her weak, struggling to breathe, and dehydrated. Ms. Fortmeier later died as a result of complications from this injury, the lawsuit says.

When we read more in depth we realize the allegations that multiple versions of the resident charts exist. According to the lawsuits, the families were given one set of records and their lawyer, Jody Moore, an Elder Abuse Attorney, was given another.

"It is highly suspicious to have 2 versions of the record," Moore said. "Medical records are supposed to be timely written and accurately record a person's symptoms and condition, as well as the treatment being given. When entries are made in a record days or weeks after the fact, and made to look like they were written contemporaneously, you have to wonder what's really going on."

Keeping two sets of medical records for elder patients would normally surprise me, but having seen enough fraud, deceit, corruption, neglect, exploitation, and betrayal in the case of my own parents to keep me writing for years, this does not surprise me in the least bit.

Deception is Commonplace in dealing with Elders..

On August 5Th. 2005, the Sheriff Department extracted Clara from where alleged abductors were holding her.

On August 23rd. 2005, she recovered enough to talk.

On August 23, 2005 Clara's outraged family and friends gathered in her home to file a sheriff report and ask for protection.

The police report states:

"THIS INVESTIGATOR DID NOT OBSERVE ANY SIGNS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE OF MRS. CLARA FERNANDEZ AT THE TIME OF 'THIS INTERVIEW. MRS. CLARA FERNANDEZ, APPEARED TO BE HAPPY BEING IN HER HOUSE AT I5 WEST CYPRESS, IDENTIFYING THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND BUILT THIS HOUSE, AND THAT IT HAS MANY MEMORIES.

Yet when the Court was told that "Clara Does Not Own any property in Key West",..... We were all left with our mouths hanging open!



The end result is that the Judge transferred Clara's case far away from her home and her husband, making for untold, expense and travel.

Such unbelievable suffering of her husband who at 87 years old now had to travel back and forth if he wanted to attend court proceedings at a place far away from their home.

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*Clara holds a life estate in the property, which is inextinguishable.