Dear Tom Fields,
Thank you for your inquiry and concern with respect to the rights of senior citizens. Every day in America these rights are being abuse and exploited. The concerns you express are legitimate and I have been a witness to how such rights are abused and exploited in my own dear mother's case. She was hospitalized, then later placed in a nursing home for temporary rehabilitation. When I discovered that the nursing home was doping her up so she would be like a zombie and sign anything anyone put in front of her, I made arrangements to have her transferred to a superior facility. Then the nursing home had their legal team stop this transfer. Now she is a virtual prisoner in this corrupt facility until the day she dies. Her durable power of attorney was corrupted as well as her Last Will and Testament. These corrupt people took power and control over her the result of which was loss of all family income such that there was not even any way to pay a private attorney to make a legal claim against such abuse, exploitation and corruption. This also had the horrible result of her not now being cared for in the manner she had planned and desired, such that all her dignity and respect has been lost, in addition to her home, income and everything! My dear mother's case is only one of many in America, where the rights of the elderly have been abused and exploited for profit. Corrupt nursing homes, lawyers, judges and hostile family members all benefit from such abuse and exploitation. Having experienced this firsthand I decided to publish my own mother's story on-line to at least try to educate and inform people of what is going on and how our elderly parents are being abused, exploited and having their rights trampled on by greedy and corrupt people.
If you are aware of similar abuse, exploitation and corruption, I encourage you to publish your account on-line. Make a web site or post a video on YouTube telling your story. Those who exploit the elderly do not want the general public to know what they are doing and how they profit. So every time someone reveals the truth, it helps shed the light and will contribute to changing the laws and making the world a better and saver place for our elderly parents and grandparents in the future.
Again, thank you for expressing your concern. I will probably publish your email letter along with this reply on the ERA site (exclusive of your phone number) as it may help others.
Sincerely,
Terry Lynch, Director
ERA
Hi Terry,
Your website at http://www.byteland.org/era/index.html suggests that you are trying to raise awareness about the role of the legal profession in exploiting vulnerable older adults and their heirs.
With that in mind, I am writing to ask you to consider and share with others the simple points presented below.
Thank you,
Tom Fields Mentor, Ohio
----- Point #1 -----
Under normal circumstances, witnessing the signature of a document is little more than a formality. But under some circumstances, such as when someone signs a Will while morphine is being dripped into their veins under a Do Not Resuscitate order, witnessing a document needs to be much more than a formality. Unfortunately, it isn't, and that is one of the outstanding problems which lawmakers fail to realistically address.
----- Point #2 -----
This problem is addressed by a recommendation that was proposed by the American Medical Association and is included on pages 5 and 6 of the Ohio Physicians Elder Abuse Prevention Project Report. Much of this report, including the important pages mentioned here, is copied online, beginning with the report's front cover at http://home.roadrunner.com/~tvfields/OSMAReport/FramesetCoverA.htm
----- Point #3 -----
This problem was also addressed at the White House Conference on Aging by a complementary proposal that is copied online at http://home.roadrunner.com/~tvfields/2005WHCOAHandout/Frameset01.htm
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