Elder Law Prof Blog

Hebrew Home at Riverdale New York: Site for New Report on Medical Marijuana

Last week, I wrote about the possible use of medical marijuana for treatment of anxiety in patients with dementia, pointing to the importance of peer-reviewed studies.  This week, I learned of a new study on the use of medical marijuana at a nursing home, and when I read the study I was not surprised to learn the study had occurred at Hebrew Home at Riverdale in New York, a location I have come to associate with both research and thoughtful innovation.  Studies of medical marijuana are complicated by the disjunction in federal and state laws governing purchase and use.

From a study published in JAMDA, the official journal for the Society of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, this description in a press release:  

In “Medical Cannabis in the Skilled Nursing Facility: A Novel Approach to Improving Symptom Management and Quality of Life,” the authors described a medical policy and procedure (P&P) they implemented at their New York-based SNF for the safe use and administration of cannabis for residents with a qualifying diagnosis. To be compliant with state and federal statutes, policy requires that residents must purchase their own cannabis product directly from a state-certified dispensary.

 

After the program started in 2016, the facility provided educational sessions for residents and distributed a medical cannabis fact sheet that was also made available to family members. To date, 10 residents have participated in the program and seven have been receiving medical cannabis for over a year. Participants range in age from 62 to 100. Of the 10 participants, six qualified for the program due to a chronic pain diagnosis, two due to Parkinson’s disease, and one due to both diagnoses. One resident is participating in the program for a seizure disorder.

 

Most residents who use cannabis for pain management said that it has lessened the severity of their chronic pain. This, in turn, has resulted in opioid dosage reductions and an improved sense of well-being. Those individuals receiving cannabis for Parkinson’s reported mild improvement with rigidity complaints. The patient with seizure disorder has experienced a marked reduction in seizure activity with the cannabis therapy.

This study did not address cannabis as a treatment for symptoms of dementia-related anxiety.  For more, see Medical Cannabis in the Skilled Nursing Facility:  A Novel Approach to Improving Symptom Management and Quality of Life, published January 2019.  Interestingly, the authors are a medical doctor, Zachary J. Palace, and Daniel Reingold, who lists both a Masters of Social Work and a J.D. for his background. 

Relearning Basic Skills When Suffering with Dementia

There's no cure for Alzheimer's but according to a recent article in the New York Times, Dementia May Never Improve, but Many Patients Still Can Learn individuals with dementia can be taught certain forgotten skills. Known as "cognitive rehabilitation", "[t]he practice brings occupational and other therapists into the homes of dementia patients to learn which everyday activities they’re struggling with and which abilities they want to preserve or improve upon."  It's important to realize that this training won't reverse the decline from the disease, but instead "the therapists devise individual strategies that can help, at least in the early and moderate stages of the disease. The therapists show patients how to compensate for memory problems and to practice new techniques."  But, and this is important, the therapy can make a huge difference for folks with dementia---the "researchers have demonstrated that people with dementia can significantly improve their ability to do the tasks they’ve opted to tackle, their chosen priorities. Those improvements persist over months, perhaps up to a year, even as participants’ cognition declines in other ways."

Another approach being used in the U.S., the "T.A.P. program includes more patients with serious cognitive loss than cognitive rehab does. And it takes a somewhat different tack: T.A.P. aims to reduce the troubling behaviors that can accompany dementia: repeated questions, wandering, rejecting assistance, verbal or physical aggression" with the study showing "the frequency of such behaviors decreased compared to a control group, allowing family members to spend fewer daily hours caring for patients."

This is important research-read this article!

Medical Marijuana for Treatment of Dementia Agitation

Months ago, when my family was considering alternatives for care of my mother as her health deteriorated and her home became increasingly unsafe, I was talking with different providers about the challenges of care when the individual is a heavy smoker (as my mother, at age 92, still was at the time).  There are few options, and most licensed facilities bar smoking completely or limit it to locations that are not workable for someone with impaired movement.  I joked with one provider that smoking cigarettes was prohibited but that Arizona had recently authorized medical marijuana.  Arizona Statutes Section 36-2801 permits medical marijuana for those with debilitating medical conditions, including "agitation of  alzheimer's disease." 

The provider laughed and said, "oh, we don't permit smoking of marijuana either." I wasn't up-to-date on the technology!  Apparently the preferred dispensation at that location was via "gummies."  If you google "marijuana gummies" you get a remarkable range of products.

In this brave new world of medical marijuana, I can see reasons for the interest, especially in the search for safe and effective ways to help individuals whose form of dementia is marked by severe agitation.  Can marijuana "take the edge off" in a safe way?  Can doses be monitored and evaluated appropriately?  Do "gummies" provide reliable or consistent doses of the active ingredient, most likely THC?  Can there be an associated positive effect -- improved appetite (the proverbial "munchies")?  Are there reporting mechanisms on the effects of use, especially in facilities that provide dementia care, that will help capture success rates and any risks?  What about individuals with dementia who suffer from both agitation and delusional thinking -- could medical marijuana potentially reduce one symptom but increase another?  Is the CDC tracking medical marijuana gummies or other products in the context of dementia care?  

The National Conference for State Legislatures (NCSL) maintains a website on state medical marijuana laws.  NCSL reported that as of 11/8/18, 33 states, plus D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico, have approved "comprehensive" public medical marijuana programs, with additional states allowing limited use of "low THC, high CBD" products in limited situations that are not deemed comprehensive medical marijuana programs.

In January 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report based on review of "over 10,000 scientific abstracts" for marijuana health research, offering 100 conclusions related to health and ways to improve research. The conclusions are organized according to whether there is "conclusive or substantial" evidence, moderate evidence, or limited evidence about effectiveness or ineffectiveness of medical marijuana in a variety of contexts.  One conclusion suggests there is limited evidence that cannabis or cannabinoids are effective for "improving anxiety symptoms," while a separate conclusion states there is limited evidence that such substances are ineffective for "improving symptoms associated with dementia."  

I'm relatively new to review of literature associated with medical marijuana for dementia care/treatment, and welcome hearing from others who are aware of authoritative sources of information. (And just to be clear, this isn't a product we're considering for my mother!) I can see this topic becoming more important with time in our aging world, especially as additional sources of dementia-treatment evidence may become available. 

Signs of Our Times?

Walking through a grocery store last weekend, I noticed this interesting combination of magazines on display:

President Signs BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act -- $100M Funding

On December 31, 2018, the President signed S. 2076.  The bill, with the somewhat unwieldy title of "Building Our Largest Dementia Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act" or "BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act," was approved in the Senate by a voice vote on December 12  and by the House on a vote of 361 to 3.  The law amends portions of the Public Health Code (at 42 U.S.C. Section 280c) to increase funding and restate priorities related to Alzheimer's and related dementias.  The funding authorized in the last provision of the law if for "$20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024."  As one of my colleagues, administrative law guru Professor Matthew Lawrence reminds me, implementation of the new law will also likely require Congressional approval with an appropriations bill (or bills).  

The scope of this bill is, shall we say, broad.  It is not necessarily about funding research into causes or cures for dementias.  New language in the bill directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants, contracts or cooperative agreements with eligible entities (which includes "institutions of higher education") for the establishment or support of regional centers to "address" Alzheimer's and related dementias by:

    (A) advancing awareness of public health officials, health care professionals and the public on current information and research related to dementias,

    (B) identifying and translating promising research finding into evidence-based programmatic interventions for both those with dementia and their caregivers,

    (C) expanding activities related to Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and associated health disparities.

Other portions of the legislation seek to improve state and federal reporting and analysis of data on the incidence and prevalence of dementias; in addition, a section of the bill is directed to programming by state public health officials or agencies, with a 30% state matching fund requirement (unless the matching would cause "serious hardship").  

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) were two of the primary sponsors of the legislation, which reportedly received support from "183 organizations and individuals, including the Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's Impact Movement and Maria Shriver, founder of The Women's Alzheimer's Movement."

 

Thinking about New York Time's Article on Guardianships and One Woman's Personal Story

For anyone working in legal fields where adult guardianships may be an option, for anyone teaching elder law, health care law, constitutional law or even landlord-tenant law, a recent New York Times article, "I'm Petitioning . . . for the Return of My Life," is an important read.

On a threshold level, this is a well-told tale of one woman, Ms. Funke, who becomes subject to an intervention under New York adult protective services law, and, eventually, to a full-blown guardianship proceeding.   It can be easy to become enraged on behalf of Ms. Funke as you read details about her past life as a freelance journalist and world traveler, and compare it to the limitations placed on her essential existence under a guardianship. 

The article is a rather classic example of using one tragic story, a human story, to paint a picture of a government process gone wrong.  At several points in the article, the writer, John Leland, offers questions that suggest some conclusions about how unfair the process has been to Ms. Funke.  The writer asks, for example, 

"If you were Ms. Funke, shouldn't you be allowed to withdraw into the covers [of your bed] if you wanted to?  And the clutter in your apartment -- couldn't people understand that a writer needs materials around?  Even if she were evicted, she had money to start somewhere else.  Courts evict people with lots less [than she appears to have]. " 

It's implied that the answers to those questions may outweigh the fact that the protective services intervention prevented the landlord from completing an eviction of Ms. Funke, an eviction that would have forced her out of her apartment of 40+ years.    

Other, less dramatic details in the article suggest that for every Ms. Funke, there may be other people -- an unknown number of people in New York -- who are also very alone and who have also lost control over their lives because of physical frailty, mental decline, depression or other facts, and who are rescued with the help of a protective services intervention. Sometimes the intervention interrupts the decline, usually with the help of family member or friend who volunteers to help, sometimes acting with a measure of authority under a power of attorney, making a guardianship unnecessary. 

The challenge, of course, is knowing when to help (and how far to go), and when to preserve the  individual's right  to make choices that appear unsafe.  Some of the most complex cases involve people who have spent a lifetime on a unique and often solo path, and now have few family members or friends to help them as that path becomes rockier with age or illness, especially when they have no plan for the future.  In the face of such facts, as one person interviewed in the article observes, guardianships are a "blunt instrument."

Something I wrote about last week also figures into the New York situation -- the apparent absence of a guardianship case tracking or monitoring system.  

But another issue I'm concerned with is also suggested.  At one point, an interview with one of Ms. Funke's guardians, a so-called professional (in other words, not a family member or a public guardian) discloses he does not know how far his authority as guardian extends.  For example, would he be allowed to prevent her from marrying?  He responded, he did not know.

It would seem that guardians and other agents, alleged incapacitated persons, -- and family members -- could all benefit from greater information, and to ongoing education on their rights, duties and options.  That was also a theme emerging from article asking the question  "Where's Grandma?" that I linked to last week and that I link to again here.    

My thanks to the several folks who suggested this New York Times article for discussion on our Blog, including my Dickinson Law colleague, international human rights expert, Dermot Groome.    

The Importance of Guardianship Tracking Systems (and a related CLE Program!)

I've been a bit busier than usual lately and haven't felt I could take the time to Blog regularly even though I'm constantly seeing intriguing topics to discuss.  I'm buried in a manuscript with a looming deadline!  Fortunately, I'm seeing that Becky Morgan is keeping everyone updated and I've been benefiting from her regular reports.  I hope to get back to daily posts of my own by January.  

In the meantime, I can report on a smaller, interim task of  serving as a co-presenter for a half-day Continuing Legal Education program at the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on  new developments in Guardianship Practice and Procedure on Friday, December 7.   Among the important developments, the Pennsylvania Courts is nearing completion on its statewide implementation of a Guardian Tracking System or GTS.  In 2014, the Supreme Court's Elder Law Task Force strongly recommended adoption of such a system, having determined just how little was actually known across the state about open guardian cases.  Implementation of the new system began with a pilot in Allegheny County in July 2018.  As of today, 60 counties are "live" in the system.  The remaining 7 counties are scheduled to be included by the end of this month.

With the help of the new tracking system, I learned that we currently have more than 14,000 active guardianships in Pennsylvania.

Key features of the GTS system include:

• Automation:  a means of automatically running a process to check specific aspects of guardianship reports for missing information or other concerns;
• Flagging:  when a concern is detected, the item is automatically flagged, allowing court personnel to review and respond to the potential problem;
• State-wide Court Communications: providing the court system with a means of immediate and cost-effective state-wide communications whenever a judge in one case is alerted to suspicion of neglect or other improper conduct by a guardian; and
• Alerts on Specific Guardians:  when an "alert" is triggered on a specific guardian in one case, the system will generate notices to all of the other courts in the state, alerting them to the potential need for action on that individual in their cases.  

Such a system required entirely new software, new reporting forms, and new court rules to make implementation effective.  We will be talking extensively about the new rules and forms on Friday.  The migration  from the older system of record-keeping imposes a huge learning curve on many involved in guardianship matters, including lawyers.

The need for better systems in Pennsylvania has been highlighted during the last year of controversies surrounding appointment of one particular individual as guardian for alleged incapacitated persons in three Pennsylvania counties.  She is accused of mismanaging cases, plus it turned out she had a criminal history for fraud in another state. 

See also the recent news reports about another Pennsylvania guardianship matter that asks the troubling question "Where's Grandma?" The  reporter on this case, Cherri Gregg, who also happens to be a lawyer, opines that everyone in the case, including the lawyer appointed as guardian, and the family members of the person subject to the guardianship, needed better education about their roles after the grandmother's own children passed away, as the grandmother became more vulnerable, and especially when it became necessary to place her in a nursing home.  

My special thanks to Karen Buck, Executive Director of the SeniorLAW Center in Philadelphia, and the good folks at Pennsylvania Courts' Office of Elder Justice for helping me with my part of the presentation for Friday!

SNF Silver Tsunami Hitting Texas?

A recent article mentioned that the number of elders in Texas who will need SNF care is going to be a "silver tsunami."  The Houston Chronicle published this article, Silver Tsunami set to hit Texas nursing homes where the article acknowledges "[m]ore than 12 percent of the Texas population is over 65, and that number is growing. According to the Texas Demographic Center, the over-65 population across the state is projected to increase by more than 262 percent by 2050." But it is more than the numbers creating this "silver tsunami: the impact is magnified "by the increasingly complex medical conditions — such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s — of aging Texans needing nursing home care. According to data from the Alzheimer’s Association “2018 Texas Facts and Figures,” more than 380,000 of the state’s residents have already developed Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. In Texas, Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death, and its prevalence is expected to increase by almost 30 percent by 2025."

The article also highlights the fact that in many instances the caregivers themselves will be elders.

We all need to be planning ahead.....

Decline in US Life Expectancy

U.S. life expectancy has declined. What's up with that? According to an article in the Washington Post, this is not good news for us. U.S. life expectancy declines again, a dismal trend not seen since World War I emphasizes the impact of the opioid and suicide crises.

The data continued the longest sustained decline in expected life span at birth in a century, an appalling performance not seen in the United States since 1915 through 1918. That four-year period included World War I and a flu pandemic that killed 675,000 people in the United States and perhaps 50 million worldwide.

The U.S. trend seems to be opposite of what is happening in other countries, and although the decline may not seem very large, it is still part of an overall concerning trend. The numbers re: opioid deaths cited in the article are shocking. Read the article to absorb the data and look at the geographical info detailing where opioid deaths are highest and lowest.  It's just not drug deaths attributing to the decline. "Other factors in the life expectancy decline include a spike in deaths from flu last winter and increases in deaths from chronic lower respiratory diseases, Alz­heimer’s disease, strokes and suicide. Deaths from heart disease, the No. 1 killer of Americans, which had been declining until 2011, continued to level off. Deaths from cancer continued their long, steady, downward trend."

Senate Special Committee on Aging-Guardianship Hearing

Earlier I had blogged about the upcoming hearing on guardianships scheduled for the Senate Special Committee on Aging The hearing was held on November 28, 2018, and a report as well as the video of the hearing are now available.  You can also access the witness statements here.

The Latest Robot Caregiver

With Thanksgiving 2018 behind us and family on our minds, it seemed timely that the New York Times ran an article about the newest entry into robot caregivers.  Meet Zora, the Robot Caregiver explains that this small robot, perhaps "more cute toy than futuristic marvel ...  is at the center of an experiment in France to change care for elderly patients." The nursing home using Zora found that residents, with dementia or needing 24 hour care,forrmed emotional attachments to it. A nurse, out of sight of residents, controls the robot via a laptop, giving it commands to speak and do activities such as exercises and games. 

The article focuses as well on the shortcomings of any robotic caregivers-that is, they aren't human.  Regardless, we all know about the looming caregiver shortage. Will robot caregivers fill that shortage? 

The experience at Jouarre provides a window into a future when we will rely more on robots to help care for loved ones as they age.

Zora Bots, the Belgium-based provider of the robot at Jouarre, says it has sold over 1,000 of the robots to health care facilities around the world, including in the United States, Asia and Middle East. It is part of a growing emphasis on robotics focused on care. A robot dog made by Sony has been marketed as a companion for older adults.

France, the article explains faces ongoing and serious issues regarding health care

[H]ospitals have been facing a national crisis, with health care professionals striking and protesting budget cuts and staff shortages. A rise of suicides of nurses and doctors has made national headlines, and France’s health minister acknowledged that the hospital system was “running out of steam.”

The challenge will be creating machines capable of doing more complex jobs. Lifting a patient’s mood with a song is different from providing health care. The French hospital, which bought the robot with the help of a charitable grant, brings out Zora just a few times a month.

In Australia, a hospital using a Zora robot studied the effects on patients and staff. The researchers found that it improved the mood of some patients, and got them more involved in activities, but required significant technical support.

The experience of the French hospital staff has been similar.

However, these robot caregivers are not health care providers-at least not yet. What the research has shown is that the residents can feel emotional bonds with the robots and they can help residents feel happier, or even, as the article notes, confide things in the robots that they won't tell human caregivers.

Stay tuned....

Caregivers need to save for retirement

We all know that caregiving can be a 24/7/365 job.  And many caregivers are working full time and caregiving part-time, while others leave their jobs to caregive. In those situations, it is no less important for caregivers to save for their own retirement, no matter how hard that may seem to be.  US News ran a story, Caregivers Should Save for Retirement which focuses on caregiving for someone with special needs. The article highlights the issues

ADVANCES IN MEDICINE and technology are allowing Americans – including those with special needs and disabilities – to enjoy longer, fuller lives. Still, as a caregiver, the emotional, physical and financial toll can be draining and could potentially prevent you from being able to plan for your own future. Research shows 30 percent of caregivers are not saving and investing for their own retirement because of the time and cost required for caring for those with special needs.

The article suggests the following for the caregiver: check out the available programs and benefits, continue savings and don't forget to invest, consider the implications of your financial situation on the individual with special needs who is applying for means-tested assistance, be aware of the impact of well-meaning relatives making a testamentary gift for the individual, and housing options and their various levels of care to name a few. The article also discusses special needs trusts and ends with this:

The key takeaway is that planning for your financial future, while at the same time ensuring continuity of care for a loved one, can be extremely complex, but you don't have to do this alone. Leveraging professional resources and revisiting your plan periodically can help keep you on track as your needs, and the needs of your family, continue to evolve.

Stan Lee has died

Stan Lee has died at age 95.  Many will recognize him as the creator of many famous superheroes in the Marvel comic universe.  Movies based on his superheroes have been blockbusters and his cameos were one of the highlights of the films. More recently though, he has been in the news because of an issue familiar to elder law attorneys.  As the New York Times reported in his obituary, 

In Mr. Lee’s final years, after the death of his wife, the circumstances of his business affairs and contentious financial relationship with his surviving daughter attracted attention in the news media. In 2018, Mr. Lee was embroiled in disputes with POW!, and The Daily Beast and The Hollywood Reporter ran accounts of fierce infighting among Mr. Lee’s daughter, household staff and business advisers. The Hollywood Reporter claimed “elder abuse.”

In February 2018, Mr. Lee signed a notarized document declaring that three men — a lawyer, a caretaker of Mr. Lee’s and a dealer in memorabilia — had “insinuated themselves into relationships with J. C. for an ulterior motive and purpose,” to “gain control over my assets, property and money.” He later withdrew his claim, but longtime aides of his — an assistant, an accountant and a housekeeper — were either dismissed or greatly limited in their contact with him.

In a profile in The New York Times in April, a cheerful Mr. Lee said, “I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” adding that “my daughter has been a great help to me” and that “life is pretty good” — although he admitted in that same interview, “I’ve been very careless with money.”

Famous Faces of Dementia

Soon after Justice O'Connor's announcement, the New York Times ran an article, Dementia Is Getting Some Very Public Faces.

Focusing on the issue of stigma that accompanies the disease, the article notes the impact of Justice O'Connor going public about her condition.  Dementia and specifically Alzheimer's can strike any one, regardless of fame or fortune. As the article notes

Justice O’Connor had joined a growing but still tiny group: public figures who choose to share a dementia diagnosis. ...  The breakthrough came in 1994, when Ronald and Nancy Reagan released a handwritten letter disclosing his Alzheimer’s disease.

“In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition,” the former president wrote. “Perhaps it will encourage a clearer understanding of the individuals and families who are affected by it.”

Musician Glen Campbell and his family reached a similar decision in 2011, announcing his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, and several farewell concerts, in a magazine interview. The concerts became a 15-month tour and an intimate, unflinching documentary.

The famous folks also include Pat Summit and Gene Wilder.  So what is the value of famous folks going public with their diagnosis? We already know that a large number of folks are diagnosed with dementia and that Alzheimer's disease in particular is horrible disease in my opinion.

It’s hardly an obscure condition. About 5.7 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, the Alzheimer’s Association estimates. That represents just 60 to 80 percent of people with dementia, which takes multiple forms.

Though dementia rate seems to be declining, possibly because of rising education levels and better treatment for conditions like hypertension, both of which seem to help prevent dementia. But the number of Americans affected will continue to grow as the population grows and ages.

Already, Alzheimer’s has become the fifth leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older — and the only one for which medicine can’t yet offer prevention or treatment.

The article explains the value of famous folks going public with their diagnosis lessens the stigma others may feel from that diagnosis. Plus it may lead to earlier diagnosis for others and although there is no cure, it gives the patient and families more time to plan.

8 Briefs-Financial Exploitation by Conservators

The National Center for State Courts project on  Elders & Courts, with other organizations have published  a series of 8 research briefs on Financial Exploitation by Conservators.  The topics include

• Examples of Conservator Exploitation: An Overview
• Conservator Exploitation in Minnesota: An Analysis of Judicial Response
• Detecting Exploitation by Conservators – Court Monitoring
• Detecting Exploitation by Conservators – Systemic Approach
• Court Actions Upon Detection of Exploitation
• Innovative Programs that Address Financial Exploitation by Conservators
• Data Quality Undermines Accountability in Conservatorship Cases
• Supporting Victims of Conservator Exploitation

as well as key resources for these cases.

The introduction explains the impetus for the work, the 8 briefs, definitions of common terms and the reason for the project

NCSC in 2016 estimated, based on projections, that there are approximately 1.3 million active adult guardianship or conservatorship cases in the United States and at least $50 billion in assets under conservatorships (see Data Quality Brief). Also in 2016, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that “the extent of elder abuse by guardians nationally is unknown due to limited data . . .” While many conservators are trustworthy, dedicated, and provide critically needed services, multiple media accounts over many years profile instances in which conservators have breached their fiduciary duty – taking advantage of those they were charged with protecting. (citations omitted)

 

10 Commandments of Capacity

The ABA Commission on Law & Aging published its September-October newsletter, BIOFOCAL. The lead article is on  The Ten Commandments of Mental "Capacity" and the Law.

Recognizing the evolving state on the issue of capacity, the article explains 

[R]ecent changes have called the legal term “capacity” into question. The U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Article 12 recognizes that “persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity on an equal basis with others in all aspects of life” and that governments must take measures to assist individuals in exercising their capacity. The emerging principle of supported decision-making focuses on providing the needed support to help people make decisions. Finally, the 2017 Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act (UGCOPAA), approved by the Uniform Law Commission for adoption by state legislatures, does not use the term “capacity” – rather, it guides courts in determining whether there is a “basis” for the appointment of a guardian, taking into account needed supports and supported decision-making.

The article goes on to offer Ten Commandments:

1. presume capacity, 2. talk alone to the client, 3. make efforts to increase the client's abilities, 4. recognize there is no one "universal standard for assessing capacity", 5. lawyers shouldn't administer the mini-mental status exam, 6. remember it's capacity to do a specific task, 7. remember to examine the big picture, 8. keep the client's wishes, goals, etc. in the forefront, 9. remember client confidentiality and autonomy, and 10. remember the importance of advance planning.

 

 

 

 

Dementia and Firearms

Kaiser Health News wrote about when a doctor should have a conversation with a patient with dementia about gun ownership.  Dementia And Guns: When Should Doctors Broach The Topic? explains the lack of guidance for health care professionals on whether and how to address the topic with patients.

Some patients refuse to answer. Many doctors don’t ask. As the number of Americans with dementia rises, health professionals are grappling with when and how to pose the question: “Do you have guns at home?”

While gun violence data is scarce, a Kaiser Health News investigation with PBS NewsHour published in June uncovered over 100 cases across the U.S. since 2012  in which people with dementia used guns to kill themselves or others.  

As well, a diagnosis of dementia doesn't automatically mean a person is unable to handle a firearm.  One program, according to the article, has developed guidance for health care professionals regarding gun violence.  There are others who take the opposite view and one expert interviewed for the article reports that some patients are seeking out physicians who are "gun-friendly," resulting in the creation of a referral service.

The article defines the issues as (1) the legality of health care providers asking patients about gun ownership, (2) the reasons health care providers may not ask, (3) the timing of any such conversation, (4) recommendations regarding firearm ownership by those with dementia, and (5) what happens when the health care provider asks,  The article discusses each of these issues from both perspectives. 

I was aware that some professional guardians have dealt with the question of gun ownership when appointed to a case. This article offers a glimpse into the topic from the perspective of health care providers.  The Hook Law Center also published a piece about guns and dementia based on a recent article in the New York Times. One of the points made in that article

The conversation about gun ownership and dementia may arise in any setting and can be initiated by a professional such as an elder law attorney or financial advisor.  Many are hesitant to reveal gun ownership but, for those who do, they often don’t want to reveal locations, nor do they want to voluntarily give up possession of their firearms.  When the discussion focuses on “taking things away” for a person with a diagnosis of dementia, this may feel like additional loss of control and can be extremely unpleasant.  Instead, the conversation should be approached as one of safety.  Unfortunately, dementia can often interfere with a person’s reasoning and decision-making skills, and the person may lack insight into the potential problem.  However, when the discussion is presented as one of safety for themselves and loved ones, the conversation feels like less of an intrusion.

The article on the Hook Law website also addresses what to do with any firearms removed from someone with dementia, recommending "caution when removing firearms from a home and when advising individuals." Even though most states allow the temporary transfer of a firearm to a family member without a background check" not all do so, according to the article. The article also notes the prohibition on convicted felons possessing a fire arm "and states have strict laws about allowing the private sale of guns.  Some gun stores and ranges offer storage and transportation options." The article recommends consulting with an attorney before acting. 

PS-this is not intended to be a political post. I am just intending to keep readers up to date on topics relating to elder law.

 

Good Life in Later Years

The latest issue of the  Hastings Center Report is devoted to examining what gives a good life to someone in later life.  Volume 48, Issue S3 is titled What Makes a Good Life in Late Life? Citizenship and Justice in Aging Societies. All 15 of the articles are available for free. The topics run the gamut from social policies to age-friendly initiatives to housing to communities to advance directives for people with dementia, to name a few. Be sure to read the introduction before reading any of the individual articles, so you have the context of the volume. Here's the abstract for the introduction

The ethical dimensions of an aging society are larger than the experience of chronic illness, the moral concerns of health care professionals, or the allocation of health care resources. What, then, is the role of bioethics in an aging society, beyond calling attention to these problems? Once we’ve agreed that aging is morally important and that population‐level aging across wealthy nations raises ethical concerns that cannot be fixed through transhumanism or other appeals to transcend aging and mortality through technology, what is our field’s contribution? We argue that it is time for bioethics to turn toward social justice and problems of injustice and that part of doing so is articulating a concept of good citizenship in an aging society that goes beyond health care relationships.

Good stuff!

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's Courage

My father and Sandra Day O'Connor happen to have many moments in common.  My father and Sandra both grew up in the deserts of Arizona.  They both practiced law in Phoenix.  Indeed, they even shared the same birthday, although my father was a few years older and passed away in 2017.  They socialized in the same circles and their spouses were friends with each other as well.  

Now they share one more event, and that is the personal experience of dementia.  My father, who had already stepped down as a federal judge at the district court level before he was diagnosed, never really accepted the diagnosis.  I think the disease sometimes robs the individual of understanding.  I admire Justice O'Connor and her family for the public announcement they made this week, disclosing her diagnosis of dementia, most likely of an Alzheimer's type.  

All best wishes, to the whole O'Connor family.   As one news story reminds us, there are an estimated 5.7 million Americans with Alzheimer's Disease and almost two-thirds of them are women.  

Fictional Times in Dementia Care

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about "reminiscence therapy" used for people with dementia. The New Yorker has added to the literature on this topic with the recent article, The Comforting Fictions of Dementia Care.

The article describes different efforts by facilities, from common rooms designed to resemble eras gone by giving residents baby dolls that simulate real babies. For those who ask routinely to go home, "many nursing homes and hospitals have installed fake bus stops. When a person asks to go home, an aide takes them to the bus stop, where they sit and wait for a bus that never comes. At some point, when they are tired, and have forgotten what they are doing there, they are persuaded to go back." One company based in Boston used technology to simulate conversations. Known as "Simulated Presence Therapy"  this system "mak[es] a prerecorded audiotape to simulate one side of a phone conversation. A relative or someone close to the patient would put together an “asset inventory” of the patient’s cherished memories, anecdotes, and subjects of special interest; a chatty script was developed from the inventory, and a tape was recorded according to the script, with pauses every now and then to allow time for replies. When the tape was ready, the patient was given headphones to listen to it and told that they were talking to the person over the phone."  The article notes that those with short term memory loss can listen to the tape routinely. Technology has made simulations even more realistic and interactive, down to "footage of a passing scene [giving] the impression of movements."

The article features details of various enterprises and highlights at least one facility's efforts. It's definitely worth reading.

Thanks to my colleague, Professor Bauer, for sending me the link.