Tarr eyes probe of SeniorCare oversight

Tarr eyes probe of SeniorCare oversight

By Nancy Gaines

Correspondent The Gloucester Daily Times Sat Dec 24, 2011, 06:00 AM EST

State Sen. Bruce Tarr is pushing legislation to close a loophole in elder care law and create an independent ombudsman to address issues like those in the controversial case of Joseph Judd, the Gloucester great-grandfather at the core of an 18-month-old dispute between his caregivers and his family.

Tarr, the Senate minority leader, said his staff is also studying the appropriate avenue to investigate complaints against SeniorCare Inc., the Gloucester-based management company that oversees many state-funded elder services in Essex County.

He said he wants to know what specifically the state Executive Office of Elder Affairs, which gives SeniorCare about $9 million a year, did to investigate the Judd case after complaints were raised in June 2010 by Judd's grandson, Vito Loiacono.

An internal review by SeniorCare reportedly found no wrongdoing by its employees but left Judd's family dissatisfied.

SeniorCare has refused to release the specific findings of its probe to Judd's family. SeniorCare, which manages the services at McPherson, has repeatedly refused to discuss the case with Judd's family or the press, citing privacy concerns.

Gloucester Police also carried out two investigations, and released a report earlier this year indicating they did not find any evidence that would merit "criminal" charges. Police also, however, noted that SeniorCare was to address a number of "health-care" issues.

The state's oversight of the agency and handling of the Judd case continues to raise questions for Tarr.

"Did they — the state - have all the facts?" said Tarr. "There should be a disinterested party looking at this."

That might be the state's Inspector General, he said.

Last month, an Essex County Superior Court judge named Loiacono, 38, guardian and conservator for Judd, 84, who was rushed from the elderly housing complex at McPherson Park to Addison Gilbert Hospital in June 2010 with a near-fatal blood glucose lever of 671.

The court proceedings began in May when SeniorCare contested the right of Loiacono — who was his grandfather's health-care proxy — to obtain Judd's medical records.

Some of those records, examined by the Times, specify a treatment plan for Judd's diabetes mellitus, to be implemented by SeniorCare, which apparently did not occur.

Additional SeniorCare documents detail that Judd, who is illiterate and suffers from dementia, was allegedly not receiving his prescribed dose of anti-anxiety medication.

"If my grandfather can't get a full investigation, that doesn't say much for the elder care laws that are in place," said Loiacono. "Who's next?"

At a meeting Wednesday at the State House with constituents Loiacono, of Gloucester; Peggy Rose, a former SeniorCare case manager, of Rockport; and Maureen Flatley of Essex, a political consultant who called for the meeting after dissatisfaction with SeniorCare's treatment of her family, Tarr "brought a level of insight to deconstruct and analyze this problem in an extremely constructive way," said Flatley.

Tarr said he was particularly impressed by the detail of information that came from Rose, who had worked for SeniorCare for 13 years before being fired as she assisted Loiacono in probing his grandfather's care.

"Peggy should have had whistle-blower status," said Flatley, a public policy advocate who has worked for government reform and oversight for more than 30 years, going back to the landmark Karen Silkwood case of the 1970s.

Flatley characterized the SeniorCare issue as "a classic public policy conundrum, with jurisdictions between various state and private agencies."

She said her strong recommendation to Tarr was to get the Inspector General involved.

One year ago, in the wake of the complaints by Loiacono about SeniorCare, Tarr filed a bill to create an independent ombudsman to cover residents of all facilities licensed or certified by the state.

That was to compensate for what state officials said was their absence of oversight for McPherson, where Joseph Judd lived, because it fell into a gap called "supportive housing."

Later, state officials acknowledged they did have authority over Judd because he was also in another state-financed program called "Choices."

The original Tarr bill would eliminate any ambiguity. But as that bill idled in committee, Tarr cosponsored a watered-down bill — now also stuck in the House Ways and Means Committee — to authorize a study for a newly empowered ombudsman.

"The study shouldn't take long and I expect to see the creation of the ombudsman by spring," said Tarr. "I haven't given up."

Correspondent Nancy Gaines is a veteran reporter and editor of national and Boston publications.

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