As you know, I have a terminal disease FTD. I do not know how much time I have, none of us really do. I did not think that this would happen to me and I REALLY DID NOT KNOW how helpless I would be to protect myself and my family. I will not yet go into detail at this time on how my family and I were trampled on, abused, tortured and financially destroyed. I hope that I have time to tell that story, but if I do not my family will. It can happen to you, you can find yourself defenseless and the odds are increasing daily that you or someone you love will find yourself in a situation that blindsides you with the reality that is. Many are not as lucky as me, they have no one to defend them My big brother Bill has fought for me and defended me as I can not. He is his brothers keeper and I am blessed that he has fought for me and my family. I can never thank him enough, he is my hero. I hope for your sake that you my friends will take time to read his story below, it is one that will shock you, inform you, and may even help you protect yourself and you loved ones. NPR will be airing a story about this report March 5th on the “All Things Considered” radio show. NPR’s Ina Jaffe interviewed me regarding the death of Kelly’s (my wife) father in one of these “skilled” nursing facilities. We discussed our fight to protect life, and restoring the rights of our most vulnerable. She may, or may not use our interview, but regardless, the OIG report oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-06-11-00370.asp exposes the horror taking place to our most vulnerable citizens in these facilities. In Texas, we expect our political representation to pass laws that protect the people, but instead our “so called” representation has allowed the Health Care Lobbyist groups to write laws protecting the interest of the Health Care Industry, while sacrificing the lives of the innocent. With the passing of Prop 12 (Tort Reform) in 2003, our most vulnerable Texans became acceptable collateral damage, in the quest to guarantee corporate profits for the Health Care Industry. Many other states have adopted this same strategy. They sold us on the idea of eliminating the “out of control, frivolous” lawsuits. What they do not tell us, is their definition of a “frivolous lawsuit” is “ANY Litigation”, justified or not. The Tort Reform law exempts the health care industry from accountability for their misbehavior. The victims of their reckless actions have no recourse, as the facilities operate with abandon. When the results of this law became apparent, you might think people’s morals would kick in, and they would correct their egregious error. Unfortunately, when the moral compass of our representation is determined by the MONEY involved, the value of human life is easily compromised. The Health Care Industry Lobby Groups control OUR elected representation with a fist full of money. Money, they will not hesitate to throw into the coffers of an opponent, if someone dares to take a stand for the people. Why do we tolerate this behavior? Our loved ones to not deserve this mistreatment. Charles Caldwell was dying, but he did not have to die that day, and in that horrific way. Due to the actions of an incompetent health care provider, we will forever have the vivid image of our father’s eyes begging for the help that could not be provided. Until “We the People” take a stand to protect the innocent, this insanity will continue. The OIG report shows that your family has a 32% chance of experiencing this same horror. If the government study shows 32%, you can certainly depend on that number actually being greater. How many needlessly lost lives are acceptable before we stop this madness. Please go to chn.ge/12eBVX3 and sign our petition to send a clear message to our elected representation that we will no longer tolerate this behavior! Every time the petition is signed, a copy is sent to every state representative and every state senator. OIG Report: Adverse Events in Skilled Nursing Facilities: National Incidence Among Medicare Beneficiaries WHAT WE FOUND An estimated 22 percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced adverse events during their SNF stays. An additional 11 percent of Medicare beneficiaries experienced temporary harm events during their SNF stays. Physician reviewers determined that 59 percent of these adverse events and temporary harm events were clearly or likely preventable. They attributed much of the preventable harm to substandard treatment, inadequate resident monitoring, and failure or delay of necessary care. Over half of the residents who experienced harm returned to a hospital for treatment, with an estimated cost to Medicare of $208 million in August 2011. This equates to $2.8 billion spent on hospital treatment for harm caused in SNFs in FY 2011. Sincerely, Bill and Kelly Putnam Proverbs 31:8 Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 07:13:22 +0000
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