Assisted living facility owners, sisters arrested for cheating government

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:32:45 +0000

Sisters Duanne Bewely, 36, and Fiona Nicolas, 38, worked as a team, running Faith Manor Vermont and Faith Manor Melrose assisted living facilities in south Florida. They marketed themselves as a fully licensed facility and won over the trust of physicians and clinic owners, who would refer patients to their homes. Those health care professionals now say they would have never put patients in the care of the sisters had they known they were lying and cheating the government.

Earlier this week the sisters were arrested and charged with a third-degree felony of one count of operating and/or maintaining an assisted living facility without a license. If convicted, the sisters each face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to All Headline News.

The arrests followed an investigation by law enforcement and Attorney General Bill McCollum’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. The unit’s Patient Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation (PANE) team also was involved in the investigation.

Earlier this year, the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration sent notices to each of the homes requiring the facilities to close. The women stand trial in the Judicial Curcuit Court on April 17th.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Assisted living facility owners, sisters arrested for cheating government

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Caregiver charged in hypothermia death of disabled woman

Jennifer Walker-Journey — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:05:22 +0000

Jean Lemire was alive when police arrived at her caregiver’s home in Calais, Vermont. But she was unconscious and only partially dressed. It was obvious to police what had happened to Lemire. The 47-year-old developmentally disabled woman who was involved in the Special Olympics and worked in a restaurant, was suffering from hypothermia as a result of going without medical attention, food or drink for six days.

Lemire was transported to Central Vermont Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead, according to the Times Argus (Vermont).

Lemire lived at the home of Julie A. Davis, who was assigned to be her caregiver beginning last spring. Davis had had other disabled individuals living with her in the past but there were never any complaints from neighbors to police, according to the report. No previous abuse complaints had been filed and Davis’ home appeared tidy and well kept.

Davis worked for Lincoln Street, a specialized service agency. She, like other caregivers, received a monthly, tax-free stipend for having someone in her care.

Last summer was one of the rainiest on record for Vermont, which may have contributed to Lemire’s hypothermia and subsequent death, police said. Hypothermia is condition that results when the body loses too much heat and can hinder metabolism and bodily functions and can lead to death.

Davis was charged with abuse and neglect of a vulnerable adult by a caregiver, which carries a $10,000 fine and/or up to 15 years in prison. Davis is due in Washington County District Court on Dec. 4th.

SOURCE: Nursing Home Abuse › Caregiver charged in hypothermia death of disabled woman

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Nursing Home Abuse » Vermont

Assisted living facility owners, sisters arrested for cheating government

Caregiver charged in hypothermia death of disabled woman