Flash forward to when Marion keeps getting my mom involuntarily committed. A family member accuses you of weird behavior and you get sent to the "Nut house". (providing the police believe your behavior warrants being sent there which it generally will). As you can imagine, once your on record it doesn't take much for the police to agree with the family's assessment that you belong back in the "nut house".
On Tuesday, Feb 9, 2010 I received a frantic message from my mom that she had gotten into a fight with Marion & been taken to Jordan Hospital by the police (The Kingston Police). My mom called me again, & I not only spoke with her for quite awhile, but also spoke with a nurse there (in regards to my mom). The nurse explained that my mom would be transferred to a hospital where a bed opened up. My mom called again on Wed Feb 10, 2010, but the message I received from her ended in mid sentence. When I called Jordan hospital I (my mom's only child) was informed that (under the "so called" Hippo law) they were not able to disclose to me the location where my mom had been taken to. (Are you fking kidding me?) The are only allowed to disclose this information to the person with POA over my mom (the aunt who hates my guts & wants nothing more than to see me suffer).
My aunt has made the "kind" decision to completely isolate my mom from the outside world. 3 of my mom's friends called Marion up to express concern over the fact that none of us had heard a peep from my mom since she had been transferred from Jordan Hospital to some undisclosed location. Marion coldly said to all 3 of my mom's friends, "I'm not telling ANYONE where Evelyn is"? Would anybody be foolish to believe that this woman has my mom's best interests at heart? What better way to destroy somebody's mind (so you can LEGALLY sell off all that person's assets) than to utterly isolate that person from his/her only child & good friends?
Now (of course) Marion did say, "If Evelyn wants to call you she will". My mom has never not kept in touch with me. She knows that I would be worried sick. If she isn't calling me it's 100% certain that she is not able to call me (that she either has been expressly forbidden to call anybody or that she's so heavily sedated and tied down that she is unable to call me). I know that she is not doing this to me (causing me this utter agony) by choice! The mere fact that she's constantly called me during her stay at any mental hospital is proof of that. The mere fact that she IMMEDIATELY called me from Jordan Hospital is proof of that.
I'm beside myself with worry (and that's what my aunt wants). That has to be the EPITOME of evil (to separate a mother & child). I can't fathom this Hippo law that only allows a hospital to disclose info about the patient to the person holding the POA. That document allows my evil, conniving aunt to play GOD.
My mom can't rescind the POA, because she is mentally ill. It has to go through court. I would have to take my aunt to court. The POA she has on my mom was drawn up & stamped by her husband (something I'm praying might simply be ILLEGAL) & is the most binding POA in existence (according to both the Plymouth Court House & the Internet).
On an "interesting" note (while I'm barely hanging on) I never IMAGINED in a million years that my aunt had so much power. I didn't know that she could actually REFUSE to tell anybody where my mom is? I'm numb with disbelief & kind of regretting sending my aunt a rather nasty (but utterly justifiable) email before my mom got hospitalized yet again. I'm quite certain my aunt is WOUNDING ME with WORRY to simply "get back at me" END OF STORY, except that my aunt knows that the fact that I know my mom is terrified is also KILLING ME (and making my aunt dilerious with joy).
Answer by Mark
You need to call the District Attorney's Office in the city where your mom lives and see if they have any grounds to prosecute your aunt under elder abuse laws. Your other option would be to go to court where your mom lives and either take legal care of her through a conservatorship or have the power of attorney voided. (The conservatorship would automatically void the power of attorney.
The hospital is acting under its legal obligations.
Answer by Michael H
Your question is kind of long, but there is a short answer, HIPAA is a law that protects a patients privacy, without the express permission of the patient, then no information can be released to anyone except a) other people involved in the care of your mother, b) insurance companies who are directly involved with your mothers care, or c) people that your mother specified.
I am not sure about MA, but in Texas, there is a difference between a POA and a Medical POA, one does not allow you to make decisions about the other.
A POA is good only as long as the person who signed it wants it to be, if your Mom does not want her sister to be the POA, she can simply write a letter, and rescind it, she can tell the hospital that her sister is no longer her POA, and that is legally the end of the POA, no if's ands or buts about it.
So in short, there is more to the story in MA that you are not aware of.
POA's do NOT give someone control over another person, they allow the person to make decisions in the event they cannot make them. Your mother's sister (again, unless there is something else going on) does not control your mother's care enough to refuse to allow her to make phone calls.
The nurse you talked to is correct.
Orignal From: Will a mental hospital prevent a patient from calling somebody per ORDERS from a POA or Health Care Proxy?
No comments:
Post a Comment