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The Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has opened an investigation into the alleged discrimination of an elderly Warren County man who had been denied admission to nursing homes in the county because his daughter is, according to Glens Falls Hospital, a "controversial person in [the] geographical area".
Gerald Maxam of Chestertown, 88, in declining health and in need of placement in a nursing home or returned to his own home with nursing care, has been held virtually as a hostage at Glens Falls Hospital since February with the hospital financially benefiting by billing Medicaid instead of him being returned to his home with home care or placed in a nursing home near his family.
Now they want every penny of income he receives and have attached his real property, charging him at least $750 per day while admitting he is not in need of hospital care.
OCR is responsible for enforcing a Federal law that protects the privacy of health information and variety of Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination. Specifically, OCR has jurisdiction over programs and entities that receive Federal financial assistance from HHS in cases involving discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, disability and under certain circumstances, sex and religion. Additionally, OCT has jurisdiction over health and human service programs operated by HHS or by state and local public entities in case involving disability-based discrimination such as Mr. Maxam's.
Additionally, OCR has jurisdiction over health plans, health care clearinghouses, and certain health care providers with respect to enforcement of the Federal Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information.
Any entity covered by HHS civil rights laws or that receives assistance from HHS, such as Glens Falls Hospital and nursing homes in the county, may not intimidate, threaten, coerce or act in any other discriminatory manner against anyone who has either taken action or participated in an action to secure their rights under these laws.
Since March, efforts have been made to place the elderly man in a nursing home in Warren County, preferably at Eden Park Health Care Center in Glens Falls where his wife of 59 years is a resident.
But Eden Park as well as West Mount, the county operated nursing home, have refused admission to Mr. Maxam because his daughter is a "controversial person" according to the hospital although no one from the county facility has ever contacted his daughter.
His daughter is June Maxam, co-publisher of The Empire Journal and publisher of The North Country Gazette, a long time critic of government, focusing particularly on corruption in the criminal justice system---especially judicial tyranny. As coordinator of the NYS Oaths Project, she challenged the legitimacy of the state's judiciary for their failure to comply with the law in the taking and filing their oath of office and bonds and won, with the state Legislature passing a bill "clarifying" the law and agreeing that town and village justices are required to file their oaths and bonds in three locations or else they vacate their office.
In late August, she was notified that the hospital wanted Warren County and Robert Phelps, director of the Warren County Department of Social Services, to be awarded guardianship of her father. They say that the nursing homes in Warren County refused him as a patient because of who his daughter is and because she refused to allow the hospital to ship him to a Washington County nursing home in Granville which would require family members to travel over an hour and a half one way to visit him.
"Under ordinary circumstances, the refusal to agree to a nursing home placement on two occasions would not give rise to a petition for guardianship, particularly if there is a health care proxy and power of attorney (both of which are in place) and the patient is not objecting to placement", James W. Connolly, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Glens Falls Hospital says in his petition to name Warren County guardian because June Maxam won't agree to placing her father in Granville.
"June Maxam, however, is a controversial figure in our geographical area. As a result, Petitioner's staff has been advised by a number of nursing homes that they will not offer Mr. Maxam a bed because they do not want to deal with his daughter, June", James Connolly, hospital vice president said in a sworn affidavit to the court.
Neither Connolly or James Horwitz, legal counsel for the hospital, contacted Maxam to discuss the matter.
Although Maxm's other daughter, Janet Agard, refused to assist in any way, even refusing to attend an interview with the county for her father's Medicaid assistance, Warren County Court has now made her guardian of her father in direct contravention of his wishes, presumably because she will do as the nursing home wishes regardless of the circumstances involved and whether or not it is in the best interest of her parents.
10-01-05
June Maxam is the publisher of The North Country Gazette, co-publisher and editor of The Empire Journal and co-managing editor, copy/layout editor of Diogenes, magazine of the National Judicial Conduct and Disability Law Project.
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