MAY 19th at WVRC, "Elder Care Abuse"

Senor RUDY showed some excellent slides taken at the recent District Conference.  They certainly gave an impression of what went on – and once again, our Chili was a big hit!

GREGG ELLIOTT led the Pledge.  He then moved to the piano, and we sang America the Beautiful, conducted by LENNY FRIEDMAN. We were informed that this would be in the key of F, which I’m sure was helpful to someone present.  TONY MARRONE came forward to give the Invocation.  He first brought us up to date on how things are in Heaven:  The police are British, the mechanics are German, the cooks are French, the lovers are Italian, and the whole process is organized by the Swiss.  He then gave the opposite personnel roles, and you can probably figure out most of them.  He also asked us to believe that St Augustine, before he became a saint (which you have to die, first), gave the following proverb – "Please God, make me pure, but not just yet."  Well done, TONY!
 
This led us to Visiting Rotarians with PP RALPH WOODWORTH telling us that SHANE WAARBROEK brought along Debbie Birndorf, an attorney from LA 5.  SHANE also reminded the newer members – aboard 5 years or less- about the New Members dinner tonight.  TORI HETTINGER, along with KATHY REZOS, were set to speak about the Suds and Studs party this Sunday at Fire Station 37.  CANDICE DANESHVAR joined them, and they then had a contest, with one Rotarian per table selected to answer related questions. Incoming President DON NELSON was the first askee, and he passed the test, so remained standing.  Various table-spokespersons bit the dust. When KATHY switched subjects and asked what was the 3rd part of the Four Way Test, almost everyone missed – finally someone said Fellowship, which was right.  Next question, how many Rotarians in the world – answer, 1.2 million. There ensued a bit of confusion about the number of Rotaract Clubs as compared to Rotary Clubs – but everyone enjoyed the Q&A.

PP RON LYSTER announced that former member BOB BOE passed away this last week.  He had no history of heart problems but that was the cause of death. KACY ROZELLE’S father just died, in Florida.

DON NELSON now has a group of about twenty Rotarians and wives listed as going to Chicago.  Don’t forget to tell DON your plans, and RSVP to the Dinner at Lawry’s hosted by PP JIM COLLINS. The list so far includes Senor RUDY, CHRIS BRADFORD, JEFF BRONSTEIN, JIM COLLINS MIKE GINTZ, DON NELSON, PP GEORGE DEA, PP STEVE DAY, PP MIKE NEWMAN PP PETER MORE, ANN SAMSON, STEPHEN SCHERER, PP RON LYSTER, LEO TSENG, DAVE WHITEHEAD, and ERNIE WOLFE.

Senor RUDY has some tickets left for the Far West Breakfast DON passed out – or will mail – the invitations to the Demotion for Senor RUDY, which will be on June 25th at Riviera Country Club. Please RSVP by June 10th.
 
Our speaker was Marc Hankin, an attorney whom LEE DUNAYER has known for some time.  A form, entitled Capacity Declaration – Conservatorship. was passed out.  I have since read it fairly carefully, and it seems to provide a good 'read' on how capable a given subject might be.  Mr. Hankin is a specialist in elder abuse, and has written much of the legislation now on the books regarding this touchy subject.  He holds a bachelors from San Francisco State, a J.D. from Loyola and a post JD certificate from New York University.
 
He began by noting that audiences tend to interrupt him frequently as he talks, and he encourages this.  He got into this field when it was discovered that his dad had Alzheimer’s.  The Southern California area has lots of Baby Boomers, and they will provide most of the court work as they move into retirement.  The general figures are that from 20 to 30% of people over 80 have varying amounts of dementia.  In general, as dementia takes over, it becomes obvious to the family, but those who don’t know the subject well can miss the diagnosis. 
 
Hankin expects a crisis of epidemic proportions when the full effect of the retiring Baby Boomers has entered what he calls The Golden Years.  Is a person competent to decide about conservatorship?  This is a very difficult decision, and even experts can disagree.  But it is at the heart of the treatment offered.  He referred us to the top of Page Two of his handout - the key word being Evaluation.  Most of us probably don’t realize that one of the basic problems that dementia causes is an inability to stay awake, or stay alert.  Once this is established the whole focus changes, since the patient cannot understand what is being discussed.
 
While specific figures are lacking, it is true that a fairly large percentage of Elder Financial Abuse comes from the close family – they want the assets.  Another problem is keeping the patient from signing away his estate, and these two sad events cause much of the tragic loss that can occur.  A common condition that we all recognize is debt – but this concept often becomes murky or non-existent as dementia progresses.
 
He gave a hypothetical example of a man who could sign over 1/3rd of his estate to an annuity – and a week later, might sign over another 1/3rd, and then the last – leaving him no money for daily living.  People at this stage cannot remember from day to day what they may have done, and this can lead to terrible consequences if they are not protected from those who seek to sell them 'securitities', for example.
 
These kind of rip-offs usually occur in the early stages of dementia, before legal safeguards are in place.  But this comes back to the fact that recognition of mental incompetence does not occur on a schedule – it can sneak up unnoticed.  With the great diversity of symptoms, and so many different timetables, passing legislation that will make a difference is a real challenge.  Marc Hankin, thanks for telling us about some of these problems. 
 
KATHY REZOS gave the toast, ending with "may our friendship be our true wealth."

— YOE, Ernie Wolfe