Caring for the Elderly

By Jennifer Haselberger
Canonical Consultation
July 17, 2015

http://canonicalconsultation.com/blog.html

This week has seen another wave of disheartening reports about the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. From updated information about the number of claims filed to the addition of more than a hundred parishes as claimants to the ongoing controversy about the filing deadline, there has been much to trouble us. However, the story that I found most disturbing was the confirmed abuse of elderly and vulnerable residents at Saint Therese nursing home in New Hope.

Earlier this week the Star Tribune reported that two nursing assistants employed at Saint Therese were arrested after family members of residents used hidden cameras to uncover and report the assistants' physical abuse of the residents. In addition to the abuse caught on camera, family members of at least two residents reported having seen numerous bruises and cuts that were 'too numerous to ignore'. St Therese responded by firing the two nursing assistants as well nine others who the facility believes failed to report the abuse or otherwise violated the terms of the care they were to be providing.

The Star Tribune report also noted that this is the second time in less than a year that a Saint Therese facility has been investigated for alleged abuse of a resident. According to the report, in early 2014 a staff member at Saint Therese at Oxbow Lake slapped a resident who was suffering from severe dementia. And, many of you will recall that in 2009 Archdiocesan priest and military chaplain Father Tim Vakoc died following a fall he sustained while a resident of the St Therese, New Hope facility. Vakoc, who was critically injured while serving with the Army in Iraq, died when two nursing assistants caused him to fall head-first to the floor as they were transferring him from his wheelchair to his bed. A subsequent investigation by the Office of Health Facility Complaints determined that the nursing assistants were negligent in their care of Vakoc and responsible for his fall.

This type of failure to care for and protect the elderly and vulnerable is abhorrent anywhere, but it is especially disturbing when it occurs at a Catholic institution. Saint Therese has been a ministry of the Catholic Church since its establishment, with the permission of the Archdiocese, in 1964. Moreover, with the rapid expansion of Catholic facilities for the elderly, and especially the increase in the development of senior housing and nursing facilities on parish campuses, the Church must ensure that the services it is providing truly reflect its core belief in the dignity of all people.

That belief has not always been demonstrated in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, even beyond the devastating occurrences at St Therese. As I stated in my affidavit in the Doe 1 case, although

Minnesota is a state that has enacted legislation requiring long term care homes to receive notification when sex offenders are admitted to their facilities, the Archdiocese has long been in the habit of placing clergy known to have committed acts of sexual abuse in care facilities without any type of notification to staff, residents, or their families. It also permitted minors to work at the Archdiocesan Leo C. Byrne Residence for retired clergy, despite having Charter priests in residence, again with no notice to the minors or their families.

And, the Archdiocese's failings extend beyond placing predators in close proximity to the young, aged, or otherwise vulnerable. The Archdiocese has also made a practice of turning a blind eye to the financial exploitation of the elderly and vulnerable. For instance, in the past decade at least three priests were investigated by outside agencies due to claims that they had financially exploited elderly and vulnerable people under their care. In each case the Archdiocese facilitated, and some times even cut the check, as part of an arrangement whereby the priest reimbursed the money that he had illegitimately taken and thereby avoided criminal charges. The sums of money involved range from $30,000 taken to fuel a gambling addiction to $18,000 from an 89 year-old legally blind woman during her life and 80% of her estate after her death, to $120,000 taken from a 99-year old living in an assisted living facility. All three of these priests remain in active ministry and are currently pastors of parishes in this Archdiocese.

In addition to such egregious cases, when I was Chancellor for Canonical Affairs I would often field calls from angry care givers upset over continuous fundraising appeals made to elderly parishioners who obviously had limited awareness of their own financial situations, as well as other circumstances that appeared exploitative. Had the Archdiocese been more proactive on other issues, it would have been able to turn its attention to this other, important component of creating safe environments in our faith communities. But, of course, we were not.

Nor do I see that changing. Earlier this week the Archdiocese published its 'Update', including a reminder that 'those working with vulnerable adults' were required to complete the 'essential three' (Virtus training, background check, and to sign a Code of Conduct), and the following protocol, which it stated should be 'considered essential':

Each vulnerable adult and their involved family members need to become familiar with two ministers from the parish. One may be the primary visitor; however, a second person needs to be familiar to the person and his/her family by phone, email and/or by partnering with the primary visitor.

A procedure needs to be established whereby the pastoral minister visiting on behalf of the parish, has a system for leaving a card/written note with the visitor’s contact information and date of visit, along with the parish’s bulletin in order for family members to know when their vulnerable family member was visited.

While this is certainly a start, there is obviously still a great deal of work to be done, on a policy level (what penalties will be imposed if a parish, institution, or individual does not comply, or if they- including Archdiocesan officials- fail to comply with mandated reporting laws in this area?), and on a practical one. After all, there is little benefit in guarding your sheep from poachers when you have placed a wolf in their midst.