AFFIDAVIT OF HEALTH CARE VOLUNTEER

STATE OF FLORIDA §

COUNTY OF BROWARD §

BEFORE ME PERSONALLY APPEARED PATTY REID, WHO TESTIFIED UNDER

OATH BY PENALTY OF PERJURY AS FOLLOWS:

“My name is PATTY REID I am a resident of Broward County, Florida, am over the age of 21,

have never been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude and am in all ways

competent to execute this affidavit for the Court.

I have spent more than half of my life taking care of individuals with disabilities, from children

to the elderly and currently volunteer at Senior Care facilities in Miami-Dade, Florida. I have a

child with special needs and serve as primary caretaker for my aged mother.

My job is to attend to dire health care needs of patients/residents with disabilities–at the Senior

Care facility I am now working as a volunteer. My life-long vocation, paid or unpaid, is in

healthcare and my skills are above most—because it matters to me. As a 30+ year healthcare

worker with the elderly/disabled, I rarely see a patient as distressed as I feel she has been.

Perhaps this is because she cannot get any answers to her questions. Helen is distraught over

being taken from her home and placed in a nursing home and the reason why the guardians

removed her from her home and forced her into a nursing care facility—remains unclear. My

guess is the same reason why BARBARA cannot see her mother or even receive information on

In thirty years of serving as a caregiver, I cannot recall more than a few cases where

institutionalization was necessary if the resident/patient had living family members—willing to

assist them in Activities of Daily Living. Once a person steps on this slippery slope, it’s an

avalanche in my opinion and I have watched Helen’s disturbing precipitous decline, frustrated

because it is all preventable with good care

I have never understood why Helen is prohibited from leaving the nursing home, can only leave

with aides. I have rarely seen visitors to Helen, so I visit her often. Like a broken record, Helen

seems fixated on the missing her daughter, missing her home, not understanding why her son and

niece would abandon her as she alleges they have done. I was asked to summarize my

observations and do so of my own free will herein.

1. Helen Stone appears tired, lethargic and/or over-medicated on a frequent basis. I do not

know why Ms. Stone would be given psychotropic drugs, but there’s no evidence she

needs anything like that.

2. Helen Stone appears confused and incoherent at times

3. Helen is often upset and lonely.

4. Helen has repeatedly asked me why Barbara cannot see her and let anyone who would

listen know that she wanted to see Barbara.

5. Helen has said she feels abandoned by her family and scared

6. Helen is not thriving in this placement, but on the decline.

7. Helen does not receive any form of occupational or physical therapy to my knowledge

and I am unaware of any such services being provided to Helen by the guardian or her

8. I have never observed any therapy being given to Helen since last October, 2014.

9. Helen Stone has all the signs of being “victimized” by elder abuse, neglect and/or

exploitation and the evidence is Helen herself along with the lack of records

demonstrating that Helen’s medical needs have been addressed.

10. She has stated that she feels disconnected and unloved and abandoned because she cannot

see her family. That statement surprised me because it demonstrates she is not

incompetent and baffled me as to why she’s in guardianship at all.

11. She has repeated pleaded to me that she wants to her daughter. I have repeatedly

brought that to the director of the facility and he said he said he would address this

with the caregivers but there has been no follow through. On other occasions when I

have addressed this with the director, I have been told to “divert” Mrs. Stone’s

conversation and to avoid talking about her daughter. Helen is suffering because her

guardianship (who are charged with addressing her needs) do not seem concerned

about Aunt Helen.

12. She does not want to be in the facility. She has expressed that bad things are

happening in the facility. She constantly asks “why am I in this place – I want to go

13. Helen becomes increasingly anxious by not being able to have visitors. Her Rabbi

attempted but was similarly turned away. Ms. Stone is not in isolation for infectious

disease, so why are guardians doing this to her?

14. Helen Stone often expresses that she feels caged. She has stated she feels she has no

options and why these bad things are happening to her.

15. Helen seems deeply sad or depressed and her existence is like a prisoner on death row

in many ways. The prison guards have simply become hired caretakers, but their

responsibility is to ensure no one trespasses.

16. Ms. Stone spends her days in a wheelchair or in bed with virtually no social

interaction, but certainly as it pertains to family and friends she wants to see.

17. In Mid March-2015, I was summoned to the facility because Helen was extremely

18. Aides hired to attend to Helen have been aggressive and even attempted to block my

Based upon my experience and training as a healthcare worker with the elderly and disabled, I

have no reasonable doubt that Helen Stone’s care is substandard, suggestive of abuse, neglect

and exploitation. I have no reasonable doubt that Helen Stone is being abused and restrained in

the nursing facility against her will. I have no reasonable doubt that Helen Stone wishes to see

her family, specifically her daughter and her wishes are being denied and diverted. This is cruel

beyond imagination—shocking that medical professionals would do this.

upset that she was being restrained against her will and not permitted visitors with

even her daughter, who she clearly loves.

access to Helen, when I am likely the only social interaction Helen is permitted.

Further affiant sayeth not.”

SUBSCRIBED TO AND SWORN BEFORE ME ON THE 12th day of MAY, 2015.

_/s/Patty Reid

Patty Reid

_____________________

NOTARY PUBLIC IN AND

FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA