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My cousin left my uncle in a nursing home 2 yrs ago. Since then he has not visited him. I am out of state. I visited my uncle and he is a skeleton. Bedsores. IV fed. The only thing he suffered when he went in the nursing home was dementia. He was ambulatory. Well fed. Bedsores are sign of neglect. I want guardian ship to move him to another nursing home closer so he can be looked after and visited frequently. My cousin has refused to return any of my phone calls. He currently has power of attorney so the nursing home is also refusing to give me details as to his care. There must be some agency, legal recourse. He is in Westchester, NY. I am in Dutchess, NY.

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Go to the local area council on aging for his location, and report elder abuse. Let them know that you are willing to become his guardian if possible.

Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services in Mount Vernon, NY
9 South First Avenue
10th Floor
Mount Vernon, NY 10550
914-813-6300

http://socialservices.westchestergov.com/adult,-child,-family-services/protective-services-for-adults
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Great. I will definitely call them. I did find out that a guardian is already assigned. Since my cousin has power of attorney and refuses to cooperate with me how can I get the guardian to tell me what is going on. Apparently Medicaid is not in place due to the government looking into my cousins finances so he doesnt want to move my Uncle to a different nursing home because this one is cheap. It is a horrible place. I still would like to get guardianship to take care of all his needs. Ultimately I would like to get the power of attorney away from my cousin so he has no more control over my uncle.
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So, your cousin is POA, but someone else is the guardian or is your cousin both? From what I understand, guardianship trumps POA. I think you need a lawyer.
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I think you are right. We may explore to hold both my cousin and the nursing home accountable for his current condition.
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I would also try to hold the current guardian liable for the abuse/neglect since he/she should be checking on your uncle frequently and taking care of all your uncle's needs. If he knows of pressure ulcers, malnutrition, etc, then he should be trying to fix this situation. He can do that with closer observation/monitoring of the SNF (nursing facility) or pushing for your uncle to be placed in a different (read better) SNF.

I am not in any way saying that your cousin and the SNF shouldn't be held accountable, but that the guardian needs to be looked at as well!

Good luck to you. You sound like an amazing, kind nephew/niece trying to get the best possible care (both physically and mentally {your visits}) for your uncle. Keep fighting this fight, don't give up! Please ask any questions you have on this board and update us along the way.

Wheelie :-)
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