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HomeMy WebLinkAbout97-00165 4 \ ..... ~ .... o CD -& 1;; LLI . o Z At the hearing, you have the right to appear, to be represented by an attorney, and to request a jury trial. If you do not have an attorney, you have the right to request the Court to appoint an attorney to represent you and to have the attorney's fees paid for you if you cannot afford to pay them yourself. You also have t.he right to request that the Court order that an independent evaluation be conducted as to your alleged incapacity. If the Court decides that you are an Incapacitated Person, the Court may appoint a Guardian for you, based on the nature of any condition or disability and your capacity to make and communicate decisions. The Guardian will be of your person and/or your money and other property and will have either Hmited or full powers to act for you. If the Court finds you are totally incapacitated, your legal rights will be affected and you will not be able to make a contract or gift of your money or other property. If the Court finds that you are partially incapacitated, your legal rights will also be limited as directed by the Court. If you do not appear at the hearing (either in person or by an attorney representing you) the Court will still hold the hearing in your absence and may appoint the Guardian requested. By: Clerk, Orphans' Court IN REI IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA HARVEY STEINMETZ, an alleged incapacitated person ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION NO. PRBLIMINARY ORDER OF COURT AND NOW, this -.i.:.f- day of February, 1997, in consideration of the foregoing pet! tion and on motion of Blue Ridge Haven Convalescent Center West, through their Counsel Yoffe and Yoffe, P.C. by Jeffrey N. Yoffe, Esquire, it is ORDERED and DECREED that a citation be awarded, directed to Harvey Steinmetz to show cause why he should not be adjudged an incapacitated person and why a limited guardian of his / ~, 1997 at J The time and person should not be appointed, returnable (" f j() ~/p.m, prevailing time. place of hearing on the petition for appointment of a guardian incapacitated person are fixed ~p.m. I prevailing time, Cumberland County Courthouse, Harrisburg, pennsylvania. of the person of the alleged /' for )/11 ,-,> , 1997, at~ in the orphans' Court Division, 9. The petitioner asks that' Neighborhood Services of Lancaster, Inc. located at 100 South Que~n Street, Lancaster, PA 17603 be appointed as limi ted quardian of the person. 10. Petitioner is aSking that the aforesaid be appointed guardian for the purpose of being able to make medical decisions for the alleged incapacitated person if the need in the future should ever arise and for the purpose of making funeral arrangements for the alleged incapacitated person. 11. The proposed Guardian has no interest which is adverse to Harvey Steinmetz. 12. There are no family members or close friends of Harvey Steinmetz who are available and qualified to serve as guardian. 13. A power of Attorney would be a less restrictive alternative than the appointment of a guardian, however, Harvey Steinmetz lacks the mental capacity necessary to appoint a power of attorney. 14. No c.ourt has ever received juriSdiction in a proceeding to determine whether Harvey steinmetz is incapacitated. 15. Harvey Steinmetz does not already have a guardian. 16. Because of his impaired mental condition, Harvey steinmetz lacks the capacity to provide for his own general care, maintenance and custody, lacks the capacity to designate for himself a place to live and lacks the capacity to provide on his own behalf required consents or approvals necessary for the well being of his person. 1 ~ 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 t~ 13 14 15 , 16 17 lB 19 20 21 22 23 24 " .".) 25 THE DEPONENT Donald B. Freedman, M.D. ", INDEX i.', EXAMINATION 3 2 " 1 I"i 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 /"""'; 13 ... 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ) o,..~, 25 3 MR. YOFFE I Dr. Freedman, this i!l the tIme and place Bet for a deposition in the case of a guardianship petition filed on behalf of Harvey steinmetz, an alleged incapacitated person. DONALD B. FREEDMAN, M.D., called as a witness, being duly sworn, testified as followSI EXAMINATION BY MR. YOFFE I Q Dr. Freedman, for the record can you state your full name, please? A Donald B. Freedman, F-R-E-E-D-M-A-N. Q Dr. Freedman, what is your office address? A My of fice address is 890 Poplar Church Road and that's the Medical Arts Building in Camp Hill. Q Wher.e did you go to medIcal school? A University of Pennsylvania. Q Wha t year did you graduate? A 1948. Q Did you do an internship after medical school? A Internship at the Harrisburg Hospital. a Did you do a residency after your internship? A I started at the University of Pennsylvania r"""\ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 B 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 l7 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 r'~) 1,,,,,,,J 4 Graduate School of Medicine in 1949 and '50 and in their 9raduate medical program of internal medicine Rnd then completed my residency at Harrisburg Hospital over the next two to three years. Q Are you licensed to practice medicine in Pennsylvania? A Yes. Q What year did you obtain that license? A 1949. Q Are you board certified in any areas? A No. Q Dr. Freedman, in your opinion are you qualified by your own training and experience to evaluate and treat older adults who suffer from one form of mental incapacity or another? AVes. Q Dr. Freedman, at present how many older adults with mental incapacities per month do you come into contact with in one form or another? A That's a little difficult to answer specifically. Currently -- and I have been the medical director for many years at Blue Ridge Haven West as well as another facility. And in that capacity until my retirement from active practice six years ago, I had appreciably more contact with individual patients. ~ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 .13 1.4 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ('"1 I_.J B health and safety based on rational and logical thought processes? A No. Q Can Mr. Steinmetz because of his mental incapacities that you just testified to adequately make arrangements for his own funeral? A No. Q Do you thJ.nk a guardian should be appointed for Mr. Steinmetz? A Yes. Q Why do you say that? A He is unable to be aware of people around him in a recognizable fashion. He's aware of people but doesn't remember names and doesn't recognize who they are, unable to speak to us. And he just has absolutely no mental capacity to shift for his self. Q Would you categorize his mental incapacity that you just testified to as to aa slight, moderate, or severa? A Severe. Q There is a guardianship hearing for Mr. Steinmetz coming up on May 5th of this year in the Cumberland County Courthouse. Can Mr. Steinmetz safely be brought into court without causing a substantial risk of a heart attack or panic attack'? r~ 1 A 2 Q 3 . would like 4 Steinmetz? 5 A 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ~ C.J ....",<0', ~~" 'f':-' ~~f!-'__'-"'_~~',~i';T"'''' 9 I think he could. Dr. Freedman, is there anything else that you to add to this deposition in reference to Harvey No. MR. YOFFE: That concludes this deposition. (The deposition concluded C\tBI49.a.m.) ---I. - --.~, .='*' 1 n 2 0, 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (:-:) 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 ........) 25 10 COUNTY or DAUPHIN SS COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA 1, Sharri A. Reitano, Notary pUblic, authorized to administer oaths within and for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and take depoRitions in the trial of causes, do hereby certify that the foregoing is the testimony of DONALD B. FREEDMAN, M.D. I further certify that before the taking of said depositions, the witness was duly sworn; that the questions and answers were taken down stenographically by the said Sherri A. Reitano, Notary Public, approved and agreed to, and afterwards reduced to typewriting under the direction of the said Reporter. I further certify that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully accurately in the notes taken by me on the within depositions, and this copy is a correct transcript of the same. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my hand this 15th day of April, 1997. \..Jfii ({'j /t /c;;'1 !(.~'::-") Sherri A. Reitano Notary Pupl1c My commission expires on August 28, 1999. Nolarlal Soal Sherrl A, Ae"ano, Notary Publlo H~rrlsburg, Dauphin County '~y Commission Expl,"' Aug. 2S, 1999 M',,,.,",, PonnsylvN"~oI NoIarIeo 9. The petI tioner asks that Neighborhood Servi(~es of Lancaster, Inc. located at 100 South Queen Street, Lancaster, PA 17603 be appointed as limited guardian of the person. 10. Petitioner is asJdng that the llforesaid be appointed guardian for the purpose of being able to make medical decisions for the alleged incapacitated person if the need in the future should ever arise and for the purpose of making funeral arrangements for the alleged incapacitated person. 11. The proposed Guardian has no interest which is 8.dverse to Harvey steinmetz. 12. There are no family members or close frJ,ends of Harvey Steinmetz who are available and qualified to serve as guardian. 13. A Power of Attorney would be a less restrictive alternative than the appointment of a guardian, however, Harvey Steinmetz lacks the mental capacity necessary to appoint a power of attorney. 14. No Court has ever received jurisdiction in a proceeding to determine whether Harvey Steinmetz is incapacitated. 15. Harvey Steinmetz does not already have a guardian. 16. Because of his impaired mental condition, Harvey Steinmetz lacks the capaci ty to provide for his own general care, maintenance and custody, lacks the capacity to designate for himself a place to live and lacks the capacity to provide on his own behalf required consents or approvals necessary for the well being of his person. HA~VEY STEINMETZ, an alleged incapacitated person !N THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION NO. 21.97.165 IN REI FINAL ORD~R OF COURT APPOINTING GUARDIAN AND NOW, this 5th day of May, 1997, a hearing in thie case havin9 been held on May 5, 1997, and it appearing to the Court that Harvey Steinmetz was served with a Citation and Notice of thie hearing on February 25, 1997, and was present at the hearing, the Court finds the following from the testimony: 1. That Harvey Steinmetz suffers from dementia. Such condition partially impai.rs his capacity to meet essential requirements for his physical health, maintenance and safety. 2. That there are insufficient supports available to assist Harvey Steinmetz in overcoming such limitations and that there exists no less restri.ctive alternative mechanism for decision makinq than the appointment of a limited guardian of the person. 3. That based on the incapacity of Harvey Steinmetz to receive and evaluate information and to make or r.ommunicate decisions, a limited quardian of the person is required on a permanent basis. NOW, THEREFORF., based on the clear and convincing evidence supporting the foreqoing findings, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED and DECREED that Harvey Steinmetz be and is hereby adjudged an incapacitated person and that Neighborhood Services of Lancaster, Inc., is appointed limited guardian of the person.