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Home My WebLink About04-02-09IN RE: IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA DONALD E. WEISER, :ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION r., An alleged incapacitated person ~ ~ ~'•; N0 21-09-0229 n' " __ ' `~~'~ ~=~-'' . ~+~~ ~ v C:1~:r C7 ~ ~ ~ C~ :,f ' ORDER OF COURT ~ ~ - .' =-- - -, AND NOW, this ;_'_ >~ day of April, 2009 upon consideration of the~etition fob ``~ Appointment of a Permanent Plenary Guardian of the Person and Estate of Donald E. Weiser pursuant to 20 P.S. Section 5513, and following a hearing at which Mr. Weiser was present and at which he was represented by court appointed counsel Stacy B. Wolf, Esquire, and at which evidence was presented by the Petitioner in support of the Petition, and, based upon the foregoing, the Court finds: That Donald E. Weiser is an incapacitated person in that he suffers from a mental impairment that prevents him from receiving and evaluating information effectively and prevents him from formulating and communicating decisions to such a significant extent that he is unable to manage his financial affairs or meet essential requirements for his physical health and safety on a daily basis, and is adjudicated as such. 2. That the Court appoints Cumberland County Aging & Community Services as Permanent Plenary Guardians of the Person and Estate of Donald E. Weiser. No bond shall be required. ~6 That the Guardians shall file on a timely basis with the Court all reports and accounts required by statute. 4. That Petitioner shall be entitled to be compensated monthly for said guardianship services as allowed in an amount permitted by the rules and regulations set forth by Medical Assistance and by the Department of Public W~ BY ~~~COLTI~'_ . Edgar B. Bayley; ~' ~ J, Anthony L. DeLuca, Esquire For Cumberland County Aging & Community Services Stacy B. Wolf, Esquire Court-Appointed for Donald E. Weiser Cumberland County Aging & Community Services John M. Hume, M.D., J.D. 875 Valley Street Marysville, PA 17053-9792 717-957-2401 Mazch 24, 2009 The Honorable Edgaz B. Bayley President Judge Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas One Courthouse Square Carlisle, PA 17013 RE: Donald E. Weiser Deaz Judge Bayley: I saw Mr. Weiser for psychiatric evaluation of competency to manage his financial and personal medical affairs at the Clazemont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on 03/24/09, but I had eazlier called Stacy Wolf, asking if she wished to be present for the evaluation. I did not hear back. It became immediately evident right at the outset of the interview that Mr. Weiser was not competent to sign a release of information form, so that I was left with little or no background information regarding him. However, as described below, it will become quite clear what his situation is. When asked his date of birth he gave it as November 7, 1942, and when asked his current age, listed it as 62, which obviously is incorrect. When asked what year it was now he replied, "I don't know. I think it's, uh, I don't know that." When asked how long he had been in his present placement he responded, "Oh my goodness. I don't know." When asked if it was a week, a month, or a yeaz, he guessed it was about a year. When asked how he was being treated, he said that he was treated okay. However, he could not name the facility in which he is currently residing, stating, "Oh, I don't know," and gave the same answer to where he had been before he came here. He denied having any living relatives or anybody who was interested or willing to help him in any way. He states that his parents were divorced and he was raised by his stepmother, but they are both dead. He could not give either the ages at their deaths or how many years ago they died. He indicated that he grew up in Pennsylvania, but stated it was not near any big city, and he could not remember or think of any of the places where he had lived. When asked about how he made a living in the past, he stated that he worked as a building maintenance person for K. Fritz Company in Washington, D.C. He could not provide a street address, but stated, "It's just a great, great, great big building." When asked what he is doing for income currently, he states that he is retired, and when asked how long that had been, he said, "Oh my goodness, I guess about five years: ' When asked what his income was, he replied, "A • 4 ,~ pQ t~! P~~ Page Two 1ZE: Donald E. Weiser little over $1,000.00 a month. It comes from Washington, D.C:' When asked if he knew what day of the month it came on, he could not answer this. He denied any medical problems, and stated he had been on no medications and was not taking any currently. Information provided at the nurses' station without regard to the type or amount indicated he had been on medication in the hospital before coming to Claremont and had often refused medication there and until this date had been taking the medication that had been prescribed for him. When asked if he had any difficulties with his memory, he emphatically denied this, but on three item recall after two minutes he could only get one of the three items, remarking after the first, "That's about it". When asked the season of the year currently he stated, "I think it's fall." When asked to state the days of the week backwards he replied, "Nope, nope, nope." He could not spell world backwards, stating he could not spell it forward either. He went on to explain that he had only a tenth grade education. He could multiply 3 X 7 and get a correct answer, but when asked to multiply 7 X 9 he stated, "That's out of my line. I can't do stuff like that". He was unable to report how many inches there were in ~a foot on the ruler. He was wearing a shirt which had the initials FOE on it, and when asked the meaning of this, after hesitating for 15 or 20 seconds, he came up with "Eagles". He was unable to describe what the FO meant, but when I explained it was Fraternal Order of Eagles, he stated, "That rings a bell when you tell me. I'm a member. The closest one is in Carlisle." When asked if he knew where in Carlisle, what street it was on, he said, "That'd be in Carlisle." When asked to draw a clock with the hands showing a time of 2:30 he started to draw with the ballpoint pen on the wrong end. After drawing a circle with a small circle somewhere near the center, he remarked, "Ah, shoot. I just couldn't do it." When encouraged to guess, he stated, "I don't like guessing". When asked who handles his money, he stated, "I do." Although he states that he has a checking account, he does not know the name of the bank where it is located, and could not tell me where any checks were. He acknowledged that he has no money on him to spend in the canteen within the facility. When asked what his three wishes might be, he stated, "I don't go for that. They don't come true. I don't go near them." When asked if he knew the current U.S. President, he replied, "Nope. I don't'like that kind." When asked if he remembered what he had had for lunch today, he could not give any answer. On mental status exam, he appeared older than his stated age. He has a full face of hair with a luxuriant set of complete whiskers and long hair. He was not oriented for time, place, or person. Mood and affect were generally pleasant, and at times somewhat vacuous. No overtly psychotic or paranoid distortions were reported or elicited in the course of the interview. Clearly he has substantial difficulty with both recent and remote memory. He cannot explain away the defects Page Three RE: Donald E. Weiser in his awareness of his current circumstances, the time of year, or his financial issues, as well as any medical problems, tending to deny the reality of any of these items. Suicidal or homicidal ideation was denied. Judgment is severely impaired. Insight is lacking. DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSION: Axis I Moderately advanced dementia, probably of the Alzheimer's type, though other medical issues maybe involved, but information was not available to determine this with greater specificity. Axis II No diagnosis. Axis III Undetermined medical issues. Axis IV Degree of stress moderate. Significant cognitive deficits and impairment. Axis V Curnent GAF = 25. COMMENTS: It is my opinion with reasonable medical certainty that Mr. Weiser is not competent to manage his financial affairs, in that he cannot give an accurate accounting of what monies or resources he has, where they are located, or how they should be dispensed. He denies anybody having any interest who might be willing to help him. In terms of his medical decision making capacity, this clearly is significantly impaired, in that as of the day of this evaluation he was refusing medication which had been ordered by the doctor after evaluating him, and there was a history of having refused medication in his most recent hospitalization. Thank you for the opportunity of evaluating this troubled individual. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to be in touch with me. Very Truly Yours, John M. Hume, M.D., J.D. JMH/DS-kts ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF In Re: DONALD E WIESER, INCAPACITATED PERSON CUMBERLAND COUNTY PENNSYLVANIA NO. 21-09-0229 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE OF ORDER ORDER DATE: JUDGE'S INITIALS: TIME STAMP DATE: IN RE: ORDER OF COURT SERVICE TO: STACY WOLF JANET PAUL ANTHONY DELUCA METHOD OF MAILING: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ^ USPS ^ RRR ® HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: 4-2-09 SERVICE TO: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ^ CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT METHOD OF MAILING: ^ USPS ^ RRR ^ HAND DELIVERED ^ OTHER MAILED: ENVELOPES PROVIDED BY: ^ PETITIONER ^ JUDGE ^ CLERK OF ORPHANS COURT i , C - Deputy Clerk of Orphans' Court