HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-10-92
IN THE MATTER OF:
RICHARD I. BOLLENDORF,
AN INCOMPETENT
IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA
ORPHANS' COURT DIVISION
NO. 21-78-519
IN RE: CONFERENCE CALL OF DR. STEPHEN SNOKE
Proceedings held before the
Honorable HAROLD E. SHEELY, P.J.
Cumberland County Courthouse, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
on Monday, August 10, 1992, commencing at 1:45 p.m.
in conference room
APPEARANCES:
William R. Blumer, Esquire
For the Petitioner
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THE COURT: Good afternoon, Doctor. This is
Judge Sheely. I'm calling from the courthouse up in
Carlisle. How are you doing?
DR. SNOKE: Okay. How are you doing?
THE COURT: We thought we'd save everybody
some grief by letting us do this over the phone. I have
Attorney Blumer who represents the people who are asking for
the guardianship, and I'm going to let him go ahead and do
the questioning on this. So the next voice that you'll hear
will be Attorney Blumer.
DR. SNOKE:
MR. BLUMER:
Okay.
In deference to the Court's
schedule, we're going to try to cut to the chase here as
fast as we can.
BY MR. BLUMER:
Q I'll start by having you indicate your name
and address for the record.
A Dr. Stephen Snoke, S-n-o-k-e, 1800 Carlisle
Road, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
Q Dr. Snoke, where are you currently employed?
A I'm in private practice. The name of --
we're incorporated, Snoke Family Practice.
Q Okay. Is Richard I. Bollendorf one of your
patients?
A Yes, he is.
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Q How long have you been treating Richard?
A Since May of 1990.
Q And how often do you have occasion to examine
him?
A I see him on a monthly basis, sometimes more
frequently if it's necessary.
Q And have your examinations of Richard led you
to form an opinion regarding his mental condition?
A Yes.
Q And within the limits of reasonable medical
certainty, what is your opinion concerning his mental
condition?
A He is absolutely totally and mentally
incompetent to make any form of decision regarding his own
welfare at all.
Q Is he able to speak?
A He can say maybe no or yes but even then it's
inappropriate as to what is going on around him. Most of
the time it's just sounds that you hear coming out of him.
Q Is he aware generally of the concepts of time
and the time of day and his location, do you think?
A (No audible response.)
Q Dr. Snoke?
A Yes.
Q I'm going to repeat the question then. Is
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Richard aware of things like time, the time of day, and his
general location during the course of the day?
A No, he is not oriented at all to person,
place, or time.
Q Okay. Does he have any particular nonverbal
ways of expressing his thoughts or feelings that would be a
reasoned response?
A No, not at all.
Q Okay. Does he have physical control over his
bodily functions?
A No, he does not.
Q Okay. Can he feed himself?
A No, he can't.
Q I gather -- how would you assess his
reasoning powers?
A He is well, completely irrational
behavior. He is unable to reason at all.
Q As a result of that does he require constant
supervision?
A Yes.
Q Do you anticipate that his condition will
change or improve as time goes on?
A No, I do not.
Q Okay. So he'll -- then is your testimony
that he will require supervision for the remainder of his
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life?
A Yes, he will.
Q Okay. What kind of treatment does Richard
receive I guess on a regular basis to help him with his
condition?
A Well, he's -- he does receive a medication
that has shown people that are severely retarded and
aggressive at times like he is -- he's on a medication
called Lopressor although that medicine has not really done
much to control his behavior, but he is on a drug called
Lopressor.
Q I see. Does he require protective devices or
other kinds of equipment that help him control his
outbursts?
A Yes, he does wear a plastic helmet at all
times so he doesn't do any self injuries, and he is also in
a chest restraint where he can bend in a chair that prevents
him from harming himself or falling.
Q Okay. Does -- how is Richard affected by
changes in his location or his normal daily routine?
A It usually upsets him even moving down to a
different floor or a dining area. He gets a little more
agitated.
Q And how would that agitation be expressed?
A Usually riding around in the chair trying to
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1 get out of his restraints, jerking his head around, or
2 banging his head on a wall if he's close enough to one.
3 Q Okay. In your opinion would Richard benefit
4 from the appointment of a guardian?
5 A Oh, yes.
6 MR. BLUMER: I think, unless the Court has
7 additional questions --
8 THE COURT: I just have maybe one or two.
9 BY THE COURT:
10 Q Doctor, would you just give us your
11 qualifications.
12 A Yes, I'm board-certified in family practice
13 by the American College of General Practitioners.
14 Q What about your medical training?
15 A I graduated from the Philadelphia College of
16 osteopathic Medicine in 1986.
17 Q And have you been in practice then since that
18 time?
19 A I did a family practice residency at
20 osteopathic Hospital in Harrisburg in 1988, and I've been in
21 practice since 1988.
22 Q And maybe we'll just get your college and
23 year of graduation.
24 A I went to Lebanon Valley College. I have a
25 B.S. in Chemistry. I went to Temple University. I have an
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1 M.B.A. in health administration. That was in 1980.
2 THE COURT: Okay. I think that's all that's
3 required. We appreciate very much your agreeing to do this
4 over the phone. This is the first time we have ever done
5 this.
6 DR. SKOKE: I appreciate you allowing me to
7 do it this way. I would have had to block out a half day
8 out of the office.
9 THE COURT: So you may hang up. We thank you
10 very much.
11 DR. SKOKE: Thank you. Good-bye.
12 (Whereupon, the conference call concluded.)
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CERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the proceedings are
contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on the
above cause and that this is a correct transcript of the same.
- .O-.u ,0-
Laura F.
Official
--------------------------------
The foregoing record of the proceedings on the
hearing of the within matter is hereby approved and directed to
be filed.
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