4274767A war veteran is being held against his will in assisted living with the endorsement of the Memphis VA Medical Center.
Norman Hughes Jr., 81, is a Korean and Vietnam War veteran who s currently paying $7,000 per month to live in the Kirby Pines Retirement Home in Memphis even though he told The Daily Caller he wants to live with a caretaker named Debbie McCoy at her home paying $2,700 per month where she has run a VA-certified living assistance facility for fifteen years with no complaints until this case.
I need somebody to help me get out of here,
Cheap Oakley Sunglasses,” said Hughes from his room.
In late 2012, Hughes was living with McCoy when he decided to remove his cousin, Mary Ann Phillips, from a bank account he held with nearly $150,000 in it because of a pattern of unpaid bills and missing money.
According to interviews with Hughes, his son Bernard, granddaughter Cavita, ex-wife Doris Jones, and McCoy, Phillips was enraged by the move and approached the VA with a series of unsubstantiated charges which were filed formally .
Philips claimed that Hughes was unshaven and dirty, that his room was a mess, and that he had developed a bed sore at McCoy s home.
But Bernard and Cavita Hughes said they both visited Hughes regularly during this time period and would have noticed if it wasn t clean and safe.
In early 2013, Norman Hughes went to the Memphis VA to get treated for . While in the hospital, Phillips told him he needed to take some tests with another doctor.
Phillips took Hughes to see Dr. Felicie Wyatt, , telling him he needed routine tests.
Instead, Dr. Wyatt tested Hughes for his mental competency.
Hughes, his son, and McCoy all insist he was tricked into seeing this doctor.
Hughes case is one of many in the United States, according to Elaine Renoire, the president of the , who told TheDC she’s seen the elderly abused by the process to determine their competence hundreds of times.
At the time, Dr. Wyatt worked in the Memphis VA Medical Center’s department, which Renoire said was inappropriate because allows only physicians with an expertise in competency to make that assessment.
Dr. Wyatt no longer works at the Memphis VA Medical Center, according to staff. Another phone number provided for Dr. Wyatt by the Health Grades website went to a voicemail which wasn t set up.
Buoyed by Dr. Wyatt’s competency determination, Phillips and the VA maneuvered the case into probate court where Memphis attorney was appointed VA guardian he named Phillips conservator.
Hughes was represented in probate court by Memphis , who acknowledged TheDC’s request for comment, but declined to produce an on-the-record response.
According to court records, retirement income for more than a year.
Dobbs currently has twenty cases in , including seven involving the VA. While the probate court has two judges,
Oakley Sunglasses Outlet, his judge in each case is Shelby County Probate Judge Karen Webster.
Webster was elected to her and faces re-election in November.
Hughes then saw his regular physician, , who entered a report with the court on .
His condition is fairly common; he does have some memory loss and he cannot live independently without assistance due to his physical disability, said Dr. Burns, but he does have the ability to state an opinion of who he wants as guardian when needed.
Because of the complexity of the situation, was appointed as an individual appointed by the court to represent the interests of children, the mentally ill, or disabled persons. Bingham dismissed Dr. Burns opinion and sided with Dr. Wyatt.
“Even in my limited interactions with Hughes it is clear he cannot take care of himself, Bingham said. He cannot name the medication he takes, much less arrange by himself to take them as prescribed.”
Based on Bingham’s report, Hughes , unable to make any financial or medical decisions while he is given an allowance .
Renoire said Dr. Burns opinion should have received more professional respect.
“A personal physician’s report should have precedence over a physician who comparatively may have spent a short time with Mr. Hughes,” Renoire said.
Bingham, who declined to comment for this story, , according to numerous court documents.
Bingham also interviewed another Memphis VA doctor , filing a report with the court on October 30, 2013.
“I also spoke with Dr. Whitney Shroyer,” Bingham said, recalling a meeting he had with Dr. Shroyer July 22, 2013. “She does state that Mr. Hughes memory has gotten worse and she did not think him capable of making medical and financial decisions.”
Bingham quoted Dr. Shroyer even though there’s no record she filed a formal report. Shroyer wasn t a full doctor, but rather part of , doing her residency at the Memphis VA.
Dr. Shroyer could not be reached for comment.
Sandra Glover, the press person for the Veteran Integrated Services Network 9, which includes the Memphis VA Medical Center, also declined to comment.
An email to Dr. Jeff Caughran, , was also left unreturned.
The guidelines for the UTHS internal medicine residency program direct
With Dobbs in charge of where Hughes lives,
Cheap Oakley Sunglasses, the veteran has been forced to stay at Kirby Pines. Dobbs declined to comment on the case when reached by phone.
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