Law Commons^™

Closing The Gap Between Knowledge And Practice In The U.S. Long-Term Care System, Larry Polivka

Marquette Elder's Advisor

The push for Medicaid reform is evident in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), which was crafted, in part, as a response to state-level dissatisfaction with existing waiver options. The DRA spells significant changes for Medicaid, as it institutes deep revisions of some of the program's core elements. The most significant components of the DRA's reforms include the expansion of state options and the simplification of the option approval process. This article examines the newly available options that will most notably affect Medicaid services to the elderly, especially long-term care, and it summarizes program revisions under consideration or active development.

Making Better Long-Term Care Decisions, Robert L. Kane Md

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Negotiating For Resident-Centered Care, Eric M. Carlson

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article examines how lack of consumer knowledge contributes to the current disparities in residential care. Carlson explains how consumers can negotiate for better service and get their care tailored to their specific needs through managing interactions with the healthcare professionals and facility staff. The article also acknowledges that there is currently a gradual change occurring in residential care.

Failing To Care: How Effective Compliance Prevents Institutional Elder Neglect, David R. Hoffman

Marquette Elder's Advisor

Hoffman discusses how criminal and civil action by way of state criminal statutes and the False Claims Act should be utilized against institutions that receive governmental funding to motivate them to provide residents with adequate services. The article outlines how elder care institutions can provide effective care for their residents through appropriate employment screening and on-boarding, reporting and monitoring and thorough investigative procedures

From The Editor: Introduction To The Kindness Of Strangers, Alison Barnes

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

"Death With Dignity": A Recipe For Elder Abuse And Homicide (Albeit Not By Name), Margaret K. Dore

Marquette Elder's Advisor

Death with Dignity Acts in Oregon and Washington authorize physicians to write life-ending prescriptions for their patients. This article addresses various problems with the Acts, including the wording about who may administer the lethal drug and the fact that both Acts lack a consent requirement when the lethal dose is administered. This article also addresses counter arguments offered by proponents of the Acts.

International Rights Of Older Persons: What Difference Would A New Convention Make To Lives Of Older People?, Israel Doron, Itai Apter

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article tries to answer the following question: What difference, if any, would a new convention on the rights of older persons make to the lives of older people in light of the previous experiences with the Convention on the Eliminations of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)? In order to answer this question, the authors focus on the existing legal literature on international human rights law, with a particular focus on international human rights treaties. To better understand international human rights treaties, the article also discusses the CRC …

Power Of Attorney: Convenient Contract Or Dangerous Document?, Catherine Seal

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article addresses the durable general power of attorney, tracing its evolution from general principles of agency law to the new Uniform Power of Attorney Act. The author also discusses the utility of the power of attorney as a tool to assist a senior who wishes to avail themselves of the services of an agent. From this perspective, the author addresses fiduciary duty and fiduciary liability, common problems with the power of attorney, and proposed methods of dealing with such problems.

International Human Rights And The Elderly, Jaclynn M. Miller

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article argues that despite the international instruments that make reference to the rights of the elderly, steps still need to be taken to ensure that both laws and enforcement policies are being created internationally and nationally to protect the elderly, especially those who need institutionalized care. For this to occur, better enforcement mechanisms must be created, primarily an international treaty specifically designed to protect the rights of the elderly. In the course of this argument, the article discusses the definition of old age, the existing international legal framework for the protection of the elderly, and examples of elder abuse. …

Policy And Custodial Grandparents, Carole B. Cox

Marquette Elder's Advisor

In recent years there has been a rapid increase in a new type of American family, one in which grandparents have become the sole custodians of their grandchildren, raising them without any parent present. Government, through its policies, can play a major role in addressing the challenges that custodial grandparents face. This article discusses many of the key policies that impact the lives of custodial grandparents.

"Gray Touch": Professional Issues In The Uncertain Zone Between "Good Touch" And "Bad Touch", Joseph L. Daly, Michael S. Maza, Colleen M. Daly

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article explores “good touch,” “bad touch,” and the uncertain area of “gray touch.” First, this article examines the concept of “good touch.” Then, this article moves to the concept of “bad touch” and examines the role of the law in regulating touch. Finally, this article introduces the concept of “gray touch” and explores ways for professionals to approach the often misunderstood and troublesome issue of “touch” in our current murky and litigious environment.

Table Of Contents

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

New Standards For The Involuntary Commitment Of The Mentally Ill: "Danger" Redefined, Elizabeth A. Mcguan

Marquette Elder's Advisor

McGuan's article examines the way legislatures have amended their involuntary commitment statutes to allow for the more aggressive commitment of the mentally ill. The article discusses whether the definition of dangerous conduct in an Illinois amendment deprives a mentally ill person of a fundamental liberty interest guaranteed by the Constitution. The article begins with an overview of mental health law in the United States since World War II, followed by an analysis of the constitutionality of the Illinois amendment.

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Death Of The Inconvenient Other , Jonathan Penn

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article looks at end-of-life issues, focusing on physician-assisted suicide, whether the United States government's numerous responsibilities created by the Older Americans Act and other similar acts, such as the government's financial limitations, and a growing elderly population will lead to a deterioration of society's view of elders and a legitimization and acceptance of assisted suicide.

Bringing Age Discrimination And Disability Discrimination Together: Too Few Intersections, Too Many Interstices, Leslie Pickering Francis, Anita Silvers

Marquette Elder's Advisor

Old age and disability would seem to have adverse features in common. Membership in either group suggests depleted capability, decreased social contribution, significant fragility, and heightened susceptibility to maltreatment by other people. Yet some have argued that no wrong occurs when advanced age is made disadvantageous, for the elderly have had a fair chance at the goods of life. By contract, this argument goes, there is never a fair chance for people with disabilities. This article challenges the view that takes discrimination based on disability and discrimination based on age as so discrepant that they do not deserve similar efforts …

The Elderly With A Disability: Social Security And Representative Payment, Michael J. Churgin

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article looks at the elderly with disability and how the intersection of social security.

Old Lawyers, Blue Eyes, And The Medicalization Of Aging, Michael J. Myers

Marquette Elder's Advisor

The article examines the "medicalization" of the aging process and the pitfalls of the increased medical care and myths about what constitutes "healthy" later in life. Financial reward and fear of death drive the increasing amount and extensiveness of care for chronic disease encountered in older adults, sometimes to an unnecessary end. The author puts forth the theory that older adults are now part of a weakened generation, rooted in a refusal to "suffer their reality" and ignore the fact that aging is not a disease, that is, not until it is placed under a doctor's care.

The Tbi Impact: The Truth About Traumatic Brain Injuries And Their Indeterminate Effects On Elderly, Minority, And Female Veterans Of All Wars, Craig M. Kabatchnick

Marquette Elder's Advisor

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is the signature injury of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF). This article examines the reasons for increased TBI injuries, calculates the costs associated with those injuries, and evaluates TBI at the Department of Veterans Affairs. This article discusses the current diagnosis challenges, and addresses the subsequent impact of TBI on special populations including military veterans, racial minorities, women, and the elderly.

Disability And Aging: Historical And Contemporary Challenges, William N. Myhill, Peter Blanck

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article discusses the challenges that elderly with disabilities face in the work place. The article explores the theme historically and today as they impact qualify of life for persons with and aging into disability.

Age Discrimination In The Delivery Of Health Care Services To Our Elders, Phoebe Weaver Williams

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article examaines age discrimination by health care providers. The author provides suggestions and recommendations to remedy this type of discrimination

Table Of Contents

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Unsung Survivors: Va Advocacy For The Spouses, Widows, And Children Of Elderly Veterans, Craig M. Kabatchnick, Jonathan B. Kelly

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Religious Refusal: Endangering Pregnant Women And Professional Standards, Stephane P. Fabus

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Due Process And The Guardian Ad Litem In Elder Law Disputes: Which Hat Will She Don With Her Cloak Of Neutrality?, Roger A. Eddleman, John A. Dinucci

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

The Rights Of The Elderly In The Arab Middle East: Islamic Theory Versus Arabic Practice, Radwa S. Elsaman, Mohamed A. Arafa

Marquette Elder's Advisor

No abstract provided.

Baby Steps: The Changing Relationship Between Michigan Obstetricians And Certified Professional Midwives, Deborah M. Fisch

Marquette Elder's Advisor

The possible enactment of licensure for Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) by the state of Michigan provides an opportunity to reexamine the CPM-obstetrician (OB) relationship that has grown up under CPMs' unlicensed state of practice. This article examines the legal and institutional factors that shape the CPM-OB relationship in Michigan, with comparisons to two other neighboring states, Indiana and Wisconsin, as well as to a more distant example, the Netherlands. Four potential relationships are identified and explored: Exclusion, Coexistence, Subordination and Cooperation. Other factors that may shape the relationship are also studied, such as medical malpractice liability, liability …

Over My Dead Body: A New Approach To Testamentary Restraints On Marraiage, Ruth Sarah Lee

Marquette Elder's Advisor

It is not uncommon to find deeds or wills that shape the behavior of the living by conditioning a grant, devise, or bequest, on a potential beneficiary’s conduct. Sometimes these conditions involve a limitation on marriage—prohibiting, penalizing, or requiring marriage to one of a particular religious faith or ethnicity. Courts have held that complete restraints on marriage are unreasonable, contrary to public policy, and void. However, partial restraints of marriage are valid as long as they are “reasonable.” A restraint is “unreasonable” if a marriage permitted by the restraint is not likely to occur as a factual determination.

This article …

Dangerous Desires, Irina Tarnovsky

Marquette Elder's Advisor

This article advocates a change to the media’s current portrayal of women. In doing so, this article advocates regulations to the kinds of advertisements which may appear in teen magazines. Currently, teen magazines feature pictures of women which are both: unnaturally thin and digitally altered to unnatural proportions. Consequently, the viewing of these advertisements encourages adolescent women to engage in dangerous behaviors associated with eating disorders.

Over seven million American women are affected by, or suffer from, an eating disorder, the majority of which are between the ages of thirteen and nineteen. Although there are a number of factors that …