APFN
King: Legislature may act to save Terri Schiavo
Tue Oct 21 03:13:28 2003
64.140.158.18

King: Legislature may act to save Terri Schiavo
The Associated Press October 20, 2003
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10349809&BRD=2212&PAG=461&dept_id=465812&rfi=6

Senate President Jim King said Monday that he will propose legislation this week that could save the life of a severely brain-damaged woman whose feeding tube was removed last week by her husband's order.

King, R-Jacksonville, said the measure would give Gov. Jeb Bush the authority to order that the feeding tube be reinserted to keep Terri Schiavo alive.

The tube was removed Wednesday following a decade-long court battle between Schiavo's parents and their son-in-law, who contends that he is carrying out her wishes not to be kept alive artificially.

"If we are to err _ because time is of the essence _ for goodness sake let us err on the side of caution," King said.

King said lawmakers likely would take up the Schiavo issue this week during a scheduled special session regarding economic development issues, but he didn't know when.

The House scheduled a 7:30 p.m. Monday session to take up the issue.

Schiavo, who was raised in the Philadelphia suburb of Huntingdon Valley, has been in what doctors call a vegetative state since her heart stopped in 1990 from a suspected potassium imbalance.

Bush told the Schindlers last week that his staff would search for legal ways to save their daughter's life, but said Monday they haven't yet found a way.

"The legal ways, the remedies, don't exist," Bush said Monday before King made his announcement.

He added, "I wish I could wave the magic wand and resolve this but every effort that we've had or every effort that has been proposed has either been thwarted by the courts or would be inappropriate."

Earlier Monday in Tampa, a watchdog agency for the disabled pleaded with a federal judge to keep the woman from starving to death alive long enough to investigate a claim that she is being abused by her husband.

Meanwhile, in a statement released through his lawyer, Michael Schiavo said Monday that he, too, is grieving, but "I did what I believe Terri would have wanted me to do."

U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday did not immediately rule on the request from the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, the state-appointed organization which monitors the treatment of disabled adults in Florida. Merryday said he intended to issue a decision by the day's end.

Gordon Scott, an attorney for the Tallahassee-based organization, asked the judge for a 10-day injunction to give it time to investigate whether the removal of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is an act of abuse.

Scott said after talking to her parents and a neurologist, he is not convinced that Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state and is not feeling pain from starvation and dehydration.

Scott said his agency has a right to investigate whether Terri Schiavo was mistreated regardless what the judge rules, but wanted to keep her alive in the event the investigation turns up evidence she can feel what is happening to her. He didn't specifically ask that the feeding tube be reinserted, but that doctors do what is needed to keep her alive during the investigation.

George Felos, Michael Schiavo's attorney, said the federal judge has no jurisdiction and characterized the group's efforts as yet another attempt to undo repeated state court rulings giving Michael Schiavo permission to carry out his wife's wishes.

Michael Schiavo ordered his wife's feeding tube removed last Wednesday following a long-legal battle with his in-laws over her fate. Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 following a heart attack and has been declared by a Pinellas Circuit Court judge to be in a persistent vegetative state.

Michael Schiavo has said his 39-year-old wife never would have wanted to be kept alive artificially. Her parents contend she has enough brain function to respond to them and express emotions.

In his statement, Michael Schiavo detailed his unsuccessful efforts to rehabilitate his wife in the years after her 1990 heart attack, including three separate tests that concluded she could not learn to swallow on her own.

He said he realizes that some people disagree with the court's decision to let him remove the tube and that he has struggled with it himself.

"But I know in my heart that it is right, and it is what Terri wants," he said. "There is no longer any realistic hope of Terri's recovery. Perhaps there never was, but I had to try _ just as the Schindlers have tried.

"The reality is that Terri left us 13 years ago, and none of us can bring her back."

At the Pinellas Park hospice where Terri Schiavo is being cared for, her family said she appears to be in stable condition.

"She seems to be alert," said her brother, Bob Schindler Jr. "But every day that goes by, we're getting into a crucial time for her. She's got an incredible will to live."
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You may reach us at the following addresses and phone numbers:

DISTRICT OFFICE: Toll Free 1-888-861-9761; (904) 727-3600; Fax 904-727-3603
9485 Regency Square Boulevard, Suite 108, Jacksonville, FL 32225-8145

CAPITOL OFFICE: (850) 487-5030; Fax: 850-487-5844
Suite 409, The Capitol, 404 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1100

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. Your thoughts are very important to me and help keep me well informed.

Sincerely,

James E. "Jim" King, Jr.
Senate President
Florida Senate District 8
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Searched news for Terri Schiavo
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Shame on the Board of Directors!

The Hospice of the Florida $uncoast's Board of Directors has a fiduciary duty to see that funds donated to the nonprofit hospice are used for services to the dying, NOT for killing the disabled. That is not the mission of hospice! By choosing not to block the admission of a non-terminal patient into the hospice, the board (and every member of the board) has shown itself to be a spineless collection of shameless rubber-stamping followers. They do not have the guts to stand up to the extreme and evil design of Mary Labyak. Shame!

But it appears that this board (and all its members) has no shame. They are willing to violate the federal law that forbids admitting non-terminal patients into hospice. They are willing to violate the very foundation of hospices all over our nation. Even if David Ridenour is called "Director of Organizational Ethics," it is obviously a title with no meaning and which he cares nothing about. He has not acted to preserve the ethics of the organization. And yes, he can say that he "tried to resign" but the fact is he chose to stay. He knows that what is happening is wrong, yet he has not forced the issue to be resolved. As Director of Organizational Ethics he is directly responsible to uphold that which is ethical and consistent with the mission of hospice. He has not done that. Does he have a clear conscience about all of this? No, but he has chosen his part: to work with those who disgrace hospice and to go along with all of it!

Has the hospice been hijacked? Without a doubt! Is there a way to save this hospice? Certainly! But it will take more than a bunch of spineless directors on the board who do nothing without asking Mary Labyak's permission! Those who do not speak up are part of the problem and co-conspirators with Mary Labyak! Does Mary Labyak care about the patients? Does Mary Labyak object to taking donated funds (supposed to go to services to the dying) and divert them to the for-profit venture? Obviously not!

Labyak admits that more than a million dollars has been diverted from the hospice to the for-profit $uncoast $olutions! She tries to explain it away by saying it is a "loan," but nobody has informed us of any loan declared on the books of the for-profit $uncoast $olutions. We would like to see it if it exists. Everybody knows that if a loan is taken out, a contract is written defining the terms of the loan, commonly with interest to be paid. When the public donated to this hospice, they did not intend for their donations to be used for profit! Not to the tune of more than a millions dollars, which is what Labyak admits. The class action lawsuit and hospice's own internal documents show that over $7 million has been diverted over the past few years to the for-profit. Labyak admits diverting the funds. We believe that the diversion gets "extreme" when we're talking about millions of dollars. Whether it's one million or seven million, it still is unbelievable, unacceptable and a betrayal of the trust of the donors!

That Labyak admits to diverting more than a million dollars of donated funds to the for-profit is astounding. But the abuse of donations goes on in various forms of personal use of the funds. The St. Petersburg Times mentioned a hospice manager who used $3,000 in donations to have her roof fixed while taking advantage of her position as manager of donations coming into the hospice to buy the donated house at below market prices! This appears to be just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.

When Mary Labyak drives around in her $ 31,000 (THIRTY-ONE THOU$AND DOLLAR) dark blue "free to her" 2003 Chrysler Sebring luxury convertible (paid for by donations to the hospice) visiting those clubs or sits around in her posh Condo, does she worry about the staff who may be overworked? Is she overly concerned about services to the patients? Does Teresa Craig worry about the staff or patient services when she drives around in her $30,000 (THIRTY THOU$AND DOLLAR) gold "free to her" Chrysler Sebring luxury convertible (paid for by donations to the hospice)? Does Mike Bell worry about the staff or patient services when he drives around in his $ 30,000 (THIRTY THOU$AND DOLLAR) silver "free to him" Chrysler Sebring luxury convertible (paid for by donations to the hospice)? Do they have a conscience that might bother them knowing that donations to the hospice pay for their luxury cars and other perks and bonuses? Obviously not.

They know that while big bonuses are being doled out over at $uncoast, while they get their perks like ("free" to them) luxury cars and bonuses (declared or hidden), those funds used to pay for their perks are not available to pay for services to the patients. They also know that staff salaries had been frozen for the past few years (oh yes, they finally gave them a small raise). And another question that lingers: are there hidden payments to the managers of the hospice and $uncoast $olutions that are hidden among other items in the financial statements? Are the salary, perks and all benefits paid to the managers openly listed for all to see? That remains to be brought out in the class action lawsuit filed in the Pinellas County Circuit Court.

Any board of directors that is thinking straight would have cut its losses long ago, would have gotten rid of the opportunist extremists who are perverting the direction the hospice is taking and would have returned the hospice to its original mission of service to the patients which is the reason the community values the hospice. But this board has shown no courage and no integrity! This board of directors owes the community a big apology and immediate action to correct the problems at the hospice! Until then, they are co-conspirators in whatever wrongdoing is uncovered through the court case unfolding in Pinellas County Circuit Court!
Shame on the Staff Who Cooperate in the Coverup!

How does the hospice treat employees who speak out against the extreme views of Mary Labyak? Does it reward employees who remain true to the original mission? Or does it attempt to silence them, one way or the other? Are people who work there feeling free to speak their minds? Or do they work in fear of crossing Mary? And what they know must truly trouble them. Knowing of violations but doing nothing about it. Not going to the authorities. Not telling the truth. Hiding the truth. Cooperating in the conspiracy.

Do the staff know that most agencies that get caught with violations blame the staff and pick out scapegoats to fire? Do the staff know that there have been many situations where those staff who followed obediently in carrying out violations of the law have been used to get the agencies out of the fix? The logic used by management is: deny you ever knew anything about it, blame the staff and fire the staff, and then keep on trucking! Yet, the staff only find out too late. That's the school of "hard knocks." You only learn after you've been exploited and used and thrown out like tissue paper. How many staff have to be hurt before staff will come out and speak?
Loyalty to the Hospice Mission or to Unethical Hospice Practices?
http://www.hospicepatients.org/Saving-Hospice-from-Hospice-Extremists.html