Point Reyes Light - August 2, 2001

Senior’s caregiver overdoses in Bolinas

By Gregory Foley

The West Marin office of county Health and Human Services last week removed a West Marin woman from the list of acceptable caregivers for seniors and disabled people after she overdosed on drugs at the home of a client, authorities have told The Light.

The July 16 drug overdose that led to the official action occurred at the home of an elderly Bolinas woman suffering from cancer. She died the following day, official sources told The Light.

Officials did not comment on the type or source of the drugs that caused the overdose, but did note that the caregiver survived the incident. No correlation has been made between the overdose and the death a day later of her elderly client.

Health and Human Services and West Marin Senior Services recommend caregivers to those who need them, but the client hires them and pays for their services.

The caregiver in question has been frequently recommended by West Marin Senior Services to work in the Bolinas and Stinson Beach area, where she has even filled in for her Senior Services supervisor when the supervisor went on vacation, former staff told The Light.

In recent months, West Marin Senior Services has been the center of controversy after half its board and some of its staff left, claiming the nonprofit’s new executive director, Kathy Davis, is too authoritarian and doesn’t have rapport with some staff members.

Last week, Davis said she was unaware of the overdose and had not recommended any changes in the list of approved caregivers. Her statement came after Health and Human Services had removed the woman treated for the drug overdose from its list of recommended caregivers.

"I don’t know anything about the situation," she said, "so I can’t comment on it." However, former staff as well as local authorities all said they were familiar with what had happened in the dying woman’s home.

The county’s role

Marti London, West Marin Senior Services’ coordinator for Bolinas and Stinson Beach, told The Light that any questions about the incident should be directed to Angelo Sacheli.

Sacheli, the county social worker who oversees the treatment of seniors, is on vacation. Other officials say Sacheli was responsible for removing the woman who overdosed from the list of acceptable caregivers.

Representatives from county Health and Human Services and from the nonprofit Senior Services meet each month to discuss individual cases and how best to protect vulnerable seniors from abuse, inadequate care, and improper self-medication, a former Senior Services staff member explained.

Caregivers pick up pills

While authorities did not comment on whether the drugs taken in the overdose belonged to the elderly patient, Dan Donovan, the owner of West Marin Pharmacy in Point Reyes Station, told The Light that elderly patients’ prescriptions – many of which are for painkillers and mood-altering substances – are regularly given to authorized caregivers.

The practice is entirely legal, but it unfortunately allows a small number of dishonest caregivers to withhold drugs from disabled seniors and use them for their own recreation, he said.

"I don’t think it’s novel," he said. "I think it has always gone on."

Has refused to dispense to a caregiver

Donovan said that although he doubts that many West Marin caregivers are stealing drugs prescribed for their clients, he has on occasion contacted county Health and Human Services and West Marin Senior Services to alert them that a particular caregiver might not be properly administering prescriptions he filled. He has also told one physician he will not let one caregiver pick up her client’s medication

"I’m not going to knowingly let medications go out to someone who has a problem or we suspect has a problem," he said. "It’s our moral obligation and a pharmacist’s responsibility. If you dispense to [potential abusers] then you’re part of the problem and not the solution."

Drug abusers widespread

Donovan said that West Marin Pharmacy is alerted one or two times per week about individuals who might try to obtain drugs illegally, but the alerts are wide-ranging and usually do not involve local residents.

The cases he hears about typically involve people who use forged names or in other ways impersonate someone who has a prescription to obtain drugs. Drug abusers are typically interested in acquiring narcotics and tranquilizers that have a direct affect on the central-nervous system, he said.

Donovan added that while he has observed that most caregivers in West Marin are very attentive to their duties, "substance abusers can certainly transcend professions. Unfortunately, there are lots of drug abusers out there."

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