Disqus - Latest Comments for jeannemhannah

Re: Losing a spouse

jeannemhannah — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:01:55 -0000

Bill, if you are a regular reader of my blog, you will note that I often share informative articles from news sources, from the FDA, from medical journals, etc. with my readers. This is particularly true when I see an article that I believe would be comforting or would be useful / educational for my readers.

Not everyone sees / reads the New York Times, thus many might have missed seeing this very interesting article.

Re: Model parenting time plans

jeannemhannah — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:20:54 -0000

I suggest that the parents put their parenting time plan onto a calendar. I strongly believe in very specific parenting time plans because the details give a non-custodial parent something to enforce in a court if the other parent denies parenting time.

On the other hand, sometimes one parent just does what he wishes. There are two issues here.

First, in Michigan, it is a felony to keep a child more than 24 hours after the child is supposed to be released to the other parent. It's called "parental kidnapping."

Second, the custodial parent and the child or children are entitled to the security and stability of the established plan. File written complaints with your Friend of the Court caseworker for violations of the order. The caseworker will send the other parent notice that a response is required in 21 days. If there is no response or an unsatisfactory response, there will be a court hearing and penalties may be imposed. That may help put a stop to it.

Third, here's a link to a free online parenting time calendar that you may use to help you set out on paper a two-year calendar so that there is no question in anybody's mind as to which parent is to have the children on which days/overnights. http://tinyurl.com/ygynd5g

Re: What it means to be a health care proxy

jeannemhannah — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:45:17 -0000

Ed, obviously the American health care system needs a huge repair. We don't need or want a band-aid.

Here's some food for thought that I found on the website for the Physicians for a National Health Program. Interestingly, this article was written in 2007. But times have only changed for the worse as the economy has tanked and people have lost health care coverage.

Single-payer healthcare advocate Johnathon Ross M.D., M.P.H. takes a local look at the national HMO crisis

by Johnathon S. Ross, M.D.
originally published in the Toledo City Paper
on August 8th 2007

PNHP says: "Johnathon Ross doesn’t see Michael Moore’s op-ed documentary “Sicko” as a film — it’s his life.

Ross has practiced and taught internal medicine at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center for 27 years and every day witnesses the results of America’s crippled state of healthcare. Whether it’s trying to find ways to help uninsured patients get treatment or helping insured patients find care when their HMOs refuse to cover their medical expenses, Ross has his hands full.

And he’s mad as hell it got to this point.

Ross is one of many advocates of a nationally based single-payer health insurance system and is a member of the state council of the Single Payer Network of Ohio (spanohio.org). He is currently campaigning in support of House Bill 676 (co-sponsored by Dennis Kucinich, Marcy Kaptur and other Ohio House members) ensuring that all Americans have access to tax-paid national healthcare.

In a City Paper exclusive, Ross recounts some of the horrific experiences that Toledoans are forced to endure due to the current state of healthcare. In simple, direct language, Ross explains what national healthcare is, can be, and — more importantly — that it’s not akin to socialism."

_____________________

Ross' article:

Perhaps you have seen the billboards and the full-page ads. Perhaps you have asked yourself, as I have, why the health insurance companies, drug companies and health-care systems are allowed to waste so much money on advertising when ordinary people struggle to get the care that they need? Perhaps you have seen the movie “Sicko” and wonder if you could be the next insured person that the system will fail. I have come to believe that in healthcare, market forces are the disease for which they are supposed to be the cure. These “healthcare marketing wars” in Northwest Ohio and elsewhere in the country soak up billions and are symptoms of that disease.

Every day in the St. V’s clinic, I see a near miss. Every week I see a wounding. Every month or so I see a death due to a sickness care non-system that leaves 50,000 Lucas County citizens, more than a million Ohioans, more than 45 million Americans uninsured, and all of us unsure if healthcare will be there for us if we need it. The Institute of Medicine, our most prestigious health experts, estimates that more than 18,000 of our fellow citizens, our friends, neighbors and family, die every year from lack of health insurance alone, and nearly another 100,000 will die from medical errors. The system is broken and it needs to be fixed.

The remainder of Dr. Ross' compelling article may be read here: http://tinyurl.com/ydnv42p

Re: What it means to be a health care proxy

jeannemhannah — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:47:02 -0000

Of course there are no easy answers. If there were, surely we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. But here is some food for thought for those who condemn the idea of "socialized medicine" from T.R. Reid. Reid, a former Washington Post reporter, is the author of a recently published book "The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care."

Reid wrote in the Washington Post on Sunday, August 23, 2009:

5 Myths About Health Care Around the World

As Americans search for the cure to what ails our health-care system, we've overlooked an invaluable source of ideas and solutions: the rest of the world. All the other industrialized democracies have faced problems like ours, yet they've found ways to cover everybody -- and still spend far less than we do.

I've traveled the world from Oslo to Osaka to see how other developed democracies provide health care. Instead of dismissing these models as "socialist," we could adapt their solutions to fix our problems. To do that, we first have to dispel a few myths about health care abroad: You may read the remainder of the article here: http://tinyurl.com/lpr622

Re: What it means to be a health care proxy

jeannemhannah — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:37:14 -0000

Well Ed, WordPress would have me not reply to your last comment, thus I must begin a new thread.

Rhetorical care tactics? "Rationed care." "Death panel."

Creative solution? Voters need to let their congressmen know that we're tired of the political infighting. See today's MSNBC "Congress: Knock-down, Drag-out Fight" http://tinyurl.com/yafb82k

We the people who need health care reform and the assurance that there will be care for infants, children, families and seniors, need to contact our representatives in Congress now to encourage them to work to create a plan that will resolve these serious issues.

To contact your congressman, click here for contact information. http://tinyurl.com/ygyzmav

Re: What it means to be a health care proxy

jeannemhannah — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:48:11 -0000

Ed, I wholeheartedly agree that the problems you set out in detail above exist. I first explored those ideas back in 2005. The problem is that the number of medical professionals needed to cope with the tsunami wave of elderly patients is not only diminishing, but also that those doctors, nurses, and other professionals treating the elderly have, but for a tiny percentage (1-2%) had no training at all in geriatric medicine. Nothing has changed for the better since 2005. http://tinyurl.com/nmaph2

Rationed health care? In my opinion, we should be seeking creative solutions, not solutions directed by rhetorical scare tactics.

Re: What it means to be a health care proxy

jeannemhannah — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:48:12 -0000

Ed, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I agree wholeheartedly with this statement that you make: "Sound medical ethics, in my view, does not require that kind of almost experimental intervention and should procedures become so complex, painful, and expensive, the choice for palliative medication allowing natural death would not be euthanasia."

I was grateful that my mother's physician was knowledgeable and concerned about palliative care. When it became obvious that there was no way to reverse the multi-system failure that my mother experienced, he made certain that she was comfortable.

This meant that he investigated a supposed past history of allergy to morphine and he came to her bedside in the middle of his busy day to supervise the first use to make certain that it would make her comfortable, and would not cause her sudden death.

I regret that Mom died only hours before she would have come to my home for hospice care. However, the staff at Munson was incredible; we were afforded privacy, support, and comfort. I was provided with instruction for Mom's care. I was able to tell her stories and sing those songs she once loved to hear me sing (2 octaves lower). I am sad that I will never again be able to sing for my mother. But I am relieved that she did not suffer more when there was no hope of recovery.

Rationing care? Those involved in the health care reform issue sometimes use scare tactics -- like calling a conference between a health care proxy and a patient's doctors "a death panel." That is irresponsible rhetoric, in my opinion. I agree with Keith. It's a life panel.

I've written before about The Five Wishes. It's a wonderful loving document used to appoint a health care proxy. Ask anyone at Munson for one.

Caregivers, especially children of a loved one, need to know what kind of end-of-life care their loved one wants. Having a health care proxy means having the ability to make reasoned, responsible decisions knowing that the caregiver is carrying out the wishes of the patient. Doctors and nurses can then have those important conversations about what kind of care a patient should have and how much treatment is too much treatment.

Re: What it means to be a health care proxy

jeannemhannah — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:44:51 -0000

There was a WordPress problem loading the video of Keith Olbermann's very moving commentary. You may see it here.

http://tinyurl.com/yauf7om

Jeanne

Re: War of the Roses?

jeannemhannah — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 09:16:39 -0000

Red-faced in TC: Of course you are right! It was Kathleen Turner . . .

Re: Sean Goldman kidnapping — let's 'thinklogically'

jeannemhannah — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:25:32 -0000

Let's hope that Sean Goldman's return was the first of many. There are still over 60 American children wrongfully detained by the country of Brazil.

U.S. citizens can help the left-behind parents of these children by urging their representatives in Congress to support Rep. Chris Smith's proposed International Child Abduction Prevention Act, HR 3240.

The Bring Sean Home Foundation is not finished! They have just begun. You can help. Visit http://bringseanhome.org to see how you can help. There is a helpful link to a web page where you can directly email your representatives in Congress asking them to support this bill here: http://bringseanhome.org/hr...

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:11:39 -0000

Sir Isaac,

Spot on! Jeanne M. Hannah

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:10:29 -0000

Fabius,

Thank you for your very enlightened post. I rejoice that you feel that most Brazilians felt relieved and happy with the outcome. As with the Elian Gonzales case, and the "Baby Jessica" case in Michigan, this was the right result. The delay in the return is the tragedy. The method of handoff is also a tragedy. I hope there will be healing here.

Thank you for your kindness. Jeanne M Hannah

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:46:49 -0000

Apparently, Mike, no one has ever taight you and Lupen that repeating lies over and over doesn't change them into the truth.

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:17:55 -0000

Well, certainly it's easier to play silly little name-calling games than to speak the truth, right, Mike? Too bad you don't know what you are talking about.

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 11:00:59 -0000

manfernandes, you have the facts all wrong. Obviously, you buy into the kidnappers' story.

"and to be exposed to interviews and shows. Too sad!" -- REALLY! And just what did Tostes and Silvana and Lins e Silva do, parading Sean through the streets of Rio through hordes of paparazzi when they were offered a private entrance?

Shameful conduct and so frightening and upsetting for Sean. If that's the way they show him how much they love him . . . they are a sorry bunch. http://tinyurl.com/ybh7u62

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 10:08:37 -0000

Lupen, this is really all about kidnapping. http://tinyurl.com/ygguuto

Jeanne M. Hannah
Family Law Attorney
http://parental-kidnapping.com
http://jeannehannah.typepad...

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:26:37 -0000

In my opinion, it isn't appropriate to ascribe bad faith or lack of ethics or . . . whatever your point is . . . to this offering of air transportation to Sean and David Goldman. Reading your story above, I understand you to say that David Goldman "has been fighting for 5 years to get custody of his son." Not once do you mention the word kidnapping.

Back in June 2009, Judge Pinto in Brazil called the wrongful retention of Sean Goldman in Brazil by his stepfather a "second kidnapping." http://tinyurl.com/lsfa8k Judge Pinto ordered Sean to be returned within 48 hours. That, of course, did not occur. Instead appeals were filed. A December 16, 2009 appellate decision in Brazil ordered return of the kidnapped child Sean Goldman to his father David Goldman.

That, of course, did not occur. After an unfortunate ruling by Judge Marco Aurelio Mello in Brazil staying this latest decision, it was necessary for David Goldman's lawyers to file for a Writ of Mandamus. Judge Mendes, the Chief Judge of Brazil's Supreme Court reversed Judge Mello's December 16 stay and ordered the immediate return of Sean Goldman.

Next, Sean Goldman's "loving" grandmother and "loving" stepfather paraded Sean through the streets of Brazil, through horrific crowds and paparazzi thrusting cameras into poor Sean's face.

So Sean and David Goldman were offered a ride to get the hell out of Dodge. Had this been you and your child . . . do you think for a minute you would have refused that offer?

Is your pique just jealousy that you weren't there for the story? To get the exclusive? If you're going to report on this story, get it right. This is not a custody case. This is a kidnapping case.

Goldman archives here: http://tinyurl.com/lcjk59

Jeanne M. Hannah, Family Law Attorney, Traverse City, Michigan

Re: NBC News Pays for David and Sean Goldman Charter Flight to U.S. - TVNewser

jeannemhannah — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 22:52:13 -0000

Re: Recent honors for 'Updates in Michigan Family Law'

jeannemhannah — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:04:01 -0000

Thank you Mike. I'll continue to blog and to empower men and women who need real time information about family law issues that affect them and their children. Jeanne

Re: Paternity fraud: 'Duped Dads' — What's the answer?

jeannemhannah — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:28:19 -0000

Dear Jeff and Proud Dad,

I am not ignoring you. We're installing a new server and network in my office, so I've not have Internet access. Now I've got access, but my time needs to be spent catching up on client issues.

I'll post a response to your comments over the weekend.
I know that the Webmaster will be on vacation during the next week. I am not sure how or if that will affect my ability to post. Thank you for your patience.

Re: Fathers awarded custody more often

jeannemhannah — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:56:13 -0000

Dyll,

I am not sure that you understood my message. It wasn't about the money. It was about due process and about how facts impact a court's decision if there is a meaningful hearing. A presumption isn't the same this as a hearing.

But more important, as Professor Barbara Glesner Fines, said . . . many of us are looking at custody the wrong way. She said “The question shouldn’t be ‘How can I get or win custody?’ [and I think an equally important question is that it's not about "How can I get child support or avoid paying child support?"] "Rather," she says, the important question is "How can I make sure this re-formed family will function in a way that is good for the kids? Divorce is just the beginning of a lifetime of parenting your children with this other person. You’ve got to make that work.”

Re: Adoption fraud: Should third parties keep child?

jeannemhannah — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:47:45 -0000

Hello Sandra,

I apologize for my earlier confusion of names . . . Fitting blogging into a busy family law practice isn't easy. My answers are often written on the fly or late at night.

I have a great deal of empathy for you in your situation regarding your son Shawn. First of all, it is very hard for a private individual to fund litigation with a huge and well-funded organization like LDS.

Second, although there are certainly times when I feel as though children don't have enough voice . . . as though parents' rights sometimes trump a child's right to a good environment . . . still overall, I advocate for a constitutional resolution of these issues conforming to the current state of the law after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Troxel v Granville (parent vs grandparent) http://tinyurl.com/yhxeldm because it provides families and lawyers with a greater potential to predict an outcome based upon legal precedence -- in other words with greater certainty and ability to resolve issues more quickly.

There is so much good legal precedence about the constitutional rights favoring biological parents. Every case, is of course, dependent upon its own facts. I haven't seen any of the paperwork in your case, so I cannot really give any type of legal opinion. But, as I earlier said, this case sounds so much like the Michigan "Baby Jessica" case, which you may read here. http://tinyurl.com/ycccow3

The fact that Hunter has been able to maintain a parent-child relationship with you gives him a distinct advantage over Baby Jessica who was taken from the only family she'd ever known and returned to her biological parents. A transfer in custody from the "non-parents" to you would not be so traumatic.

Let's hope that the Texas Supreme Court renders a decision soon. Jeanne M. Hannah

Re: Females as batterers? Get the picture on domestic violence

jeannemhannah — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:12:24 -0000

Hello Gloria, thank you for your comment. I agree that men may be reluctant to report domestic violence -- sometimes for fear of embarrassment or reluctance to admit they can be victims. Women often under-report for several reasons, one of which is a fear that no one will believe them.

Domestic violence can be a vicious circle, with children learning from a parent that "it's OK to treat another human being this way."

Re: Adoption fraud: Should third parties keep child?

jeannemhannah — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:27:52 -0000

Amyadoptee,

Your email address is not revealed. Do please give Shawn my email address: jeannemhannah@charter.net

After reading the Texas Court opinion, I was left with a conviction that a stronger constitutional law argument needs to be made. I've assisted with amicus briefs for the State Bar of Michigan Family Law Section in cases involving third party custody issues -- arguing for the biological parent. I would love to share some of the legal arguments with Shawn's attorney.

Re: Adoption fraud: Should third parties keep child?

jeannemhannah — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:09:18 -0000

The fact that Shawn has been able to form the type of relationship that you describe above and that he actually has a relationship with Kaylee puts the child less at risk than Baby Jessica in Michigan's In Re Clausen case! In the Baby Jessica case, there was a huge hue and cry about removing the child from the only parents she had known during her about 2.5 years. I can still remember the emotional removal of the child from the DeBoer's home, which was shown on national TV. But Kaylee knows Shawn, thus a transfer in custody should not be so traumatic.

In my opinion, unless the Texas trial court, on remand, makes the third party custodians prove by clear and convincing evidence that placing Kaylee with her biological father would create a substantial risk of harm to the child's mental, physical, or emotional health, then the Texas court's decision would violate Shawn's constitutional rights. The U.S. Supreme Court clearly favors the rights of fit parents over the claims of third parties in Troxel v Granville, decided on June 5, 2000.

The law doesn't require parents to be perfect. The law isn't supposed to favor two married custodians who might be able to provide a more affluent lifestyle for a child over a fit biological parent. Often, what children get are "pretty good" parents or, in some cases a "pretty good parent." So long as there is no abuse or neglect, that is good enough.

I am interested in discussing this case with Shawn to see if I may be of some assistance to him and his Texas attorneys.