I found delivery of services in the Scandinavian countries, in Scotland, in England, and in Israel superior to what we are doing here. Senator STEVENSON. All of them provide, as a result of-I don't know whether you would call it insurance Dr. WEINBERG. National Health Insurance programs. Senator STEVENSON. As part of the comprehensive national insurance Dr. WEINBERG. Correct. Senator STEVENSON. Program? Dr. WEINBERG. Correct. Senator STEVENSON. Extended care for the elderly is provided? Senator STEVENSON. I think that the committee would be well advised to look into that. Dr. WEINBERG. The thing to remember is that Holland, which still has a National Health Insurance program, still saw fit to pass a law for the care of the long-term ill patient. This is what is so lacking in our Medicare and Medicaid programs because it is the chronically ill who have suffered most. Senator STEVENSON. Thank you very much, Dr. Weinberg. The committee now calls Daniel A. Slader as administrator of Melbourne Nursing Home. Would you identify yourselves and your colleagues? SWORN STATEMENT OF DANIEL A. SLADER, ADMINISTRATOR, MELBOURNE NURSING HOME; REPRESENTED BY THOMAS SULLIVAN AND ALLEN METZ, ATTORNEYS Mr. SLADER. My name is Daniel A. Slader and I am administrator of Melbourne Nursing Center located at 4621 North Racine Avenue in the city of Chicago. On my immediate left is Mr. Thomas Sullivan of the firm of Jenner & Block, attorneys at law, and on his left is Mr. Allen Metz, associate counsel with the same firm. Senator PERCY. It is your intention, Mr. Slader, to testify directly yourself and on occasion, where you need technical advice and counsel, to confer or will you ask your colleagues to directly testify on your behalf? Mr. SLADER. Well, I will testify, Senator, with respect to matters of which I have knowledge. As to any matter that they may have knowledge, that I don't have information on, I would ask the Senators if they would allow them to testify. Senator PERCY. All right, fine. And in any case where they testify and in which you yourself have no personal knowledge or cannot certify to the accuracy and truth of it, would you so then indicate to us? Mr. SLADER. Yes, sir.. Senator PERCY. The subpena requesting your appearnace will be entered at this point in the record. (The subpena follows:) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Congress of the United States To...Mr. Daniel A. Slader, Administrator, Melbourne Nursing Home, 4621 North Racine, Chicago, Illinois Greeting: tämt to lawful authority, YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED to appear before the ..Special... Committee on Aging....... University of of the Senate of the United States, on April..2,1971. The Committee.requests your appearance along with financial records relating hereof fail' not, as you will answer your default under the pains and penalties in such cases made and provided. To Val. Halamandaris, Professional Staff Member... to serve and return. Given under my hand, by order of the committee, this in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and seventy...one......... Senator PERCY. Would you rise, please and be sworn in? Mr. SLADER. I, Daniel A. Slader, in the testimony that I am about to give before this committee will tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Mr. SULLIVAN. May I make a brief statement, Senator Percy? Mr. SULLIVAN. First I would like to say that I am pleased to be here with both of you Illinois Senators. Mr. Slader, who, as he says, is the administrator of the Melbourne Nursing Home, has attempted to cooperate with the committee, Senator Percy. An inspection was made by Mr. Halamandaris and a man from the Better Government Association. However, the inspection was delayed for a few minutes while Mr. Slader called me to get my okay because I had given him instructions not to have people going through there after the unfortunate experience he had with the Chicago Tribune reporter, to which I will refer later. We have produced the documents requested by the committee well in advance of this hearing so that you would have an opportunity to go over them. We have also cooperated with other agencies, State and Federal. We have produced documents for the Federal Grand Jury and we have submitted to continual investigation and interviews by the Chicago Board of Health, which has the immediate supervision of the home. BASICALLY NOT HOME FOR AGED This home may fall within the category that you, Senator Percy, said, is outside of the purview of the purposes of this committee because it is not basically-basically it is not a home for the aged but rather for patients who have-who are indigent and who have been finally discharged from State mental institutions and most of the patients are not considered in the aged category. The home is supervised carefully. There is an employee of the Illinois Department of Public Health who spends 80 percent to 90 percent of her time on the premises, Miss Brock, a social worker, and there are frequent inspections of the home by the Chicago Board of Health, Nursing and Sanitation Division, building inspectors, Fire Department inspectors, and so forth. In addition to that, there is a committee of physicians who are attending the patients who are on the premises, each week. Mr. Slader and his home got into the public press through the story of Pamela Zekman in the Chicago Tribune and shortly after that he came to our office. We attempted to identify the nurses aides and nurses who were referred to in this story and Mr. Metz, who is working with me, took statements from three ladies at the home who apparently were the nurses or nurses aides referred to in this story. Senator PERCY. The story you are referring to is the one by Pamela Zekman? Mr. SULLIVAN. Yes. Senator PERCY. March 1? Mr. SULLIVAN. Yes. Senator PERCY. Thank you. Mr. SULLIVAN. And as I say, we interviewed them in great detail and I have their interviews here and they are available to testify here and as a matter of fact, in some respects, it is unfortunate that they will not have a chance to tell their stories in public. But, even if they did, it is unlikely that the Tribune would print them. If, what the nurses aides tell us is true, this story is not only terribly exaggerated, but in many respects, downright false. Now, you will observe by reading the story, that much of it is hearsay or double hearsay. It is what somebody said she said somebody told her, Pamela, so if she were here and I could cross-examine her, which I would very much like to do, she would not be able to back up a great deal of what is in here because it is based on hearsay. BOARD OF HEALTH REPORTS SEEM FAVORABLE However, the harm that a story like this can do is incredible. The inspection reports that this nursing home has received from the Board of Health, while they are far from perfect, I mean there are items continually complained about and conditions asked to be corrected, on the whole they seem to me to be favorable reports. For example, the food reports, the inspections conducted on the food a few days ago gave them a score of 100 percent, a perfect score. Senator PERCY. Mr. Sullivan, it would be really the preference of the committee that Mr. Slader testified on his own behalf. These are matters that he has firsthand knowledge of and you have secondhand knowledge of and we would be very happy and are anxious to make certain that the record is clear. We could incorporate in the record any affidavits that you have and if necessary, we will see that in open hearings, if we can then, if there is a conflict of testimony and perjury has been committed and a reputation defamed because of such perjury, we would be happy to refer these matters to the Justice Department and I think all of them should be sworn, just as Mr. Slader has been. Mr. SULLIVAN. I agree. I don't believe that perjury has been committed. All Pamela Zekman did was to write a newspaper story, but as you know, people assume the truth of these stories and this woman has not testified or subjected herself to the cross-examination which is the ultimate test of the truth. Senator PERCY. That is the truth. Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Slader is here and available and ready to testify. DANIEL A. SLADER called as a witness herein, after having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY SENATOR PERCY Senator PERCY. All right. I would like to clarify, Mr. Slader, the dual relationship which you have. You are the owner of Melbourne Nursing Home and you are also the treasurer of the Metropolitan Chicago or the Chicago Metropolitan Nursing Home Association, is that correct? Mr. SLADER. Not entirely. Senator PERCY. Pardon me? Mr. SLADER. Not entirely. I would like to clarify that if I may. I am one of the owners of the Melbourne Nursing Home. Senator PERCY. And what percentage ownership do you have? Senator PERCY. You have 25-percent ownership? Mr. SLADER. Yes, sir. My wife has another 25 percent. Together we own 50 percent. Senator PERCY. And has that been the lowest or has that been the highest amount that you have ever held in ownership in the Melbourne Nursing Home? Mr. SLADER. That is the highest I have ever held in the Melbourne Nursing Home, yes, sir; with my wife together, 50 percent. Senator PERCY. But in effect, you have 50 percent? Mr. SLADER. Yes. Senator PERCY. And that is controlled and that you do manage it yourself? Mr. SLADER. Yes, sir. Senator PERCY. You do? Mr. SLADER. Yes, sir. CONSIDERED RESPONSIBLE FOR OPERATION OF HOME X Senator PERCY. So that you would consider yourself fully responsible, more responsible than any other individual or group for the operation of the home? Mr. SLADER. Well, as the administrator of the home; I don't control the board of directors of the corporation, having only 50 percent with my wife. Senator PERCY. Yes. Mr. SLADER. But in a general sense, I think your statement, sir, is correct. Senator PERCY. And do I understand that the property, the land, the building, the equipment, is owned by the same corporation that operates the facility and that there is only one corporation that we are talking about? Mr. SLADER. No, sir, that is not correct. Senator PERCY. Now, how many corporations are we talking about? Mr. SLADER. One corporation, sir. Mr. SULLIVAN. And one partnership. Senator PERCY. Well, if Mr. Slader understands, it, I would rather that he would explain it. Mr. SULLIVAN. Go ahead and explain it, would you, please! |