Brooke Shield’s mom signed out of nursing home to lunch with paparazzi without actress's consent
Actress Brooke Shields says she is very upset that a tabloid reporter was able to sign her mother, Teri Shields, out of a US nursing home for a brief visit. Teri, 75, has dementia. The actress says her mother has been temporarily residing in the long-term care facility because of her condition and that the decision to admit her mother to the nursing home was a difficult one.
Police, who were called to the nursing home to look for the older woman, alerted the 43-year-old star about the incident, which occurred on Thursday. While police say that the protocol that the long-term care facility follows allowed for the reporters to sign Teri out of the nursing home, the facility grew concerned that she had been gone for some time.
Teri was found in a restaurant nearby where she was talking to the freelance reporter. Brooke Shields says she is outraged that the National Enquirer approached her mother knowing that the elderly woman's mental health is poor.
The actress is vowing to take legal action against all parties involved. She says that the two reporters that signed her mother out had presented themselves at the home as the older Shields’s friends.
Brooke Shields says the National Enquirer is behind the incident. The tabloid magazine has issued a statement responding to her accusations by saying that Teri had asked the freelance reporter to help her run errands and take her to lunch.
Dementia
Dementia can affect each person afflicted with the condition in different ways. In many instances, the reason a person with dementia is admitted to a nursing home is because he or she needs special help.
Symptoms of Dementia (Again, symptoms will depend on the severity of condition):
• Has problems finding/choosing the right words to say
• Forgets appointments or names or events
• Loses items
• Experiences difficulty performing daily tasks without assistance, such as cooking, cleaning, driving, eating, dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom
• Changes in personality
• Paranoia
• Mood swings
• Confusion
• Disorientation
• Tendency to wander
• Can’t absorb new information
• More susceptible to fall accidents
• Hallucinations
• Poor concentration
• Withdrawal
• Depression
• Confabulation
• Swallowing problems
• Loss of memory
• Health complications
A nursing home that doesn’t take the necessary and proper steps to take care of a dementia patient and make sure that he or she is safe can be held liable for nursing home negligence.
Tabloid took Shields’ mom out of nursing home, People.com, May 17, 2009
Dementia Overview, EMedicineHealth.com
Related Web Resources:
What is Dementia?, NCPAMD.com
Brooke Shields, IMDB
Contact our Chicago nursing home neglect law firm to explore your legal options, as well as learn about what you can do to take your loved one out of a dangerous living situation at an Illinois long-term care facility. The Law Offices of Steven J. Malman & Associates represents clients in Cook County, Lake County, DuPage County, Will County, and other counties throughout Illinois.
