By JoHanna Thompson
Ms. Thelma Webb-Crawford is a 93 year old resident of Miami-Dade County at her home address in Miami, Florida.
As of June 3, 2021, Ms. Crawford is currently re-hospitalized at St. Joseph’s Hospital after sustaining a broken hip from a fall at an adult rehabilitation center that she was signed into by someone she has never claimed or recognized as her granddaughter and who assumed power of attorney over her.
Ms. Crawford was removed/taken from her residence on Monday, May 17, 2021 and initially hospitalized out of state, against her wishes or unknown to her, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Savannah, GA. She was subsequently transferred to Tara at Thunderbolt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center 3223 Falligant Ave., Savannah, GA on Friday, May 21, 2021 and restricted from visiting family members who were there to meet and console her.
Ms. Crawford was signed into care under power of attorney held by Tammie Jones also known as Tamara C Jones at Tara at Thunderbolt Nursing & Rehabilitation Center against her expressed wishes which she made known as recently as June 3 and June 4 to many family members and previously on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 on an audio recorded call where Ms. Crawford could clearly be heard saying she wanted to return home, “you know what you did” (believing she was talking to the person(s) who took her), and clearly communicating who she trusts and would like to talk to and receive a visit from.
Other next of kin, blood relatives, family and friends have not been allowed to communicate with Ms. Crawford directly to validate her expressed wishes to remain in her home in Miami, Florida - until her death - because the person holding the power of attorney is restricting communication or visitation with Ms. Crawford without the approval or presence of Tammie Jones.
The facility, Tara at Thunderbolt, complies with Ms. Jones’ restrictions based on the alleged disability of Ms. Thelma Crawford who, according to the facility administrator, was diagnosed in Savannah, GA by an evaluation. This diagnosis was made without the knowledge of or consultation with Ms. Crawford’s primary care provider and during a period of time when Ms. Crawford may have been responding and reacting under the severe trauma of an adverse experience, transfer trauma, being removed from her home without her consent, not trusting any of the people around her, possibly being medicated, and not clear about where, how or why she was not in her home. An attorney attempted to contact the facility and communicate the misuse of power of attorney however the facility was unresponsive. The facility also would not provide Ms. Crawford with flowers that were brought for her nor were they willing to listen to a concerned friend of Ms. Crawford regarding the patient’s expressed wishes that were audio recorded proof of the patient’s wishes for specific visitors. The patient was being held like a prisoner and restricted from anyone. She verbally expressed that she was trying to get out.
Family and friends have alerted all appropriate authorities in Miami-Dade County and the local police in Thunderbolt, Savannah, GA about their concerns for the best interest of Ms. Crawford since being removed from her home. Currently. Ms. Crawford has a broken hip which she was not at risk of in her own home, confirming the concerns of harm to her person.
Law enforcement authorities, hospital and adult rehabilitation staff, patient advocates, the clinical care coordinator, Department of Children’s and Families Adult Investigators, the Miami-Dade Police Department Vulnerable Persons Crime Unit, the State Attorney’s Office, Georgia Advocacy Office and the State of Florida Elder Affairs have been notified of this incident.
Ms. Crawford remains in Savannah, GA pleading with anyone who she is able to communicate with, to be returned to her home in Miami, FL.
Ms Thelma Crawford was last seen by a close friend and care-giver in her home in Miami, FL on Saturday, May 15, 2021 with Tamara C Jones aka “Tammie” and a granddaughter from Ms. Crawford’s deceased son, her granddaughter’s husband and two children. They were waiting for the arrival of another granddaughter from Ms. Crawford’s deceased daughter and her partner who arrived around 5:30pm.
The caregiver-friend visited Ms. Crawford on the afternoon of May 15, 2021 after returning from a trip to California from May 4, 2021 through that morning on May 15, 2021. Ms. Crawford was in good spirits, communicative, laughing, walking on her own, and said she had eaten and was feeling fine. The caregiver-friend cared for her feet (grooming her toes) while everyone spoke about the incident involving her grandson, a 43 yr old man who had been living with Ms. Crawford. The grandson, granddaughter, and allegedly Tammie Jones are siblings from Ms Crawford’s son. The other granddaughter is their cousin who happens to also be a notary.
The incident between Ms. Crawford and her grandson happened on or around May 7, 2021, resulting in Ms. Crawford sustaining a cut on her forehead and a black eye. Tammie supported Ms. Crawford by taking her to file a restraining order against the grandson since the caregiver-friend was away in California. A local Miami-Dade Police Officer completed the police report of the incident involving physical violence and is familiar with Ms. Crawford because a report was filed a month prior regarding her bank account being wiped out. A Florida Department of Children & Families, Adult Protective Investigator was assigned to the case since it involved physical elder abuse.
The granddaughter of Ms. Crawford’s deceased daughter and her partner remained in the home on Saturday and Sunday with plans to leave on Monday. The verbal agreement was that the caregiver-friend would be there to spend the evening with Ms. Crawford on Monday night, then support Ms. Crawford with working out all of her needs the next day, Tuesday. On Sunday, the caregiver-friend called to speak to Ms. Crawford and was intercepted by the granddaughter who said she was asleep. Arrangements for Monday were reaffirmed; the granddaughter would be there Sunday but had to leave on Monday to go back to work. The caregiver-friend told her she would be able to be there Monday evening.
Another friend of Ms. Crawford, who happens to also be law enforcement, stopped by to visit Ms. Crawford on Sunday and was surprised to see the granddaughter since she had completely not communicated with her grandmother since June 2020. The granddaughter said, “they plotting to get her house” to which the friend asked “who” and the granddaughter shifted her eyes toward the house then remembered she was revealing information to an officer. The friend went inside to check on Ms. Crawford who appeared to be sleeping which she thought was unusual when there were so many people in Ms. Crawford’s home.
On Monday, May 17, 2021, the caregiver-friend called around 10:30am to find out when Ms. Crawford's grandchildren would be leaving and confirm an appointment at Ms. Crawford’s home for an estimate on tenting the property from 12-2pm that day. The caregiver-friend asked to speak with Ms. Crawford directly and was informed that VITAS nursing service was there and that they would see the caregiver-friend later.
The caregiver-friend called after reaching home from work, again around five in the evening, and headed to Ms. Crawford’s after no response to calls and messages. Once arriving at Ms. Crawford’s residence that evening, banging on all the windows and doors for an hour and trying to reach the granddaughter, her partner and Tammie with no response, the caregiver-friend returned home and proceeded to reach out to the three people with no response. The next morning, Tammie did answer her phone, and told the caregiver-friend that Ms. Crawford was “okay” and that she was with family, however the caregiver-friend could not speak to Ms. Crawford and would not be able to until she returned to her home. This response concerned and disturbed the caregiver-friend greatly because she was certain that Ms. Crawford did not want to be removed from her home in addition to not being allowed to talk directly with Ms Crawford. The caregiver-friend called everyone she knew related or connected to Ms. Crawford to determine her whereabouts and safety as instructed by Ms. Crawford should anything happen to her.
There was a lot of mis-communication from Tammie initially sending a text to the caregiver-friend on May 18, 2021 at 1:32pm "stop telling people Granny is in a nursing home. She's not, she'll be back in two weeks." It was later found out that Ms. Crawford was actually at St. Joseph's Hospital. Tammie told other family members she was returning Ms. Crawford to Miami on that Thursday, so those family members drove all the way from Atlanta to receive Ms. Crawford at her home. They arrived at an empty house. Ms. Crawford was located in Savannah at St. Joseph's Hospital. Tammie and the other granddaughter from Ms. Crawford’s son told family members the house was condemned, unlivable, however the caregiver-friend requested police come to the home on May 21, 2021 to document it was not condemned. They also stated to family members they had concern that their step-brother would return to the home, however two restraining order service notifications were placed at Ms. Crawford’s residence and local police officers are watching the house on patrol. Various family members were in communication with the grandson, his mother and brother.
The caregiver-friend attempted to reach the adult investigator on numerous occasions by phone, text, and email with no response for days. When the investigator finally returned a response, the first question asked was “how did you get my email?” not how is the victim and what additional information do you have to provide? The investigator, then, proceeded to communicate that she only wanted to receive information from one source and that if Ms. Crawford was in a facility, she was considered safe. Ms. Crawford was removed out of state during an active investigation. The investigator confirmed that Ms. Crawford was in a facility, regardless of being out of state, she was considered to be safe. The investigator did not actually check on Ms. Crawford’s welfare as her job dictates before making those statements to the caregiver-friend.
Ms Crawford's eldest living nephew, took charge of reaching out to people to get information on Ms Crawford. He was able to locate her on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Savannah, GA where she had been admitted two days earlier on or about May 18, 2021. The caregiver-friend was able to speak to Ms. Crawford at 6:09am EDT on Friday, May 21, 2021. She was a bit disoriented but knew who she was talking to and communicated “they did something to me, secure my home, and please come get me.” The caregiver-friend immediately hung up the phone and called the nurses station to tell them that Ms. Crawford was not her usual self, she was not a crazy person and she had clearly undergone some trauma, pleading not to mis-diagnose or medicate her. She was a resident of Miami, FL and family is on the way. The hospital responded with urgency, communicating they were happy someone called because they did not know what was going on with the patient. The caregiver-friend was connected with the clinical case coordinator whom she relayed detailed information about Ms. Crawford. The clinical case coordinator assured the caregiver-friend she would look into it. At some point, the granddaughter must have informed the hospital they were not authorized to speak about Ms. Crawford, only Tammie Jones. Contact with family and friends was restricted through Tammie Jones. That afternoon, Ms. Crawford was transferred to Tara at Thunderbolt Adult Rehabilitation Center in Savannah, GA. The family members who had driven from Atlanta to Miami then back up to Savannah were turned away at St. Joseph's Hospital and then again at Tara at Thunderbolt until Tammie Jones could be present during a visitation. Frustrated and tired, those family members returned home to Atlanta.
After days of no contact, on May 23, 2021, the caregiver-friend and law enforcement friend drove for the first time to Savannah attempting to visit with Ms. Crawford. They were initially turned away and resorted to alerting the Thunderbolt police department to conduct a Wellness check of Ms. Crawford. An Advanced Police Officer followed by a Sergeant responded to the call. The Director of Nursing was called to the facility and the friends asked what authority Tammie Jones had to restrict visitation and on what grounds. The facility had not verified Tammie Jones’ authority. Tammie Jones was asked to produce some authority and she produced what was determined to be a verified Durable Power of Attorney erected in the State of Florida since 2018 signed by a notary. The friends left without incident.
None of the family or friends were aware of the existence of the power of attorney document. Ms. Crawford was not reminded of its existence nor made aware that Tammie Jones was making decisions on her behalf. Tammie Jones had not been around Ms. Crawford for anyone to really know her, she was never claimed or referred to as a granddaughter of Ms. Crawford by Ms. Crawford or other family members, and she was not acting in the duties of agent for the past two years. The caregiver-friend was supporting Ms. Crawford with caregiving since May 16, 2019 when initially meeting her at her home in response to a request to help Ms. Crawford learn how to use a cell phone. From that moment, they developed a strong friendship bond.
On the drive home, the caregiver-friend was advised to check Ms. Crawford’s medical record to determine if an advanced directive was signed which would have a more recent date and provide authority to visit with Ms. Crawford. The caregiver-friend also proceeded to research legal alternatives to advocate for Ms. Crawford and ran into every possible barrier realizing the limited resources to support elderly members of the community.
On May 25, 2021, the caregiver-friend was able to get through to Ms. Crawford on a three way call with another family member. A portion of the call was recorded where Ms. Crawford communicated that she knew what they were trying to do to her, they had locked her up and for what, and they would not get anything of hers. She expressed wanting to see the caregiver-friend and her daughter. The caregiver-friend and her daughter made another 6.5 hour trip to Savannah in an attempt to honor Ms. Crawford’s wishes for visitation. The facility was notified that they acquired legal documentation from Ms. Crawford’s medical record naming the caregiver-friend as health care advocate in Ms. Crawford’s advanced directives. The facility administrator relayed the message that she would handle it when they arrived the next day. On May 26, they entered the facility and were brought into the administrator’s office. The administrator was frustrated from receiving calls from a Miami Dade police detective and local police who had been called to the facility before they arrived. They were instructed not to speak until there were witnesses present. The Director of Nursing and another staff member were called into the office at which point Tammie Jones was called on speaker phone. The administrator mis-spoke saying that Ms. Crawford’s granddaughter was here to visit. Jones responded angrily that they were not family and the administrator was not allowed to discuss Ms. Crawford at all; the administrator ended the phone call. The administrator was asked if she was willing to look at the legal documentation to which she replied, “I am not allowed to talk about anything regarding Ms. Crawford.” The administrator was asked if she would at least put the flower bouquet brought for Ms. Crawford in her room. The administrator shook her head and provided the exact same response. They left the facility without incident and within minutes received a threatening phone call from a granddaughter and texts from the other granddaughter and Tammie making false claims which the caregiver-friend did not respond. She did call the Department of Children and Families, Adult Division, as required by law, to report the emotional abuse of Ms. Crawford. Within minutes, she received a call from a supervisor that four other reports were filed and why were so many reports being filed? The caregiver-friend was unaware of the other reports however she asked the supervisor if that was not an indication that there might be a problem to investigate.
The caregiver-friend relentlessly continued to find some advocacy support and legal representation. She needed a lawyer to be able to file certain petitions with the court and could not find one until she was able to file a petition for an emergency hearing on behalf of Ms. Crawford. She was also connected with the Georgia Advocacy Office who confirmed the misuse of the power of attorney and began to look into the case.
On June 3, Ms. Crawford was admitted back into St. Joseph’s hospital after falling at the adult rehabilitation facility. The caregiver-friend was able to communicate with Ms. Crawford again and she fervently expressed her wishes to be returned home. The caregiver-friend once again drove to Savannah hoping that the hospital staff would respond positively to the advanced directive. Leaving her home at 3am to arrive by the opening of visiting hours, by the time she arrived, she was stopped at security and told she was not allowed to visit. The caregiver-friend asked to speak with the hospital administrator and was connected with the patient advocate who did look at her paperwork and returned minutes later saying she was honoring the hospital policy recognizing the power of attorney and there would be no visitation. This decision was made even though the patient was clearly able to state that she wanted to see her friend on a second audio recording an hour prior to arrival at the hospital. This time, the caregiver-friend had the support of the Georgia Advocacy Office who she believed called the hospital informing them they needed to consider the advanced directive because it was dated more recently than the power of attorney and provided equal advocacy for the best interest of the patient. The patient advocate and clinical case coordinator reached out to the caregiver-friend, who was already on the 6.5 hour drive back to Miami, to request a copy of the paperwork to recognize her interest in regards to the patient, Ms Crawford. The legal document from the patient’s medical record was not accepted at the hospital because, according to St. Joseph’s policy determined by their lawyer, it needed to have two witnessed signatures from staff at the doctors office. It was a testament to all of the legalities that put human lives at risk within systems.
Ms. Crawford should not have been removed from her home at 93yrs old and taken on a long journey which ultimately ended up with her hospitalization; she rarely goes to the doctors, was not on any medication, and has not been hospitalized. These events are especially concerning during risk of COVID exposure which she has no prior exposure. She was unnecessarily endangered, kept from communicating with other family members, caregiver, friends and removed from her home which she always clearly communicates is against her wishes.
The entire incident, which remains without resolve, calls into question at what point do we as a society stop honoring our elders when they are making their wishes known. At what point do we pay attention to who they are surrounded and who is considering their best interest? How often do we hear stories of family committing the most egregious acts against the elders of their bloodlines. We are a society that has many practices that need to be reconciled, we must also consider how we care for our most vulnerable as a commitment to them and a demonstration of the character of our culture.
Let us return Ms. Crawford to her home safely and let us make sure we are listening to and returning all of our elders to their places of safety and peace.
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