The recent examination of the public administrator's office provided more than a healthy catharsis for Douglas County. It will also result in two people literally being freed from a far more intensive care than they required.
We agree with district judges Dave Gamble and Michael Gibbons that the public administrator needs to meet regularly with the county wards. As public administrator, Lynn EnEarl's job is to administer the estates of people who die without a will. In 1999, she was also appointed to the position of public guardian, in which role she has recently come to public attention.
Under the law, EnEarl should have been submitting annual financial and personal reports to the district judges for her charges, but she hasn't. She has been submitting financial reports after a fashion to the county commission, which she told Gibbons she thought was sufficient.
There are plenty of failings in both the execution and oversight of the public guardian's office.
But a bright spot is the implementation of the Senior Advocates for the Elderly, which brought those failings to light.
We agree with Judge Gamble that if the SAFE program doesn't achieve another single thing, that this was more than worth instituting the program.
The removal of someone's rights due to their medical condition is one of the more serious tasks we undertake as a society. How we treat those who are helpless in our care defines who we are as a community.
