Jerry Ellingsen, 80, was lost and confused as he wandered the Denver airport.
The Fort Meyers native, who was suffering from Alzheimerโs, had been walking around the airport with his dog Corky when he was approached by an airline supervisor who later phoned the police.
โHe was very confused about general details of his life to include where he was at, where he was coming from, who he was coming to visit, and his family membersโ names,โ the police report noted.
Hoping to discover his story, the airline looked up the woman who had checked him onto the flight. It was his daughter Pamela Roth.
Upon phoning the seniorโs daughter, they were informed Roth was โdone withโ her dad and didnโt want to be contacted again.
Apparently, Roth, who holds power of attorney over Ellingsen, had put him on a plane, texting his estranged wife a day earlier to inform her of the news. Roth told the wife sheโd be responsible for the manโs care from now onโ an offer the woman duly refused. Later, the ex-wife received another text from Roth, reading:
โIf you need to drop my dad at a homeless shelter, thatโs fine. I just want him to have a roof over his head. Please.โ
โI have no use for him,โ the ex-wife told a detective during a recorded call.
โI mean, a man that wants to kill me? Come on. I donโt want to live with him.โ
In the end, officers had no choice but to bring 80-year-old Ellingsen to the Universtiy of Colorado Hospital.
According to WKYC, laws require hospitals to keep abandoned at-risk adults until caseworkers can find a placement for themโ something that can take months and even years. In Jerryโs case, it was 182 days (6 months).
In fact, Ellingsenโs case prompted WKYC to conduct a 3-month-long investigation. In the end, they discovered a โhealthcare epidemicโ involving hundreds of people like Ellingsen being abandoned at Denver hospitals every year.
โOf those patients, about 30 percent had mental health issues like Alzheimerโs and dementia,โ they reported. โMost of the stranded people were men over 40 years old.โ
While professionals admit that caring for a relative with Alzheimerโs can be overwhelming, there is assistance available. โTalking with families before they burn out can help,โ clinical social worker Jessica MacDonald told Fox4 News.
โEducation and support are key.โ
โItโs so much better than waiting for a crisis to happen.โ
โAt the end of the day, this is our loved ones that we are talking about,โ added Doug Muir, who oversees behavior health at Porter Adventist Hospital.
โAs a society and community, we need to demand better outcomes.โ
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