This week the Tennessean argued that the Metro Council should remove Public Conservator Jeanan Mills Stuart from office. If you missed it, check out the editorial here: https://www.tennessean.com/article/20130517/OPINION01/305170064/Judge-should-let-public-guardian-go?nclick_check=1
Let's say that the Council selects to replace Jeanan. The next person will need to bone up on the new conservatorship law, prepare an appropriate staff to handle the influx of needs, and learn the intricacies of medicaid and medicare, Social Security, the oddities of our local hospital network and emergency transport services, and the network of area non-profit providers which offer refuge for our elderly - all while trying to take on the eventual load of about ninety open cases in Davidson County. That doesn't even mention the "legal" side of the job. The arguments, motions, appearances, and reports due to the Court that must be produced. Each case takes an extraordinary amount of time to get benefits lined up, placement in an appropriate facility arranged (if needed), and comes with an inherent amount of danger when the family or the ward feels like they are just fine the way they are. All that, and if someone who is less competent is filling that role, you can bet that the last thing on our Nashville community's mind will be overcharging. It'll very quickly become concerns over neglect.
So, here's my concern. The baby boomer generation is retiring, and their medical needs are about to become acute. Conservatorships will be more and more in demand. With all the froth in the media, that person's job will be much more difficult because everyone will under a laser-microscope. I, personally, do not feel that the role should fall on one attorney's shoulders.
Council - here's my suggestion. Appoint multiple Public Conservators. Share the load, share the cases which are done fully pro-bono, and ensure that the increasing needs of our population are going to be served by multiple competent people. If there are any concerns with one person's service, the others will take over. It would also allow the Court to select a skillset that would be most appropriate for the family involved. With enough diversity in the group, the Court would have available to it several types of attorney support to draw from. Finally, they could all learn from each other, rotate off in a set number of years, and increase the number of highly competent servants in this field.
