A Florida guardian responsible for an assisted living resident who died after she allegedly defied his wishes by filing and refusing to remove a do-not-resuscitate order has had advance directives in 98 cases revoked by a judge, according to media reports.
Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida Judge Janet C. Thorpe said Rebecca Fierle “abused her power” by filing DNRs without permission from the court or family members. She must seek court approval for any future DNR or advance directives, the judge said. Fierle resigned from all of her cases in two Florida counties on Thursday, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
A county investigative report dated July 9 found that Fierle’s decision to file a DNR order against 75-year-old Steven Stryker’s stated wishes “constituted the removal of care necessary to maintain [his] physical health” and that “the removal of this necessary care directly resulted in [his] death” in May when he choked in a hospital due to a long-term health condition that complicated his ability to eat solid food.
Investigators also found that Fierle “moved [Stryker] to multiple ALFs that do not meet [his] needs for care or supervision, which has resulted in multiple hospitalizations.” Given his medical condition, assisted living “was likely not the most appropriate environment for his care,” according to the report.
The report refers to Stryker as “the Ward,” but his daughter and a friend told the media that the report is about his case.
