Mistreatment of disabled elderly man Chester Bande by First Transit Milwaukee

[Michelle Bande-Siegfried]

Just an update:

This is an update of what has transpired from when I first contacted
you about First Transit Milwaukee and their mistreatment of my father
Chester J. Bande. Milwaukee County Public Transit allowed First
Transit do their own investigation for which they found themselves not
at fault. Llyod Grant from Milwaukee County Transit informed me that
he reviewed their findings and that my dad's incident was isolated and
they have no plans to look into this any further or make changes to
the companies policies or procedures. The cameras on these buses
should be running at all times just like on Milwaukee County Transit.
If the cameras are running in the future this will help monitor our
disabled and elderly's safety on First Transit.

I am requesting an independent investigation be done on First Transit
and I would like a meeting with the Milwaukee County Board of
Supervisors before this company contract is renewed this year. Any
help on getting this accomplished would be greatly appreciated.



http://www.change.org/petitions/investigate-first-transit-transit-plus-their-mistreatment-of-chester-j-bande


Original Complaint:

We are demanding an independent investigation of Transit Plus, the
company that is contracted through Milwaukee County Transit System.
Chester J. Bande was a client of Transit Plus since January 2012. Mr.
Bande was a hospice patient who used Transit Plus to attend St. Ann’s
Intergenerational Care, Monday thru Friday during the day. Mr. Bande
had limited speech and could not carry on a conversation due to the
progression of his dementia and hydrocephalus.

We have discovered that Transit Plus is poorly run and the treatment
of their disabled clients is despicable. They have many poorly trained
drivers not knowing the company’s policies and procedures. Chester J.
Bande’s last fourteen weeks with Transit Plus was far from stellar. My
mother was unable to pay out of pocket for another van service. She
had no other choice then to use Transit Plus. We called Transit Plus
on several different occasions complaining about the drivers dropping
Mr. Bande off at wrong locations, not picking Mr. Bande up from St.
Ann’s, long hours on the bus ride home (sometimes two hours of
driving) and not assisting him on and off the bus to his residence.
Some of the drivers had an attitude; it was their way or no way. It
seemed like we never had the same drivers, they were always different
and in most cases had no clue of where and what their job entailed.

On the evening of 4/9/12 my nephew James Jashinsky met the Transit
Plus bus to assist his grandfather off the vehicle in his wheelchair.
He did this on a daily basis. My nephew knew something was wrong
because a half hour earlier Transit Plus dispatch called him and asked
that he meet the bus immediately upon arrival. When the bus arrived,
James found his grandfather out of wheelchair sitting on the floor
being hung by his neck with the seat belt. James was very upset with
the driver and asked why the driver didn’t assist him. He was the last
passenger on the bus. The driver stated it was against company policy
to assist the passengers on the bus. The driver then assisted James in
helping Chester Bande back in his wheelchair and off the bus. That
night, Chester Bande became unresponsive and hospice was called in. He
was breathing but he was unable to be aroused and awaken.

Tuesday April 10, 2012, James Jashinsky and I called Transit Plus and
spoke to Lisa, the Manager of Safety Relations of Transit Plus. We
informed her about Mr. Bande’s mistreatment. She stated that she had
no record of the incident the evening of April 9, 2012 but she did
inform us about a similar incident that happened that morning to
Chester Bande on his way to St. Anns. We were informed he was out of
his wheelchair that morning hanging by his neck with the seatbelt. The
safety coordinator stated to James Jashinsky that she was at the scene
and assisted that driver in placing him back into his wheelchair.
After Mr. Bande was then taken into the front lobby at St Ann’s
without notifying anyone at St. Ann’s about what happened and left
there. I, Michelle Bande-Siegfried, spoke with Mary from St. Anns and
confirmed they were not informed. Transit Plus should have contacted
the family directly about this very serious incident. We requested
from Lisa the incident reports, names of the drivers, policies,
procedures and any camera/video footage of these incidents and we
received nothing as of 5/03/12. What are they covering up?

April 11th and 12th was the same for Chester Bande, he remained
unresponsive not eating, drinking and unable to take his pills. He was
also put on oxygen. Chester J. Bande died the night of April 12th. We
know that he had limited time; even so, no one should be treated as
poorly as he was in his final days. “NO ONE SHOULD BE LEFT HANGING
FROM A SEAT BELT BY THEIR NECK WAITING FOR TRANSIT PLUS’s SAFETY
RELATIONS TO SHOW UP WHEN THERE IS A PAID EMPLOYEE ON THE BUS TO
ASSIST IN A SERIOUS SITUATION THAT COULD RESULT IN SEVERE INJURY OR
EVEN DEATH. THE EMPLOYEE STATED THAT HE COULD NOT HELP MR. BANDE
BECAUSE IT WAS AGAINST TRANSIT PLUS POLICY WELL THIS POLICY IS GOING
TO CHANGE.”

We want a thorough investigation done on Transit Plus. Milwaukee
County needs to step up and make changes concerning this company and
its poor policies and procedures and lack of training of its
employees. Many elderly and disabled use Transit Plus daily, how many
other complaints are being swept under the carpet. The ADA will be
contacted with Chester J. Bande’s story, the local news and radio
stations, the mayor, the governor and various other public offices.
Mr. Bande no longer has a voice so we will be his voice so that no
other disable person will be mistreated and abused in this fashion
through Transit Plus again. If you would like to contact the Bande
Family, we may be reached at 414-379-4775 or 920-716-3010.