Nursing Home Reform

One neglected area desperately needing reform in our country is senior care. I had always thought a nursing home facility would be the best option when I aged to the point I needed the extra care. That is until my mother ended up in such a facility. What an eye-opener! These are inhumane holding tanks until death comes. Our senior citizens deserve better.

Reform is going to have to begin at the top level, because the social security system locks in what most people can afford. Senior care living facilities outside the social security system often cost around $10,000 a month, a sum few can afford. If someone goes into a care facility for rehabilitation, a temporary stay, the person is given a private room and plenty of attention. Those who go into long-term care have a roommate and less space than a small hospital room. There's little space for personal items, and they must content with whatever problems the roommate has. This seems backwards to me.

Because sleep is so difficult when surrounded by others, the patients are medicated at night, and if they show any signs of restlessness or discontent, they are likely also medicated during the day. If someone did this to infants to keep them content, they would be sent to prison, and yet we do it to our elderly. Too often, the attitude seems to be these people aren't going to get any better, so they need to die as soon as possible, instead of trying to make their last days as pleasant as possible. When they need help, they are often neglected, not because the caregivers are so cruel, but because there's not enough staff to take care of everyone's needs. If they need help to get to the bathroom, they're diapered, a humiliating experience.

Therefore, I raise the call for reform and hope you will join me. The system has dictated so much of what we see today; the system needs changing. It will take people who care working together, but it's desperately needed and something we can do.

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