[acb-hsp] Failing to Protect Our Own in America's Nursing Homes

[peter altschul]

Failing to Protect Our Own in America's Nursing Homes
  Ken Connor
  "Our society must make it right and possible for old people not 
to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a 
civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members." 
Pearl S.  Buck, My Several Worlds.
  In an economy that is increasingly calibrated for a two-person 
income, millions of parents across the country rely on some form 
of professional child care in order to meet the demands of their 
busy lives.  Choosing the right childcare has become one of the 
primary challenges new parents face when Mom decides to re-enter 
the workforce.  Parents want the best for their children.  They 
want them to be cared for by high-caliber, qualified individuals 
that they can trust completely.  As might be expected, then, the 
childcare industry is heavily-regulated.  After all, children 
need to be protected from those who might exploit or abuse them.
  While the licensing requirements vary from state-to-state, most 
include some form of professional training or certification for 
select employees, and virtually all mandate across-the-board 
criminal background checks.  Few parents would have it any other 
way! Children are weak, vulnerable, and helpless.  Better to 
eliminate potential problems by denying or restricting those with 
a criminal history the option of employment in a childcare 
setting.
  Sadly, however, the same pains are not taken to protect a class 
of individuals that is just as weak, vulnerable, and helpless as 
children.  According to a recent report issued by the Department 
of Health and Human Services, more than 90% of nursing homes 
employ at least one ex-convict.  The very same people who go out 
of their way to ensure that their children are safe and protected 
while at daycare may have a grandparent in a nursing home who is 
suffering at the hands of poorly qualified, sometimes 
criminally-abusive staff members.
  Why is this happening? Why would those in the business of 
caring for America's elderly turn a blind eye to such behavior? 
As with so many other instances of reprehensible human conduct, 
the culprit lurking behind the curtain is Greed.
  Because the largest expense of a nursing home's budget is 
"labor," corporate executives at these companies have learned 
that one surefire way to increase the profitability of their 
homes is to reduce costs by cutting back on staff and hiring 
individuals who are willing to accept lower wages.  The end 
result? Profits up! Patient welfare down, forgotten, ignored, and 
suffering.
  Undoubtedly, most Americans with family members in nursing 
homes have no idea that this is happening, and truly believe that 
their loved ones are being treated well.  They have no idea that 
behind the reassuring advertisements and sophisticated marketing 
are profit-driven enterprises who often care more about the 
bottom line than they do about the welfare of seniors.  They are 
unaware that these businesses often take advantage of programs 
like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which incentivizes the 
hiring of certain "target groups," including convicted felons.  
By hiring hard to employ ex-cons, nursing home operators get a 
"two-fer": tax credits that improve the bottom line, and lower 
paid employees (which produces the same result).
  One possible reason for such widespread ignorance is that, 
quite simply, there is very little media coverage of elder abuse 
(the New York Times being a notable exception).  Aside from the 
occasional headline-grabbing report like the one recently issued, 
the subject is largely ignored.  Perhaps that's because much of 
it goes on behind the closed doors of nursing homes.  Perhaps 
it's because our culture is obsessed with youth and no one wants 
to contemplate getting old.  Or perhaps it's because we simply 
devalue the elderly"af all, many of them have substantially 
degraded mental and physical abilities.
  It's not difficult to feel concern for the welfare of our 
children.  They represent the next generation, and are full of 
potential for the future, and we'll stop at nothing to ensure 
that these children and grandchildren are protected and provided 
for.  Meanwhile, America's Greatest Generation has been largely 
forgotten, and is often being left unwittingly in the hands of 
predators who abuse or exploit them.
  If compassion for the plight of our elderly loved ones is not 
enough to spur us to action, then perhaps the thought of our own 
elder-years might prompt a call for change.  It's high time that 
the American people wake up to the implications of what it means 
to become a mass geriatric society, which is what we are rapidly 
becoming.  Individuals need to prepare now for the years when 
they will live in decline.  Families must prepare to assume a 
greater role in caring for their aging loved ones, and our 
churches must acknowledge that the elderly are part of the "least 
among us" and reach out to lend a helping hand.  On the legal 
side of the equation, government needs to begin protecting our 
elderly citizens by instituting the same safeguards afforded to 
children and ensuring that predatory nursing homes are not 
selling out the care of the elderly to the lowest bidder.  We 
can, and must, do better.
  Ken Connor is Chairman of the Center for a Just Society in 
Washington, DC.