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

[Claude Everett]

Yep!  


Regards,
Claude Everett
Everyone has a disability, some are more aware of it than others.
"beyond what a man's own hands produce" was a gift which came to him simply
by living in society, and hence he owes on every principle of justice, of
gratitude, and of civilization, a part of that accumulation back again to
society from whence the whole came."
Thomas Paine
1737 - 1809
English writer and American revolutionary

-----Original Message-----
From: acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org [mailto:acb-hsp-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
peter altschul
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 7:08 AM
To: Acbhsp
Subject: [acb-hsp] Failing to Protect Our Own in America's Nursing Homes

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.
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