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Week
of September 10 - 14, 2007
Previous Questions of the
Week
Have
you seen change in your community’s aging programs and older
persons’ quality of life? If so, who is responsible for these
changes: Individuals? Government? Privately-funded agencies? What
would you like to see happening?
To learn more about
the topic, see the following articles:
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A
Grass-Roots Effort to Grow Old at Home (August 14, 2007)
Elderly residents in some communities are refusing to surrender
their autonomy and are joining a movement to make neighborhoods
a more comfortable place to age. “We are totally dependent on
ourselves,” one elder person said, adding, “I want to live
in a mixed community, not just with the elderly. And as long as
we can do it here, that’s what we want.” These seniors do
not want to move to nursing homes, but rather desire to age in
the place where they have developed their identities.
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France:
In Nice and Grasse, the Elderly Can Stay Home Thanks to Internet
(August 6 , 2007)
(Article in French)
On the Cote d’Azur, people over 65 represent 21.5% of the
population. To help keep them at home when they become infirm,
authorities are experimenting with project “M@D”. Through a
webcam installed on the television, older persons will be able
to communicate with a set of caregiving services in the social
and health domains. They will get assistance for their grocery
shopping, housekeeping, administrative tasks as well as daily
health care. Thanks to this technology, older persons do not
need to get computing knowledge, and it is accessible 24/7.
Week of September 4-7, 2007
Previous Questions of the
Week
Would
US residents have greater access to health care and a healthier life
if the US adopted a public program with a single payer system,
similar to those enjoyed in Europe? Do you think this would be a
beneficial policy for the US public or not? Why?
To learn more about
quality of health care, see the following articles:
Week
of August 24-31, 2007
Previous Questions of the
Week
a.
Do you think that all persons in your country should have access to
quality health care? If so, who should pay for it: (a) all citizens
through taxation (b) employers (c) corporations (d) individuals (e)
other
To learn more about
quality of health care, see the following articles:
Week of August 20-24, 2007
How
does racial discrimination in your country prevent some older
persons from securing their equal rights? How does your government
work to eliminate race discrimination facing elderly in your
country?
To learn more about
elder racial discrimination, see the following articles:
Week
of August 13-17, 2007
Older persons in nursing homes are vulnerable to neglect, assault, and even rape. How can older persons be protected against such abuse? What measures or programs do you recommend? At-home care? Better training and pay for caregivers? Greater oversight? Required correction of abuses? Other? Please explain.
To
learn more about nursing home abuse, see the following articles:
Responses
2.
August 15, 2007
In response to the first posting, I am astonished to see that the caretakers who work directly with the patients do not receive good pay. This is incorrect and should be changed. However, this should NOT be a justification, whatsoever, for their treatment towards elderly persons. To mistreat them simply because they do not earn enough money is not an acceptable excuse.
I agree that extensive changes in the system structures, strong legislative measurements, and law enforcement with severe penalties are required in order to have a "cultural reformation" within the nursing homes.
Abuses within nursing homes must be considered a felony and consequences for those found guilty of abuses must be arrested and treated with the same severity as those who are child molesters and sex offenders. The government should establish some kind of nationwide "Elderly Offenders" registry, following the model of the registries for sex offenders and child offenders.
This will allow transparency that is severely missing and ensure that agencies are more liable for any abuses that their employees do. RN nurses must have their licenses permanently revoked and receive appropriate consequences for crimes, including apathy, they are guilty of and be enlisted in the Elderly Offenders registry, as well.
Family members who have legal authority and responsibility over the elderly patients should be held liable for negligence, although not to the same degree as the nursing home staff. Legal guardians' responsibilities and accountability should be considered to the same degree as parents and legal guardians for children.
Half of my relatives are elderly and my family, including myself, take responsibility to ensure that every one of them are taken care of. My grandmother is physically and mentally fine, but she cannot be left alone, so my family hired full-time nurses and pay them with the money that my grandfather saved for this kind of situation and with financial contribution from other relatives. A great-aunt has Alzheimer's Disease and she has caretakers at home and at least one or two relatives visit her every day to make sure she is okay and that she is receiving proper care. Once she received a new caretaker and two days later, we saw that my great-aunt had a bruise on her arm and legs and that she was was agitated and upset, we knew that she was a victim of abuse. We immediately called 911, had the caretaker arrested, and we called the agency to report it. Unfortunately, she could be out there somewhere, abusing an elderly victim who has no family who cares enough to ensure that he or she is okay.
The main reason why all the elderly relatives in my family are not victims of such well-known abuses is because we take our responsibilities as family members and try to do everything we can to take care of them. Family negligence should not be just frowned upon, but also illegal with severe consequences.
However, these things take a lot of time and many of the current elderly victims will probably not live to see those changes.
For the short-term future, educating family members and elderly persons (there are elderly persons living in nursing homes that are able-minded) about their rights and what they can do is critical. Emphasis that their LIVES are in more danger by not saying anything than saying something is also essential.
Additionally, the federal, state, and city Department of Health should start randomly, with frequency, send different doctors and officials to visit the nursing homes and check the patients to see if there are signs of physical abuse on the elderly patients and speak with patients who are able-minded about their experience and assure the patients that they will not be in danger for speaking out and that they will receive the necessary protections.
AARP is one of the most powerful organizations in the US, they, with other American elderly-related organizations should consider this crisis equally important as pension and health issues. They should actively lobby the government to take legislative measures to change the nursing home culture.
They should promote elderly persons who are still independent and able to take actions as well because one day they may end up in those lairs. AARP has the money and the means to educate people through the mass media, including newspapers, televisions, radio, internet, pamphlets, churches, other places, but especially at nursing home. Indeed, knowledge is power.
I know I am focusing mainly on the United States and that this problem is unfortunately not unique to this country, however I believe that what I have just written is an
archetype.
Emmanuel
New York, NY
1. August 13, 2007
As a former Activity Director in Long Term Care facilities, ranging from small (60 bed) to large (250 bed), abuse grows out of the same situation.
In order to avoid abuse of residents, the first requirement is a STRONG
ADMINISTRATOR who is in control of her staff and not trying to be friends with the staff. The second is FAMILY INVOLVEMENT!!! It's
important that families visit often, attend Care Plan meetings, and attend the Center's events. The State MUST have firm requirements on the qualifications of the staff and a means for the local Long Term
Care facility to check the background of the staff, from the Administrator to the housekeepers.
The local staff and the family must watch and listen for body language,
plus verbal comments from the residents. I don't care if the person is
confused and disoriented. If you know your residents you will see the
difference. The staff MUST not be too busy to stop and check it out. No comment is
too small.
The staff and family must let the resident know it is all right to report abuse. The local Ombudsman must make routine visits and watch
for signs in the residents or in a staff person holding back or trying to avoid you.
The Ombudsman must let the resident know she/he is there for the residents'
protection. They work for the resident.
The ownership of the Long Term Care MUST become more interested in providing good care and not the almighty buck. Most Long Term Care
centers in this county UNDERPAY the staff. Yes, the Administrator, the
LPN, QMA, and RN's are well paid. But the ones with the most direct contact with residents--the Certified Nurses Aides, are way underpaid.
As a single mother with three children, I was paid $2.50 per hour below
what the local US Representative said was poverty! The legislator was
attending a meeting I had arranged for Marketing the Long Term Care facility. I really wanted to tap my Administrator on the shoulder when
he said the dollar amount. I knew, that as Activity Director, I earned more than most Certified
Nursing Aide's in the facility.
The residents have lived a long life and should be able to finish their
lives in a clean, secure place that is filled with the feeling of love
and kindness. This will not happen until all the resident, the families, the staff, and the Administration care and respect each other.
Anonymous from Indiana
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