[humanser] Failing to Protect Our Own in America's Nursing Homes

[Mary Ann Robinson]

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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