We place our mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters into nursing homes because they can no longer take care of themselves and we are, for a number of reasons, unable to provide the care they need. In short, these very important loved ones in our lives are vulnerable and need to be cared for and protected.
Contrast the above reality with a recently published article in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (JAMDA). The article was written by Jeffrey Nichols, MD, the vice president for medical services fro the Cabrini Eldercare Consortium in New York City. Dr. Nichols discusses a previous article published by JAMDA in which the state of New York was reviewing its policies regarding the placement in long term care facilities of current prison inmates and parolees.
I guess it is cheaper to place an elderly convict or parolee into a nursing home than it is to house them where they (at least the convicts) belong…in prison. If this wasn’t so ridiculous it would be comical.
So let’s look at that picture again. Mom needs 24 hours nursing care and assistance with feeding and all activities of daily living and we are going to place her in a nursing home occupied by elderly convicts with a track record of criminal activity.
What the hell is going on?