In a swiftly aging country, where inhabitants are constantly reminded of signs of inevitable decay, it is necessary to reflect upon the conditions that the nation’s elder community is subjected to in care homes. Every year, millions of geriatric patients make the difficult switch to nursing homes from the comfort of their previous habitats. Nursing homes, or assisted living facilities, are typically government-funded locations where ill residents are under constant supervision and care, 24 hours a day. In making this transition, loved ones are replaced by unknown counterparts, and helpful children are transitioned to skilled medical professionals. These facilities have become much more common in the recent decade, and are homes to parents, grandparents, and veterans. As with most widespread occupations, issues are not uncommon in the world of geriatric home care. Finding skilled, ethical workers as well as a comfortable environment for senior citizens is growing increasingly difficult. Recently, headlines have arisen shedding light on the darker side of nursing homes. Abuse, neglect, and psychosis are just a few of the major problems being cast out in national headlines. When accepting this type of information from the media, many consumers find themselves questioning the ethics of these facilities. Should the country’s government really invest their time and energy into a sociological group who only has years left on this earth? The answer is yes. It is necessary for the United States to pass nursing home reform legislation.
Surprisingly, nursing homes today have made monumental developments since those of earlier historical periods. Geriatric care facilities began to establish after the Great Depression, however these institutions were private. It was not until Medicare was enacted that the nursing home became a public option for aging seniors. Almost all of the facilities in the United States were extremely inadequate for the care of elders, even with government funding. Patients were subjected to extreme filthiness and staff with no real credentials, and death came much quicker to residents than it does today. According to expert Kieran Walshe, after a series of government investigations in the late 20th century, nursing home reform was no longer an option. The government began to draft radical reform initiatives that focused specifically on quality of care. In 1987, the Nursing Home Reform Act was passed, which developed national standards of care and policies for enforcing home misconduct. This legislation was a huge step in the right direction for geriatric care across the country, however because there is such a high number of facilities in the United States, the act is extremely difficult to police. Many critical aspects of the legislation go unpracticed by caretakers, and greatly decrease the effectiveness of it. This plays a key role in why new reform legislation is necessary.
The manner in which geriatric homes are treating these often defenseless human beings is extremely problematic. In the past 20 years, instances of nursing home abuse have skyrocketed and have reached levels ranging from emotional harassment to sexual and physical abuse. Many experts believe that a major contribution to the decline in proficient care stems from a lack of training and income for employees of these institutions. In numerous homes across America where abuse has been a highlighted issue, investigators have traced the behavior back to a low amount of hands-on training and understanding on the part of the caretaker. Chair of the National Geriatrics Society, Jane Buswell, asserts that it is crucial for nursing home staff to receive extensive education and training, and suggests that a national accreditation scheme must be introduced. Additionally, she believes that by increasing pay, existing abuse can be decreased. The reasoning behind this understanding is due to the fact that with less income and training, motivation for workers to excel in care-taking is significantly lower. Because of this, both the staff member and the patient are essentially losing out.
Disturbingly, physical abuse is on the rise in geriatric homes across the United States, and is swiftly becoming a major concern in law enforcement agencies. In a study of 2,000 interviews of nursing home residents, 44 percent said they had been abused and 95 percent said they had been neglected or seen another resident neglected. Due to the premise of nursing facilities being relatively private establishments, with sometimes nonverbal patients, it is not unusual for gruesome attacks by employees to go unnoticed. In the case of Helen Love, a 95-pound senior at a nursing home in Sacramento, California, a certified nurse’s assistant became extremely frustrated at Love over the soiling of her bed. This worker went on to brutally beat Love, who would later pass away from the extent of her injuries, which included a completely dislocated neck and broken wrist. The incident, which had been covered up by the care facility, went on to earn the defendant only one year in the county jail. This event is not an isolated occurrence. At a different nursing home, secret cameras installed by a patient’s relative captured horrifying behavior on the part of the caretakers. The resident in question was seen repeatedly requesting a trip to the bathroom, however her nurses insisted she stay in bed and soil the continence pad she was wearing. Additionally, surveillance equipment also caught workers slapping patients with dementia; these nurses were later convicted of common assault. In nursing homes across America, elderly people are suffering at the hands of those they trust. Without a stricter system of regulating ethics policies as well as more in-depth screening process for caretakers, senior citizens will continue to be attacked and mishandled.
Perhaps more overlooked than the vast cases of physical misconduct, are the also-plentiful instances of psychological trauma and emotional abuse that take place in nursing homes. The transition from a comfortable life with one’s family to a strange new habitat in a nursing home can be extremely disconcerting for some seniors. For many, the process is very lonely. Elders in care facilities tend to isolate themselves from those around them. This experience results in a deepening depression, which tends to progress as the patient’s stay continues. A study completed by the Department of Public and Occupational Health found that roughly 67 percent of nursing home residents would describe themselves as being depressed, and 75 percent feel that they struggle excessively to adapt to nursing home life, both socially and emotionally. It is both unethical and detrimental to the overall health of a geriatric patient to place him or her in such a negative environment. Due to the fact that mental health status correlates heavily with physical health status, by not properly equipping a nursing home with adequate means to achieve patient happiness, the care facility is adversely impacting resident health.
The nation’s elders are suffering from severe abuse and inadequate care, and it is in the hands of the country’s functioning citizens to improve their treatment. A multitude of Americans’ views on seniors can sometimes be condescending or critical, but later evolve to be more self-aware and sympathetic as they, themselves age. It is helpful to remember now that aging is a process that everyone goes through. Each resident of a nursing home is someone’s family member, and has grown up and experienced history. Because the patients each possess their own unique perspectives of the past, one can learn immensely from them. These human beings will not be on this planet for much longer, so it is beneficial to learn from and respect these elders while they are still here. It is also crucial to reflect upon mortality as a whole, due to the fact that each American will one day be a senior citizen, hoping to maintain the respect of their fellow citizens. No one is exempt from debilitation, and it is the United States public’s responsibility to push Congress to ensure that elders’ receive proper care.
