Vestal Ferguson suffocated as orange juice filled his lungs.
Esther Fincher's heart failed, and nobody called a doctor.
Each year, hundreds of North Carolina's elderly suffer needlessly in the nursing homes they turn to for care.
They lie for hours in their own waste or battle dangerously infected bedsores or, bound to their beds and wheelchairs, slowly lose the strength and will to walk, eat, speak. They're victims of poorly staffed homes and under-trained workers--and of the public system responsible for protecting them.
The state pays the bills for 75% of our nursing home residents. The rest pay their own way as long as their money lasts. But despite the record $590 million North Carolina is spending this year on nursing homes--quadruple the amount a decade ago--some of our oldest citizens sacrifice their dignity, their safety, even their lives." (Williams & Garloch, pp. 1A)
The unfortunate circumstances eluded to within the above-referenced article are sad, but all too true and not just for North Carolina seniors who have been forced to seek residency in care homes for the elderly.
"The modern nursing home industry was born in the mid-1960s with Medicaid and Medicare. What followed was a cycle of abuse and reform, repeated over three decades.
áááááIn the 1970s there were widespread reports of fraud and abuse, including a scathing study from Ralph Nader. Government hearings brought new regulations. The cycle returned in the 1980s. A 1986 law strengthened protection, but problems remain.
áááááA stream of complaints of neglect and abuse has prompted a U.S. Senate committee to order investigations and begin hearings." (Tanner, pp. 1A+)
So what is it that creates a system that allows such blatant abuse and neglect? The advancement of medicine and technology that allows Americans to live longer than at any previous time in history creates a population base that requires assistance in livin...