Too often, residents of nursing homes are treated disrespectfully, as cases to be managed rather than as people to be cared for. The top complaints about these facilities address basic issues such administration of medications, resident/roommate conflict, poor staff attitudes, unanswered requests for assistance, and unfair discharge. In fact, improper evictions are the leading grievance against nursing homes, with complaints totaling as many as 8,000 to 9,000 every year....
There’s a famous expression that says, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going,” and most of us like to imagine that we fall into that category. That when situations become difficult, we react with strength and work harder to meet the challenge. The thing is, there are many instances when things get tough in which we choose instead to pass them on so they become someone else’s...
Thirty years ago, a study by the Institute of Medicine concluded that residents of nursing homes were being subjected to neglect, abuse, and inadequate care. Many of the subsequent reforms that were proposed were included in the Nursing Home Reform Act, which became law in 1987. The Act was intended to help nursing home patients receive quality care so that they could achieve or maintain their “highest practicable physical,...
Most of us remember a time when taking a picture meant capturing an image to a film cartridge that we had to drop off at a drug store to be developed, the anticipation mounting for days before we could find out just exactly what we managed to photograph. Similarly, personal video cameras used to involve rummaging for blank tapes, making recordings that were cumbersome to edit and to view....
Aging is one of those universal truths, an equalizer of gender, race, class, religion, etc. It happens to us all, though its effects vary widely. Current average life expectancy is 78.8 years, but that quantity of time is no reflection of quality. Some of us develop few health problems, while others are burdened with serious afflictions. Of those who find they can no longer manage alone, most want to...
