Long-Term Care Facilities

[Piratz]

A real travesty what's going on across the country at long-term care facilities, but it's also been a problem area festering for so long. Take the news of what's going on at Andover Sub Acute in New Jersey as an example. That place was repeatedly documented to be in a truly bad shape well before the COVID-19 outbreak. They're not alone. This is, amazingly, fairly typical. This segment of Healthcare is awful and offers little-to-no defense against something like an outbreak of a virus.

I know these types of facilities are notoriously mismanaged, everything from funds misappropriations to lack of proper compliance over protocols and handling. It's festered for so long, sadly.

What can be done for the future? Is this an awakening? Or status quo? Nothing? Not sure.

 

[HALL85]

A real travesty what's going on across the country at long-term care facilities, but it's also been a problem area festering for so long. Take the news of what's going on at Andover Sub Acute in New Jersey as an example. That place was repeatedly documented to be in a truly bad shape well before the COVID-19 outbreak. They're not alone. This is, amazingly, fairly typical. This segment of Healthcare is awful and offers little-to-no defense against something like an outbreak of a virus.

I know these types of facilities are notoriously mismanaged, everything from funds misappropriations to lack of proper compliance over protocols and handling. It's festered for so long, sadly.

What can be done for the future? Is this an awakening? Or status quo? Nothing? Not sure.

It comes down to cost and oversight. Nursing homes have too many things working against them:
- You need to be competitive based on family ability to pay (or what they want to pay).
- In order to provide care (to support the model), you are paying low wages, unskilled workers, etc. - prime opportunity for abuse, etc.
- The model attracts some less than savory business owners that are trying to cut corners make a buck at the expense of the patient.
- And politicians don't necessarily care because most of these people no longer vote and don't have a voice.
- We shouldn't be surprised at all to see these kind of numbers when a pandemic hits. Remember patients left to drown and die in New Orleans?

For those reasons, it's not going to change one bit IMO. My advice, either find a good assisted living, skilled nursing facility if you can afford it or pay your kids to take you in.

 

[shu09]

I'm amazed anyone puts older relatives into one of these facilities. I know I wouldn't.

 

[Piratz]

I'm amazed anyone puts older relatives into one of these facilities. I know I wouldn't.

Same here.

But I understand it. It's a such a difficult thing to find the proper care level in certain situations, not to mention the expense of it, coverage limitations and so forth. Especially when the incumbent caregivers are family members or friends who do not have the resources and have their own life to lead; they have go to work, etc.

It comes down to cost and oversight. Nursing homes have too many things working against them:
- You need to be competitive based on family ability to pay (or what they want to pay).
- In order to provide care (to support the model), you are paying low wages, unskilled workers, etc. - prime opportunity for abuse, etc.
- The model attracts some less than savory business owners that are trying to cut corners make a buck at the expense of the patient.
- And politicians don't necessarily care because most of these people no longer vote and don't have a voice.
- We shouldn't be surprised at all to see these kind of numbers when a pandemic hits. Remember patients left to drown and die in New Orleans?

For those reasons, it's not going to change one bit IMO. My advice, either find a good assisted living, skilled nursing facility if you can afford it or pay your kids to take you in.

Unfortunately, I agree entirely.

 

[Section112]

I'm amazed anyone puts older relatives into one of these facilities. I know I wouldn't.

We are caring for my Mom at her home with multiple aids and we are fortunate. The health care aids that care for the elderly are heroes in many ways. They get paid very little but need every cent to make ends meet and it is very hard work physically and mentally dealing with older patients. Before my father passed who had Alzheimers and Parkinsons we had no choice but to put him in a facility as he became a danger to himself and my Mom. It was the worst day of my life putting him in a home for his last year but we had no other options.

Many people have no choice though but to sign over their assets or use Medicare to get cared for in a home like these as they have no options due to various circumstances. I can tell you multiple stories of people with no family or with families that are aholes and as a result the elders are placed in a home. I also know an elder gentleman that would not listen to his family as he aged and kept trying to get involved in business deals he was not mentally able to be a part of and he got swindled of his life savings and is now in a nursing home because his family could not afford to care for him and now has Covid 19.

Not many good homes out there and our elders are sitting ducks in many of those facilities during this pandemic. Very bad model in the US for caring for our elderly and it needs to improve. Very sad situation.