A recent Bay Area story of tragedy is the abandonment of the elderly at Valley Springs Manor. For any of us who have witnessed the final years of our senior relatives, it is painfully evident that what happened there was not just a failure of government but a failure of all those people entrusted to care for them. Here's the story.
This column by Chip Johnson tells not of the politics involved but of the human side of this tragic incident. It also tells the tale of two caring individuals who refused to leave. Yes, there is the politics of why state regulators shut down this facility without a clear plan in place for the elderly. Yes, there is the politics of who bears ultimate responsibility. Yes, there is the politics of what role government should play in providing for the well-being of an ever aging Generation X.
But, "At the end of the day, the difference between calamity and chaos at Valley Springs came down to human compassion," says Johnson. Ironically, it was not the caregivers who remained but a janitor and a cook that took it upon themselves, without pay, to stay and not walk away.
8 comments:
Wow, reading about this story made me incredibly emotional—especially the second article about Alvarez's heroism. It's more than horrifying to read about people leaving their posts when they find they will not be paid any longer, even when leaving their posts means they abandon fellow, and likely helpless, humans. It truly feels too cruel to be the truth.
Ignoring the aspect of state vs. private care, there is an epidemic of neglect (and abuse) in elder homes. Some investigation over the years has uncovered issues such as elders being left in their soiled clothes for hours, being taunted, not receiving medications when they need them, even being viciously beaten by caretakers. It is so wrong I cannot put it into words.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92689&page=3
With this look at a darker side of humanity, it is a shocking contrast to read Rowland and Alvarez's account. This is the kind of moral fiber that just matters so much more than any of the other crap we worry about in our daily lives. Both of the heroes who stayed behind are the kind of people who ought to be taking care of all the elders in homes across the country. Clearly, the "trained professionals" were, and generally are, far less equipped for the positions they filled than those who stayed behind and did the job that needed to be done, even though it was not theirs to do.
Sorry, here's a link to the first page of that article:
http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92689&page=1
Great article an comment, Kira. It seems that the incident at Valley Springs Manor is only the tip of the iceberg of a far more massive problem of neglect. It is truly sickening that this problem is so pervasive in this day and age.
Agreed. I was happy to read in the SF Chronicle today that the man with the mental illness who went missing from the home was found and had not been harmed.
I really like how Kira put it - "Clearly, the "trained professionals" were, and generally are, far less equipped for the positions they filled than those who stayed behind and did the job that needed to be done, even though it was not theirs to do."
The ABC News article quotes the director of communications of an association representing for-profit facilities as saying, "[relatives] should do research ahead of time if possible, get referrals from their physician or word of mouth about a good reputation" when seeking a nursing home facility. Yet this statement alone is somewhat troubling in that it seems to imply that there is not an insignificant number of facilities that may be characterized by the neglect or abuse described in the articles.
Something I find interesting about the first article depicting the situation at the Valley Springs Manor care center is that there is no mention of the elderly residents' family members. The article says "Local residents said there were rarely visitors to the facility" - were the elderly residents' relatives plainly unaware of the situation, or did they knowingly not do anything anyway? Anyhow, this story sheds light on the pressing issue of providing adequate care for the elderly, and on an unfortunate aspect of human morality in general.
Elkana brings up a good point about the family members of the elderly residents, and it's something that I was wondering about as well while reading this article. I think it's pretty sad that Weston's statement was something along the lines of "The proper procedures were not followed." I'm pretty sure that was deduced without the public statement...
Nash's account of the ordeal in the second article really hit home being an only child, and I think it really shows how relevant this issue is. As Brandon mentioned, care for the "ever aging Generation X" is something that needs to be properly dealt with, and this kind of governmental incompetency is really a shame. I think the worst part is that both articles mention that the owners and staff just walked away and could not be reached. How can we be entrusting these people with the care of someone's loved one? A sad story, but unfortunately, as Kira mentioned, there are more just like it.
Although these things are tragic, I feel like such things occur not because of lack of compassion, but due to lack of foreseeing circumstances. It is indeed sad at the way the elderly were treated, but I blame the "higher-ups" for the way this was handled rather than the caregivers.
I believe that the lack of human compassion came out of the "rock and a hard place" position the caregivers were put in due to the shut down. Many needed a paying job and despite their feelings toward their elderly constituents, it would have been impossible to stay and care for them.
I do think it is tragic at the way the elderly were treated, I just believe that we should be blaming and doing something against higher people than just the care givers and the ones who were literally leaving the side of the elderly.
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