There's a variety of feelings regarding nursing homes for the elderly. Some people feel it's an impersonal place for a loved one; others feel it's the only option.
However, there's one thing most people agree on when it comes to adult foster care: The elderly deserve every bit of respect, attention and quality care as younger generations.
Unfortunately, the elderly in our state have not been receiving the care we would all like them to receive.
State Attorney General Mike Cox conducted a yearlong study, from which some disturbing facts have come to light. Using records from the Law Enforcement Information Network, or LEIN, the attorney general's office discovered that thousands of adult foster-care workers carry warrants for felonies such as previous negligent care for the elderly, illegal use of weapons and homicide.
A sampling of 5,553 care workers found that there were 836 outstanding warrants against 482 workers. Using LEIN, attorney general staff members projected that 3,500 of the state's 40,490 certified nurse's aides have outstanding warrants.
Now, we're all about giving people second chances. We have no qualms about hiring people who have been convicted of a crime. However, someone with a warrant for their arrest should never be hired. People need to stand up and accept the consequences of their actions. After the warrant has been served, it's another story.
Not only are our elderly being cared for by people too irresponsible to take care of themselves, but some might actually be dying because of it. The Detroit News conducted an investigation which revealed that malnutrition and dehydration had been the cause of death for 800 of Michigan's patients between 1999 and 2002.
This is completely unacceptable. It's the obligation of nursing homes to conduct thorough background checks on their employees, much like public schools. And not only should they conduct them, but they should have standards and abide by them.
The problem lies in the fact that nursing homes are understaffed and underfunded.
Nurse's aides are not paid well. It's not the kind of job that people flock to. It's a hard job, and if underpaid, chances are the crop of potential employees will decline.
We're not saying that every employee working at a nursing home is a criminal, but one criminal is one too many when working in such an important job that demands responsibility and attention.
The elderly in nursing homes deserve to live in peace. They deserve to be well cared for. The first step in ensuring this is to conduct thorough and frequent background checks on the employees - and hold any criminals accountable for their actions.
