Apparently, The New York Times thinks people are “held” in nursing facilities, at least in South Dakota.
I don’t know if any of you caught yesterday’s front-page headline in The New York Times, but it really got me mad. The headline was, “Thousands Are Held Wrongly In Nursing Homes.” Held? Are they talking about prisons? I know no one wants to be there, but they are not “held.” The article was about South Dakota, where apparently people who should not be in a skilled nursing setting are there because there are no other options. At least none that will be paid for by someone else. One resident told investigators that when friends came to take him out for a ride, they had to sign him out, “like a kid.” But that is the rule, and I will bet you that if he was not signed out and never returned, his family would sue the facility for not making sure he was safe. I’m sorry, but you can’t have your cake and eat it too. The problem with the headline and the reality is that they were mostly talking about group homes in the state, and not skilled nursing facilities. And most skilled nursing facility operators I know do not want to admit younger residents with disabilities. Add to that, South Dakota is rural, and home care is not always an option. Yes, most people do not want to be in an institutional setting. But if other options are more costly, or not safe, who will pay for it and who will be liable when things go wrong? But don’t blame South Dakota, blame the system.
