Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Best Nursing Homes vs. Home Care Statement Ever

Guest essay: Curtail the use of nursing homes
Chris Hildebrant, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle - September 7, 2013

Chris Hildebrant's essay here is the best explanation of the nursing homes vs. home care issue I've ever seen.

Numerically, this issue probably affects a fairly small number of the total population of "people with disabilities". It really only directly impacts people who can't physically function day to day without help from another person, people who can make great use of in-home personal care, but too often wind up in nursing homes, simply for want of a properly designed and adequately funded alternative. What makes the issue so important is how much stagnation and suffering it causes to put people with disabilities in nursing homes, and how unnecessary and wasteful it is.

This should be a much bigger deal for everyone with a disability, including those of us who aren't (yet) at risk of being placed in a nursing home.