Seniors & Healthcare: Fighting for Dignity in Care

Here’s something I’ve thought a lot about — seniors and healthcare.

I watched my mother go through the system. What I saw was deplorable, to say the least. These were facilities that somehow earned high inspection grades, yet the reality inside was anything but acceptable.

They were understaffed, overworked, and underpaid — and the people paying the price were our parents and grandparents.

I’ll never forget being at her assisted living facility when the director walked by and said, “Oh, I didn’t realize she had a wheelchair,” in a tone that made my blood boil. My mother heard her. We were paying out of pocket — and that was the level of care she received.

They made us stand behind glass, demanded masks, and still — she got COVID from playing cards with other residents. No one even called to tell us. I only found out because I saw how sick she looked and asked for a test myself.

When she needed more care, we moved her to a nursing home with a “great reputation.” It was worse. The food was awful. The care was worse. The people working there were exhausted, angry, and clearly not supported.

I had to be there every day to make sure she was changed and got to the bathroom. She once told me that when she rang the bell, a nurse said, “Just go in your diaper, Lorraine. We’ll change you later.” I can’t describe how demeaning that was — for her, and for me as her son.

When she was hospitalized, they gave up her bed unless we paid to hold it. Every bed had to “earn money.” She even left me on the phone once so I could hear a nurse yelling at her.

These facilities are for-profit — and that’s fine — but if you’re paying minimum wage to people doing one of the hardest jobs in the world, you’re setting the system up for abuse and neglect.

We need better staffing. Better wages. Better oversight.

And we need to fix a broken system that forces seniors to be absolutely poor to qualify for basic care. My mom had to have no assets, no income — and they still wanted her Social Security and pension to go straight to them. That’s unacceptable.

You shouldn’t have to lose everything you’ve worked for just to receive decent care. Seniors deserve dignity. They should be able to leave something behind for their families — not have every last dollar taken in exchange for subpar treatment.

From day one, that’s going to change.