Reply #1: nursing homes have always been a frightening prospect for older people

[Donnachaidh]

Even before the *for profit* horror started. One of my first jobs was as a nurse's aide in a home, and I couldn't take much of it. Mainly because the aids were left to do all the heavy work, while the RN's spent their mornings watching soap operas and drinking coffee in the kitchen. I felt horrible leaving those folks alone at night, and finally had to leave when I could not get a favorite patient out of her bed by myself to change her sheets. She'd had an accident, and was twice my size. None of the nurses wanted to miss their shows, and told me to sit down and not worry about it. They left her sitting in urine for an hour.

I can only imagine how much harsher it has gotten for the elderly these days. What have we become as a society when we dump those family members who require too much care in a home? I certainly hope any universal care measures sees to the appropriate needs of our elderly.