By Brad Schrade Carrie Teegardin
The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution’s investigation detailing abuse and neglect across
Georgia’s senior care industry prompted dozens of readers to share their
own harrowing experiences and call for improvements to a system that
impacts thousands of families.
“I felt like somebody was
shining a light on a problem,” said Karen Goode, who said her mother
with Alzheimer’s died in August, just 12 days after a serious fall at a
facility in North Fulton where she had lived for a decade.
Like
many families, Goode said they paid thousands a month, yet the facility
always seemed short-staffed with a new director who cycled through
almost every year. Goode was among the readers who emailed or called the
AJC after publication of the series, which identified more than 600
cases of neglect and 90 of abuse in assisted living communities and
large personal care homes across the state.
“The industry is so broken,” Goode said. “Even a series so compelling
like this will not fix anything unless lawmakers get off their butts
and do something.”
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office and several lawmakers said the series revealed problems that needed to be addressed.
“Every
Georgian should be able to age gracefully and with dignity in their
communities,” said Cody Hall, Kemp’s press secretary. “These reports
highlight serious issues involving care for aging adults, and we look
forward to working with the Department of Community Health, state
leaders, and local partners to review the current framework and identify
areas for improvement.”
State Rep. Sharon Cooper, R-Marietta, who chairs the House Health and
Human Services Committee, said she plans to introduce legislation when
the Georgia General Assembly convenes in January. She wants to look at
high staffing ratios at facilities, adding more state inspectors and
other changes.
She said she’s heard from constituents about the AJC series, many of whom are bothered by the way seniors are treated.
“I
tell them I’m working on it,” she said. “I don’t believe there’s a
panacea that will make everything perfect, but there are certainly
changes we can make that will move us a long way to the goal that we
treat our seniors with the respect, dignity and care they deserve.”
State Rep. Jesse Petrea, R-Savannah, who chairs the House Human
Relations & Aging Committee, said the Legislature has been proactive
in recent years to protect seniors. He wasn’t ready to submit policy
proposals in response to the series, but said he hopes lawmakers will do
“anything in our power” to protect the most vulnerable in society.
“I’m all in for that,” he said. “The difficulty is knowing exactly how we could have altered some of these terrible outcomes.”
State
Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, R-Marietta, said the state has a responsibility
to protect its vulnerable citizens, but the senior living industry also
needs to take a “serious, introspective look” at itself and find ways to
improve care.
“It’s in the best interest of the industry to be
proactive and work on these issues,” said Kirkpatrick, a physician who
is a member of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.
“Otherwise, it’s just a black eye on them. I think they should be
leading the charge on this.”
Industry: some change needed
The AJC uncovered conditions and incidents in senior care homes
that must be “halted, corrected and punished,” said Vicki Vaughn
Johnson, chair of the Georgia Council on Aging, a 20-member body created
by the General Assembly to advise elected officials and state agencies.
The council includes both consumers and senior care service providers.
Johnson said the state must dramatically increase fines against
facilities for violating care standards. The current fine structure
allows a $601 penalty against facilities in serious first-offense cases
involving harm and death.
She called that amount “incredible, unbelievable and unacceptable.”
Johnson
praised the thousands of direct care workers in Georgia who have the
best interests of residents at heart, but she said they are often asked
to care for too many people and with too little training. She called for
the state to increase staffing and training requirements. Johnson
urged Georgia citizens to contact state lawmakers to push for change.
“It’s in the best interest of the industry to be proactive and work
on these issues. Otherwise, it’s just a black eye on them. I think they
should be leading the charge on this.” —State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick,
R-Marietta
The senior care industry also responded to the AJC’s reports and acknowledged that some changes may be needed.
Saying
it had “great intolerance for wrong-doing or substandard care,” the
Georgia Senior Living Association said in a statement that it would
support more state inspectors and “robust, unannounced inspection
efforts.” It also called for more training for workers, as well as best
practices in Georgia to reduce falls and improve care for residents with
dementia.
The association said it would support enhanced reporting requirements in cases of suspected crimes and abuse.
“As
an association that wants the best operators in the country, we will
continue to advocate for high standards of care for all citizens of
Georgia,” the association said in a statement.
Still, the association objected to the way the AJC investigation portrayed the industry.
“The
AJC’s spotlight seems to only illuminate the negative, while the
stories of hundreds of thousands of positive outcomes within the
industry go unreported,” the association said in the statement.
‘Exploitation is unacceptable’
The Georgia Health Care Association, which represents nursing
homes, assisted living communities and other senior care providers, said
it has a history of working with state government officials to make
improvements, including a better background check system for caregivers
that went into effect this month.
GHCA’s president Tony Marshall said
the association supports better education for operators about the
reporting requirements for abuse, neglect and exploitation.
“The safety and well-being of elderly Georgians is GHCA’s highest
priority, and any instance of poor care, neglect, abuse or exploitation
is unacceptable,” said Tony Marshall, GHCA’s president.
The
Culture Change Network of Georgia, a coalition of senior care providers,
consumers and advocates, also responded to the AJC’s series, saying the
coverage “shines a light on cases of inadequate care, abuse and
neglect” that it wants the state to address through a careful review of
current policies, laws and enforcement.
“We believe that everyone
must be a stakeholder in improving the quality of care and quality of
life for older Georgians,” the network said in a statement.
While
many readers expressed gratitude that the AJC investigated the senior
care industry, some were painfully reminded of their own family’s story.
Dave
Markus’s 89-year-old father died nearly four years ago when he choked
to death on a piece of steak in a Buckhead facility’s dining area. He
said no one at the facility did anything to save him.
Markus just
retired himself and he thinks the state needs to do more to regulate
caregivers and companies. He and his wife wonder where they’ll turn when
they need care.
”I’ve got no family behind me, no siblings. I’ve
got no children,” Markus said. “We’re kind of concerned when one of us
goes we don’t think there’s going to be anybody to look out for us.”
Full Article & Source:
AJC’s ‘Unprotected’ spurs outrage, calls for change in senior care
