Published on
Monday, August 31, 2020
byInequality.org
In the Age of Covid, Elder Care Should Be an Election Issue
The pandemic has made it clearer than ever that we need better care that
honors everyone's humanity.
byAnn Klosinski
"Covid-19 has also made it clear that we need to rethink our overreliance on
institutionalized long-term care," writes Klosinski, "and expand home-based
healthcare, daytime care centers, and financial compensation for family
caregivers."(Photo: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
"Covid-19 has also made it clear that we need to rethink our overreliance on
institutionalized long-term care," writes Klosinski, "and expand home-based
healthcare, daytime care centers, and financial compensation for family
caregivers."(Photo: Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, many people-including my parents-said
they'd rather die than end up in a nursing home. So when my mother suffered
a brain aneurysm and became severely disabled at the age of 57, my father
and I cared for her at home.
I had two young children and a full-time job, so I would help after work and
on the weekends. But after my father fell ill, we needed more help than I
could give.
Like many families with few long-term care options, we were forced to turn
to the nursing home system.
Families have few choices when it comes to long-term care, and the ones that
do exist can be dehumanizing-especially for those who can't advocate for
themselves. Covid-19 has made it clearer than ever that we need better care
that honors everyone's humanity.
My mother lived in a nursing home for 14 years. During that time I got to
know the residents and learned that many didn't have family or anyone to
advocate for them. As a result of this experience, I became a volunteer
legal guardian for my county's Adult Protective Services to help those
at-risk residents who didn't have the kind of support that my parents did.
I quickly learned that many nursing homes prioritize profit over people-a
trend that has only worsened since Covid-19.
The meeting took place in a bright and beautiful conference room with white
leather chairs, in stark contrast to dark rooms filled with plastic chairs
in the living facility. It's a moment that laid bare who many nursing homes
are designed to serve.
"Many nursing aides and other care workers want to provide high-quality
care, but can't because they are overworked, underpaid, and fear catching
the virus themselves."
The people who live and work in long-term care facilities are especially
susceptible to coronavirus, but nursing homes-for-profit ones especially-are
"ill-equipped and understaffed" right now, according to a recent New York
Times investigation.
Another resident I supported lived in an understaffed facility where
administrators didn't require workers to wear masks. The resident wasn't
able to get the care he needed as he attempted to self-isolate. He lost 25
pounds in three months.
I worked with a social worker to find him a better place to live, but got no
help from the facility to transport him. I ended up sanitizing my own car
and masking up so I could move him myself.
Long-term care facilities don't have to be negligent or isolating places.
After all, many of us will need long-term care at some point in our lives.
And many nursing aides and other care workers want to provide high-quality
care, but can't because they are overworked, underpaid, and fear catching
the virus themselves.
Facilities that provide better pay, equipment, and training for care workers
would create safer workplaces during Covid-19 and beyond. More
accountability and transparency for non-profit and for-profit facilities
alike would also go a long way to improving residents' living conditions.
Covid-19 has also made it clear that we need to rethink our overreliance on
institutionalized long-term care and expand home-based healthcare, daytime
care centers, and financial compensation for family caregivers.
Some members of Congress are trying to do just that, but we need more
leaders who are committed to investing in care for all stages of our lives,
so that we can live and age with dignity.
The advocacy group Caring Across Generations has created Care Voters, a
program to help caregivers like myself get out the vote and have a voice in
creating a more caring future.
We all have a stake in transforming how we care for one another.
Ann Klosinski, of Plover, Wisconsin, became a volunteer legal guardian to
vulnerable individuals in assisted living and nursing institutions after
caring for her own mother for 14 years. She also works full time at the
University of Wisconsin Stevens Point.