Re: Seattle Times Article entitled “Seniors For Sale” by Michael J. Berens, January 31, 2010
Seattle Times reporter, Michael J. Berens, has published an imbalanced view of the Adult Family Home segment of the Adult Care Industry in Washington State in the January 31, 2010 article that he authored:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seniorsforsale/2010939195_seniors31.html
“Fair & balanced” doesn’t seem to apply in Mr. Beren’s article. In broad strokes he has painted the AFH industry in a very negative light. Without doubt there are examples of abuse in Adult Family Homes in Washington State. These are unfortunate and tragic. These “bad apples” do exist in the Adult Family Home industry just as they do in any industry. However, that does not mean the whole industry is that way. They are in the minority of AFH operators and don’t in any way represent the vast majority of operators who provide excellent care and fulfill a need in the market by providing excellent quality care to their residents. These “bad apples” in AFH’s are not unique to the Adult Family Home segment of the Adult Care industry; nursing homes and assisted living facilities also have their share of abuse cases. Those are equally tragic and unfortunate.
Mr. Berens has withheld most of the positive side of the Adult Family Home providers in his story. One of the few industry references that Mr. Berens cites in his article is Gary Weeks. Mr. Weeks represents the interest of nursing homes, a direct competitor to the Adult Family Home segment of the industry, and is one of the few industry spokespeople cited in the article. Conspicuously absent from the story is any industry spokesperson for the Adult Family Home segment of the Adult Care Industry.
The anguish and concern that is created by such an imbalanced article and the effect it will have on families of existing residents as well as the families of potential residents is difficult to measure. If, after reading this article, your own family member is in an adult family home or you are contemplating the use of an adult family home to provide care to a family member, this article would give you pause and real cause for concern about their safety and welfare if they were in an Adult Family Home. In the vast majority of Adult Family Homes that cause for concern is unfounded. The vast majority of AFH operators provide excellent quality care to their residents.
One of the sad parts of this scenario is that an adult family home is one of the choices that often provides the very best quality of care available. As a result of this article adult family homes will now often be dismissed by many possible residents, or resident’s families, as one of the possible choices for senior care.
The general characterization and perspective provided by Mr. Berens about Adult Family Homes in the article is unfair and imbalanced. The Seattle Times should also report on the “other side” of the story – about the good that adult family homes provide. This would correctly depict the vast majority of adult family homes, but clearly that would not sell as many newspapers as this type of tabloid sensational news that is used in this one-sided perspective on adult family homes in this article.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
From: d_schulz@msn.com
To: mberens@seattletimes.com
Subject: Seniors for sale
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:08:58 -0800
Michael Berens,
Your article illustrates shock and awe but is very one sided (are you paid by a large nursing home group?) and focuses on a few "possible" cases of abuse. You have painted our industry with one stroke.
Having worked in emergency services for 35 years I have seen this issue from the other side of the fence. I can tell you I witnessed poorer care in larger facilities than in any AFH. They weren't all great but I and all of my co-workers would take an AFH over a larger facility any day. Compare an AFH with a full house of six Residents with a single Care giver to a larger facility at one Caregiver for Twenty.
As far as making easy money. Medicaid reimburses an AFH at half the rate they pay a nursing home. It is surprisingly costly to provide 24 hour care. Could you have a roof over your head, have your ambient temperature maintained at 70 degrees, have some one be at your call, keep you clean, well feed and all your activity's of daily living provided for seventy five dollars a day? And have Nurse available to you?
Your article may have merit to the overall Long Term Care issue but is wrong headed in singling out our industry. Although I have not yet seen installments two and three, this first front page article is a sucker punch in the gut.
Daniel E.Schulz
Provider
R.N. Homecare AFH
Sequim
Michael Berens,
As a reporter, you carry some responsibility to our society. The impact of this kind of bias story will be huge. Your article creates unnecessary public fear about AFH. Yet the best senior care option for those seniors require more care is no doubt AFH. There is no integrity, no fairness and not true in reports like this. It is purely wrong.
Yes, we do want to expose those AFH providers who do wrongdoings, absolutely. But I know that the bad homes are only a few. Most homes are pretty decent and some homes are really great. It is the same old story to all businesses on this planet.
I just want to pray for this country, once was the greatest one. This kind of BS in newspaper will mislead the general public and is somehow responsible for the big mess our country is having now. Again, there is no integrity, no fairness and not true in reports like this.
Jeff
My wife and I run an Adult Family Home in Auburn and I am equally outraged at the one sided view they portray of us. We work very hard and serve our residents with honor and respect, and it is that way in many homes. There are bad apples and they come from money hungry investors that hide behind LLC's and INC's. They dont care about the people and they bear no real responsibility for them. When they get closed down, they just move on to another venue, and we as the good ones have to pick up the pieces and do PR for years. Thanks guys!
I would like to say , i ahve had my mom in a AFH in bellevue, wa, i think accusation like this one have to be or come from a person that is not very educated or familiar with AFH , its the best think for our parents,if my mom wouldve been in the nursing home where the ration is very high resident /caregiver,my mom wouldve not live as long she was 94 years old , when she past away,but this kinds af accusation are wrong. One think you have to keep in mind you are talking about people you have never meet or providers that they are or been doing this all their life, what exactly is the purpose for your comment.My mother was always against the way we can put everybody in the same bucket, bad , good just in there.No its not, there is bad once and good once thats why we have to do our homework , but i think it will be very nice for you to get back and rewrite your comment and correct the bad thinks you have mention,we dont want good people out of bussiness we want them there for the future.How about in your future if you need care , you never know????? Keep that in mind.
In this times and this economy we should be more helpfull to each more then ever we dont need anybody that just woke up one morning and think is going to do a good marketing for other facilities and destroy the other, is very unprofessional , and just because in our days if you dont have a story you have to make one , its not accurate. We are a country Bless with people that want to do this kind of jobs, and have so much passion and love for it , its amazing, especially Romanian culture , it just amaze me, how this people are , and i can tell you they do not deserve you comment that you have made.You may care or not but you know as always what goes around comes around, thats the way it goes.One day one time somebody else will make a comment about you and will destroy your reputation exactly the way you have done to other.Keep that in mind. God Bless You
Im a CNA for about 15 yrs now and i saw whats going on in a larger facilty called Nursing homes... i have work all diferent shift morning, evenings and Noc shift... during Noc Shift your client would be 24 and sometimes it happen that we are short of staff we have to work together...we try our best to care for our client, but sometimes its frustating because we cannot answer all their needs due to short staffing. On the day time i remember we have like 12 clients per staff , some of them are independent and the scenario is like you have to be fast in working so you will be able to finish your job on time...this was like 10 yrs ago when i use to work in a nursing home , i hope now there is a change of that short staffing.... another thing Registered NURSE does not necesarily Do patient care its all in the CNA work that do all the care, some Nurses (RN)honestly are scared to touch the Patient... now i notice that if you go to Nursing program they include CNA class and go to a facility and try to do some hands on patient care...
Post a Comment