CLINTON ST. QUARTERLY THE OLD FOLKS We Shall Become Them Walt Curtis Spirit is the only thing that counts. The body is weak. The body is frail; it ages and dies. My whiskery stubble is white. My hair has a flash of gray in it. I feel like I might dye it within the next few years. I ’m too young to have gray hair, only approaching 40. Forty years old—oh how the mind pauses at the pronouncement of the number. Christ died and resurrected at 33, or so they say. Jack Benny never got older than 39. I t ’s enough to drive you to drink, or religion, or satyrism, or a massage parlor. When I look in the mirror on some wet Portland mornings, don’t I feel a bit like Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde’s alter ego and protagonist who was terrified of growing old? Even though my skin isn ’t tissue paper, nor are my bones yet as brittle as toothpicks, I feel the gerontological struggle coming on. The writing which follows is a personal essay, an interview with a young man who worked in a nursing home, and with others concerned about reform. There’ll be a bit of investigative journalism here, Curtis-style. My mother, worthy woman that she is, will get to say her piece. She despises the idea of nursing homes, and feels the owners of most of them should be shot! My Mother Condemns Nursing Homes We were having a family conversation at home. My brother Wayne, his wife, mom and myself. We were talking about Mrs. B— who suffered a stroke and couldn’t walk. She stayed with my sister Cleo and her husband Ted, for almost a year. It became impossible, and they had to place her in a home. Mom Nursing homes are a disgrace to the American people! They put these elderly people in them. Some of them, like Ted’s mother, I can understand—She’s had a stroke. She can’t walk, it takes two people to get her on her feet, so they just let her sit or lay in bed all day! Sometimes, like six o’clock on Sunday, when Ted and Cleo go to visit her, she’s already zonked out because they’ve given her a pill or two. Wayne Do they give them drugs? Mom Of course, they do! They give them pills to put them to sleep. Wayne To make their jobs easier? Mom I imagine. They never pay their help. It isn ’t the fault of the help. They don’t hire enough people, and they don’t pay them enough. Wayne asks the name of the home. Mom replies, “ I t ’s one of those nifty names. Like Bide-A-Wee, you know—or Golden Age. Golden Goose I call them! The elderly—they get the golden goose’ ’ Wayne says Ron Wyden has made a political issue out of nursing homes. The Gray Panthers, too, are trying to change things. Mom countersthis optimism by saying, “ I think he’s trying. But I don’t know if he’s made any changes—because see, if the public doesn’t get aroused there won’t be any changes!” They discuss the high costs of keeping her there. Eleven hundred dollars a month! It seems like somebody’s making a lot of money. Mom says that people “ invest” in these homes. They are run like a chain grocery store. As soon as Ted and Cleo put Mrs. B— in the home, her wedding ring and engagement ring were stolen. The management said they couldn’t do anything about it. Mom, who listens to the talk shows a lots, as do many elderly people, said that wasn’t an uncommon thing. Worse things have happened. Mom Maybe I shouldn’t repeat this. It sounds just awful. Some people are starting to speak up, but not very many! But one day this lady called in and said— If the elderly are wearing rings, it has been known that “ they” will even amputate the finger to get the rings. Wayne Oh, mother, I ’ve heard those things too. But are they true? Mom They will put them in the hospital for some reason— me And amputate the finger to get the ring?? Ha, ha! (I break out in loud nervous laughter.) Do you want to go in a nursing home,, when you get older? Mom Well, I tell ya— That would be the cut-off point, for me. me —You don’t think you ’d survive in a hursing home? Mom Oh, I ’d will myself to go—if I could. I ’d sure try! A Nursing Home Empire A shoe salesman from Molalla, named Edward Charapata, in less than a decade built up a six-million dollar empire. He is scheduled for a federal trial on tax, Medicare and Medicaid fraud. This fascinating story, well-researched and documented, was the lead article in the Feb. 9th issue of Willamette Week, entitled “ Homes Sweet Homes.” I suggest you read it, if you want the details on financial abuse in the so- called nursing home “ industry.” A nursing home may be “ decertified” by the state Nursing Home Licensing Division, but they’re not always. Incredible as it may seem, the patients of the Eden Care Center in Troutdale sued Chaparata for $500,000 in damages, and won. Before evidence began piling up against him, Chaparata owned a chain of as many as eight nursing homes ih Oregon. The money he received from them he invested in a shopping center, cattle ranches, a radio station, and apartment complexes. WORKING IN A NURSING HOME AnagingWalt Curtis. Let’s call him “ Joe.” When I interviewed him about working in a large 360-bed Catholic nursing home, I promised him confidentiality. Joe is going on 21, with bright blue eyes, a beard, and a pleasant compassionate manner. He likes people, but the job got to him. He summed it up this way: “ Working in a nursing home, because of the condition of the patients, never will be that satisfying. The feeling arises within you—They don’t hold it against you, because their memories aren’t that long—that you ’re doing something against someone’s will. You are just like a guard in prison.” Joe worked there for 3 or 4 months. His official position was Nurse’s Aid, for which he was supposed to have 60 hours of training. It was hard work. He strained his back, lifting and moving patients. His pay was $3.75 per hour, but starting pay was only $3.20. He felt that his fellow workers were not very conscientious nor well-trained. Joe I got there at 6:30 A.M. We had to set up our carts with diapers, lotions and skin care stuff. Suppositories. WC The suppositories were for constipation? Joe Yeah. They have to have a bowel movement every third day. WC That’s a requirement? (He shakes his head yes. Earlier he told me the patients in his ward were mostly dying ones, in their 70’s, 80’s and even 100’s, unable to clothe and bathe themselves.) So you ’ve got your cart—How many patients will you visit in an 8-hour shift? Joe If there’s enough people, you usually visit about nine (He chuckles.) You don’t visit—you take care.of them! You wake ’em up. You change their diapers. We call them “ Attends.” A-T-T-E-N-D-S. That’s the brand name, I guess. WC People are wearing diapers because they can’t control their bowels? Like when they sleep at night? Joe All day long. I usually try to get ’em on the commode so they won’t lose their functions. They don’t really ask you or anything—If you don’t take ’em, they’l l go in their pants. Layout by Eric Edwards W v x I 29
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