Tuesday 17 May 2011

Prison 101 - Part Three in a Serious Series About Rehabilitation Centers and Nursing Homes

Jane is living inside a bad rehab and care center. Here is what part of her day is like: She wakes to the loud calls of the nurse or health care worker who insists that she take medicine. If she refuses, it is marked in a book saying that she is not taking the medicine (this looks as if she is not cooperating, and meanwhile the worker has not bothered to ask why she is refusing it That would be too much work on her part. If she is told that the woman can not swallow the pills, then the worker would have to get an order from the doctor to crush the pills or add it to some food And that , of course requires work. So the worker does not bother to ask why she does not want the pills but just marks down that the patient is uncooperative). Jane needs to go to the restroom. She is wearing a diaper, at the insistence of some workers but she is not incontinent. She knows she needs to go and asks for help to the rest room. Jane waits, and waits and waits. She waits more. She is told to go in the diaper as that is what the diaper is for. Now, remember, Jane never asked for the diaper and did not want to be in diapers, and now the workers have her waiting and waiting and waiting until Jane cannot possibly hold it in any longer. Jane messes her diapers, and it looks to the workers as if Jane has an incontinent problem.

That is the beginning of Jane's day. The day goes on.

The problem is actually created by the workers and Jane cannot argue this point. No one will listen to Jane. So Jane is taught to wet her diaper and poop in her diaper ---for the convenience of the staff, and soon Jane's muscles loose control since she does not any longer have to control her urine or bowel movements. Now, what happens? Your guess is good. What would happen to someone who is incontinent? Probably they would be in diapers all the time, correct? And what else? Well, more and more doctors and the facility will make more money on Jane now that she needs more care, more diapers, and now that she probably will see a specialist to find out what the problem is with her being incontinent.

Yet, no one will acknowledge that the staff and the workers have actually taught Jane to be incontinent.

Ahh, that is just an opinion of course. Though I am not a medical doctor, and though I am not a medical professional, I do know enough about biology and about the human body to know that if you do not use your muscles , your muscles will eventually become useless to you. And it is muscles that allow you to hold urine in. Now, Jane no longer uses these muscles because the situation is hopeless. (Just for the record, the name JANE does not belong to anyone but is given as an example , such as Jane Doe).

Any resemblance to any real persons in this article are merely coincidental.

But this scenario can and does go on inside of nursing homes and inside of physical rehab and care centers, every single day. Every day, there are disabled individuals, seniors and aging people who are slowly being taught by staff to become incontinent. This is a severe form of control. And that is what living inside a nursing home is. It is all about control.

Odd enough though, what the homes should control, they do not control. For example, they have not figured out a way to prevent people from committing suicide right on their premises. One lady supposedly jumped to her death right from a nursing home in NYC. Yet, the homes have the energy and time to convince patients to wear diapers but not to stop them from jumping out of windows. Nursing homes can not figure out how to stop patients from becoming covered with bedsores, yet they can figure out how to get the patients and residents to apply for medicare and medicaid. Nursing homes have not figured out how to give excellent care to patients and residents but they have figured out how to charge them more than four hundred dollars per day. What is wrong with these pictures?

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