Wow, that is like, for me, s i x comments more than I usually get.
As much as I like you reading my blog, and yes, I am talking to YOU, do a modicum of home work before you hate on me. Being Progressive doesn't mean being ignorant. And, since I am certain that you will perceive the word "ignorant" as a pejorative, Princeton University, the alma mater of Brooke Shields, says it means YOU were unaware because of a lack of relevant information or knowledge.
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=ignorant
Y'all should may be go to the Globe and Mail and read the article
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec- sending-in-the-clowns/art icle1145603/
But, to save those of you who are post literate [yes, I am writing about YOU] here is a quick edit:
...“Since...consultations on the living conditions of the elderly [in 2007], our government has injected $2.3-billion to improve their living conditions,”...most of the money has gone to maintaining salaries...Hundreds of private nursing homes as well as homes for the elderly are without properly trained staff, according to patients' rights groups who contend that the elderly can go days without being washed...they receive inadequate care for some of their most basic needs.Lisette Lapointe, Parti Québécois critic for the elderly, noted...the vast majority of...residences that care for more than 100,000 patients operate without proper certification... “What are you going to do to make sure our elderly get proper care...” Ms. Lapointe asked Ms. Blais...the problem, the minister argued, was that too many people are negligent and forget to visit their aging parents or family members who live in nursing homes. “We all have a responsibility in overseeing the living conditions of the elderly,” Ms. Blais said in explaining the usefulness of hiring clowns.The solution does not lie in having clowns as part of therapy to break the loneliness, said Paul Brunet who heads the Council for the Protection of Patients. There's nothing wrong in wanting to entertain people, he said, but that certainly isn't the priority..."If anybody thinks this is a priority, then they must be living on Mars,” Mr. Brunet said... “There are some elderly residents that stink. They aren't bathed because there isn't enough staff to do the work. They lose their dignity and, when that happens, they lose the desire to live. Their basic needs aren't being met. And that's what they need more than clowns.”
Feed 'em, bathe 'em then clown 'em.
WFDS
You left out the staggering cost of the clown contract: $73K a year. Meanwhile, the government, as the article states, has injected $2.3 billion into the system. "Maintaining salaries?" Well, yes, because that expenditure is always the lion's share of service costs in the health sector. Nothing sinister in that.
ReplyDeleteObviously, judging from the article, more is needed to get the system up to scratch--training, service levels, you name it. A mere reallocation of $73K/year wouldn't mean squat. But providing this minimal cost item might mean a good deal to the elderly patients warehoused in nursing homes.