Our seniors deserve improved oversight of facilities
I want to thank everyone who read my oped on heroes and called or wrote to ask how my Vietnam vet brother Leon was faring. Leon was a resident at the Bedford VA medical center. He tested negative, then positive for the coronavirus and was sent into the care of the wonderful folks at the Lahey Hospital.
The staff at Lahey also appreciated my grateful shoutout to them in the Herald column. Everyone likes to be appreciated. And boy do I appreciate them.
The Bedford VA and Lahey’s actions saved my brother’s life. He is now off the ventilator (which scared me to death because of studies suggesting more than two-thirds of COVID-19 patients die while on them) and back with his fellow vets at the West Roxbury VA, where he now tests negative.
Recently I received a beautifully hand-written note from a senior citizen — this one even had a return address (yay!). My takeaway from his letter was his argument that discrimination not only impacted blacks and minorities but that others also experienced bias and neglect as a result of the panadvocates, demic. He is right. It is why in one column I took strong exception to the coronavirus being called the Chinese Virus, a derisive and inflammatory term constantly used by members of the Trump administration.
As an African American woman, and a senior who is humbled and grateful to be called a leader in my Roxbury community and who was married to a beloved community and elected leader whose work helped level the playing field for blacks and minorities, I would like to think that my lived experience and my work helping these groups navigate discriminatory systems give me a unique vantage point and perspective on race and gender.
But it is also just as important to say: If one only sees color and not the inequities brought to light by this virus, and we do nothing to fix them to stop the fatalities, shame on us. The outrageous plight of our assisted living, nursing homes and long-term residences — and I would add veterans homes — also need a better operational model than currently exists, not to mention adequate help and constant monitoring to stop what has become a travesty for Massachusetts and the nation.
My brother is a senior citizen, and a veteran with underlying health conditions as a result of his service in Vietnam. Neither he nor any veteran should go through the horrors of the Holyoke Soldiers Home, one of several veterans facilities hit hard. My 86-year-old mom, whose care my sister Sylvia and I juggle long distance, avoided a nursing home for a time but now needs one. Trying to navigate that process during a pandemic in which nursing home residents have been the hardest hit is beyond terrifying. And the indiscriminate scourge of the coronavirus is not going away. In fact, it promises to get even worse because of fears of re-infection and the vague timeline for a vaccine.
There’s nothing like the emotion involved when a family member is facing trauma. My sister and I were almost brought to tears when we watched Mayor Marty Walsh say he was looking out for our seniors, that he “saw” them. We are hopeful that others also see them and that between him and Gov. Baker, together with our senior and veterans we work to put more safeguards in place to not only stop the spread but to also stop the all-too-frequent deaths.
At yesterday’s Senate hearing, Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire asked the sensible Dr. Anthony Fauci what he might suggest to help our seniors and nursing homes. He offered a range of ideas. He said there is a need for greater surveillance, stricter regulations and broadening of testing for workers and residents. I would add that there is also a need for the state to do a better job of monitoring nursing homes and veterans facilities to ensure they have adequate staffing to care for residents. It has been heartbreaking to find out that some facilities have actually tried to hide their infection outbreaks, leading to even more deaths that may have been prevented.
We say caring for our seniors and our veterans is a priority but so far our actions haven’t matched our words.