John Kitsco

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I watched a family of ducks cross the road, the mother and her
little brood. Now, if only we could lead and follow like that...

Well, there is often the tendency to not pay quite enough attention to the very young, the very old and those with certain
health conditions, the blind, the deaf and especially those in a
vegetative state. Those with mental problems. Where some of the nursing homes and hospitals and care facilities to some degree try their best to cover all the bases of proper care, perhaps that is not enough. Family members may (or may not) show compassion and visits may be too short or not at all.
And that doesn't help either.  Some folks tell me they have observed some things that could be improved upon, such as the ratio of nurses to patients. The lateness or sometimes lacking of meals. Even neglecting to check for bed sores. And as you know if a persons sits or lies in the same position for hours on end, this cuts the flow of blood, tissues are starved and die and thus -
bed (pressure) sores. Do we need more and better trained supervisors to catch these details? And they are not small and unimportant details. We all know that some owners of prestigious health care facilities often live in oppulence. And I do not begrudge them a certain lifestyle, but what about the care and lifestyle of those in waiting - waiting to pass on. Do they not deserve the best possible final days of their lives? Our regulations need desperately to provide for continual inspection of health care facilities. We have grocery checkers. So why not old folk checkers? Yes, someone to check on the folks. And I mean seriously, to check on them. Continually looking for signs of neglect. Is a staff member taking away their morning paper or forgetting that precious glass of water. Neglect comes disguised in many shapes and colors. But if you look hard enough, you can certainly find it. If the heating is poor or excessive, tell someone. We have all read about horrific situations, from an older lady getting scalded while being given a bath, and the smaller less important areas of neglect like purposely forgetting to deliver a card from a family member or theft. Or worse. Sometimes hard
(but not impossible) to detect. So I urge you all to become good detectives. Go visit someone, anyone, even if you are not related. Asking a stranger if he or she is having a good day just might provide you with a great day, a new friend and a real wake up call if something out there can be done better, different, with perhaps more love...

Yes, we need to be like mother duck and her little ducklings, learn to lead and learn to follow....Because we may all be there
sooner than we thought and who is going to look after us?