Advocates Say Nursing Home Issues Haven t Disappeared Despite COVID-19 Improvement
Article origination IPBS-RJC
Advocates for older Hoosiers say while Indiana nursing homes have emerged from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still ongoing issues that can’t be ignored.
Brock Turner/WFIU, WTIU
Advocates for older Hoosiers say while Indiana nursing homes have emerged from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still ongoing issues that can’t be ignored.
And AARP Indiana says state legislative changes made this year can both help and hurt their cause.
State Director Sarah Waddle said there are key things that can help what she calls the ongoing nursing home “crisis.” One is public reporting of COVID-19 cases and deaths in those facilities – which Indiana has done weekly for months.
The video is difficult to watch.
Sophie, an 88-year-old cancer survivor and great grandmother, screams out in pain as doctors remove portions of her scalp.
The procedure, known as debridement, was necessary because of an infection during her stay as a resident at Addison Pointe, a nursing home in Chesterton. Her family, who asked their last name be withheld to protect Sophie s privacy, recorded the video and provided a copy to IndyStar. She doesn t even want to look in a mirror anymore, her son, Ron, said of his mother, who has Alzheimer s. Then she forgets how she looks and then she looks and she s like, What the hell happened to me?