Detroit Free Press Highlights Nursing Homes in Special Report
The Detroit Free Press has chronicled the problems with Michigan's nursing homes in a multipart special report titled "Trust and Neglect." The Free Press is the latest in a string of major metropolitan newspapers to highlight nursing home abuse, bringing growing attention to the problem.
In recent months, several major papers, including the Miami Herald and the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader have published large, multipart investigative reports on the state of nursing homes and elder care in their respective states. As the baby boom population ages and enters nursing homes, the topics of elder abuse and nursing home quality are becoming increasingly important for the elderly and their families, as is reflected in the attention these newspapers are giving to the issue.
The Detroit Free Press series, which started Sunday and continues through Tuesday, has focused on widespread neglect, even in nursing homes with good records, and on the difficulty of closing low-performing nursing homes.
One of the most important lessons of the Detroit Free Press series is one that many in the nursing home advocacy community know but many residents and familes do not: though state oversight is important, it is not a perfect system for eliminating abuse and neglect. The best way to prevent abuse and neglect is for residents and their families to be diligent in detecting abuse and reporting it.
