Opponents to the Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2008 (S. 2838) oppose restoring the legal rights of elderly nursing home residents, and their families, to sue  facilities for abuse and neglect that causes serious injuries, even deaths, to innocent people. Either they don't know about the real people injured and denied access to the courts, or they just don't want the larger general public to know about them.

That's gotta change. So I am sharing the poignant Senate Hearing testimony of David W. Kurth, whose father William Kurth died because of nursing home neglect. Stories like this often get lost in the debate, but these are the stories and the issues that really matter when all is said and done.

Share this with everyone. Keep an eye on Congress about this bill. When its turn comes, we should mobilize the way we did around FISA. Like the FISA bill, it's an issue of our Constitutional rights. Unlike FISA, it's also a life and death matter.

Mr. Kurth's testimony is below the fold. It's long but worth the read. I've highlighted for those with short attn spans.

In the way of free advice that pops up now and then, I thought I'd share the story of a friend who has gone through a horrible experience regarding care of an elderly parent. And I think I've got a few tips even if you're young and its your parents' parents that might be an issue, since it may affect you as well (below the fold)

Now of course things could improve with a Democratic Administration and stronger majorities in Congress, but I'll just remain skeptical for now. So preparation now will save you so much headache later. My state for example used to exempt one's home for back payments of aid for nursing homes. Now no longer...they reserve the right to go back after that asset.

And it's not just prescriptions and insurance. Though plenty of seniors have been hammered by the donut in Medicare D. If you're at all using non-generics, you need to be worried about out of pocket in this gap between regular Medicare Part D and "catastrophic" coverage.

I got home from Potrero late yesterday, after spending the day documenting the protest against the Blackwater training camp that I was going to diary last night.   I have some good stuff, including an exclusive interview with the head of Blackwater West, where he refuted the testimony of his boss to Congress.  I figured I might even impress this tough Dailykos audience with my efforts.

As I was working on uploading the videos and pictures, I got a call from my sister Arlene that stopped me cold.   Aunt Lena was in the hospital after an episode of alimentary distress that need not be graphically described here.  She's doing well, but I can't reach her to ask permission, but I'm pretty sure she would give me the O.K. for this diary if I explained the reason for it, that telling her story might possibly help others.   She would say that I could use her as an example, even giving away her secret.  

That's Alzheimer's disease and other forms of serious dementia.  We have many looming challenges, ever more grave and gathering during the past six years of misrule, but this is in fact one of the most serious.  Global climate change is obviously up there near the top, along with the inevitable decline in global petroleum production.  (These are complexly linked, in ways that could redound to benefit or harm.) The prospects for major war -- also closely associated with the question of petroleum -- are deeply worrying, but war can be avoided.  

For a certain segment of the population nursing homes can be as much of a prison as the meanest maximum security penitentiary.

It’s the situation my 61 year old roommate currently finds himself in.

"I’m just afraid I’m going to die in here. There’s just no way I can figure out a way to get out." he said during a late night discussion recently.

One of the greatest misnomers in the nursing home industry may be that of the CNA.

NA, of course, stands for nursing assistant. For a great many of those who hold the title the C might stand for clumsy. It might stand for cantankerous. It might even stand for crude.

The C is supposed to stand for certified. But in actual practice the activities of many CNAs could led one to question a) who is doing the certifying and b) how did these people ever achieve it.

Ever wanted to be a costumed hero with super powers?

Think of all the ones you could choose from. Some might want invincibility. Others might opt for super-strength or super-speed. I have already tried out invisibility. I am a wheelchair user in a nursing home.

Now that I am in my sixth month of residence in a convalescent care facility I am prepared to offer up a very Republican solution to long-term medical care: Privatization.

The facility where I am currently residing charges a hefty $5500 a month to place me in a double-occupancy room with a shared toilet. The room offers no television and no phone service beyond that which the residents are able to provide. Compare this to the nearby Holiday Inn, which can somehow provide single-occupancy rooms with far more amenities for about a $1000 a month less. Things like internet access, a fridge and desk work area remains in a dream for me.

It was autumn 1992 and I was out of college for a year. Like many undergraduates from liberal art schools I was well educated but didn't possess any skills for the "real world." So I telemarketed for a hideous company that sold overpriced latex gloves to nursing homes while living in the East Village.

The market value for these gloves was approximately $30 per case (10 boxes per case) and we sold them for $400. I earned either $8 an hour or 5% per sale if commissions exceeded my base salary. The company provided us with names of nursing homes nationwide on index cards and we read from a script.

Our government causes deaths at home, too -- but the outrage over that, when it even exists, is muted.

More over the fold..

I'm on an ancient Pentium III and I'm humbly asking for help.  If you know the numbers of people who did ultimately drown, how many of those were elderly, and any details of safety net failure, particularly related to LTC or nursing homes you would like to share, it would be much appreciated.