* Gov. John Kasich still wants you to take care of your elderly, sick parents in your home so that he can save enough money to give his rich buddies tax cuts. Kasich cried and complained when Ohio's nursing home lobby ran an ad that accused him of trying to pull the plug on Grandma and Grandpa. Then he cried more crocodile tears until the ad was removed from TV stations in the state. Kasich accused the nursing home lobby of being bullies!!!! OMG!
Some people don't have options like the ones Mrs. Kasich had with her mother. They had enough money to keep the grandmother in her home with nursing care around the clock. Most people who have parents in nursing homes in Ohio do not have the money, nursing training, the physical strength, or money to care for loved ones at home.
Here are some ideas to consider---
1. How many people does it take to move an immobile patient from a bed to a wheel chair?
2. What happens to the other patients while one patient is being moved/fed/bathed/changed/picked up off the floor?
3. What aide to patient ratio does Kasich think is appropriate? 1 to 36? 1 to 50? 1 to 100?
4. What services should nursing homes provide to indigent patients who need skilled nursing care? Does Kasich want to set up "death panels" to decide which patients get into care facilities and which do not?
5. Would Gov. Kasich like to spend the day following a nurse's aide in a nursing home's dementia unit? (I'm sure it could be arranged that either the governor or one of his over paid staff could shadow a nursing home employee.) How many adult diapers would have to be changed in an 8 hr. shift? How many times per day are urine soaked clothing/beds changed? How many meals are served/fed to residents during a shift? If the nurse's aide ratio is low in these type of units, residents can have falls, a higher number of infections, and other complications that will result in a larger amount of hospitalizations.
6. Does Gov. Kasich really want to take away care for the poor and elderly?
I realize that tough decisions must be made to balance the state's budget. Unfortunately, Gov. Kasich is bullying old sick people and school children by trying to balance the budget by cutting their funding (while he gives millions of dollars to a gaming expert).
If you have a loved one in a nursing home or care facility in Ohio, you must do the following:
1) Read the article at Cleveland.com about Kasich's planned cuts at nursing homes.
2) Call your relatives and ask them which months of the year are they willing to take care of your mother/father/grandparent in their homes because of Kasich's cuts? Will they be able to stay home and provide 24/7 care, food, and medical care for that loved one?
3) Call members of the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House, and the governor's office and let them hear your complaints about the planned cuts to nursing homes.
4) Contact the Ohio Academy of Nursing Homes and ask them how you can stop these cuts that endanger the life of your loved one:
Telephone: 614.461.1922
Toll Free: 800.999.6264
Fax: 614.461.0434
Email: coneal@oanh.org