‘State May Seek to Close Care Center’

Re the recent article “State May Seek to Close Care Center in Santa Ana,” I applaud the action of the Health Services Department in making surprise visits to California nursing homes. It’s about time the state took a much more aggressive approach in cleaning up problems in the nursing home industry.

I am appalled at the awful conditions under which some elderly people are forced to live. No human being deserves to be subjected to such subhuman conditions as exist in some nursing homes.

As a member of the health care profession, I have worked in nursing homes, and I know that many are quite adequate, and a few are even quite good. Now it is time to do something about those that are substandard. I realize this is not going to happen overnight, but I feel that this crackdown is a step in the right direction.

Perhaps it is time to take a long, careful look at the care of the elderly overall. Nursing home attendants are usually paid the minimum wage. And even though a lot of joy and good feelings can come from working with the elderly, it is a very physically and emotionally demanding job.

People who dedicate their lives to the care of the elderly deserve more. And the elderly deserve to have kind, caring, educated people taking care of them in a clean, safe and pleasant environment.

LINDA F. FOSTER

Irvine

Linda F. Foster is a registered nurse.