Concerns on assisted living facilities must be raised

My recent letter regarding assisted living facilities apparently raised some issues. My comments were made from experience with four different facilities right here in Bradenton over a period of recent years. They are not based on what I think I know, but what I have actually witnessed and my conversations with Medicare regarding complaints filed on violations and their inadequate policy for addressing them. I did not bring up other issues like mismanagement of funds, services billed to Medicare but not delivered to patients (fraud), abuse, etc. that go on as well.

The fact is that most assisted living facilities are owned and managed by corporations now. If you can find them online, the evidence in the complaints, incidents and suits filed speak for themselves. Of course there are exceptions. When I spoke regarding corporations, however, it was to make the point that they are about profit. Assisted living facilities are about caring for the elderly. Rarely in our society does profit result in putting human beings first.

There are serious issues here. If you read the Bradenton Herald, over the past few years there has been more than one article about mismanagement of funds by administrators right here. Abuse and fraud are real problems. It's time they were brought into the open. It may not be the most “likable” thing, but that is not the point.

A letter to the editor is a format where you can speak your mind. Not everyone has to agree with your point of view. Hopefully, it will challenge everyone to learn more and to ask the right questions. But I certainly did not expect that my family members would be called and challenged about my letter. That is as disturbing as the issues I've raised.

This story was originally published April 20, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Concerns on assisted living facilities must be raised."