Shame on you, Frontline and ProPublica. In “Life and Death in Assisted Living”, Frontline and ProPublica have done an expose on Emeritus Senior Living that examined the company from a pre-determined negative viewpoint. They scoured records and interviewed people that upheld that same negative perspective. Sadly, the families in the piece have suffered unspeakable pain due to their experiences. But what was left out of the piece was that hundreds of thousands of residents and their families have favorable experiences in assisted living each and every day, Emeritus communities included. Not a single resident or family member who has had a positive experience was interviewed. Their quality of life improvements, their safety, and their touching stories were not shared. Balance was not evident in the reporting and it unfairly cast a shadow over the entire assisted living industry.
Senior living providers are easy targets. Who isn’t moved by a story that involves alleged harm to an elder person -- one who could easily be your father, grandmother or mother? Death happens in assisted living communities. People make mistakes, mistakes that can harm residents. It is tragic when this happens. But, it unfortunately happens across the continuum of care and not just in assisted living settings.
I have had the pleasure of working with hundreds of long term care and senior living providers in the past five years. I have been in scores of communities. In every one I have visited I have found dedicated, committed, caring and compassionate caregivers providing high quality care. It is a tremendously difficult, and often thankless, job and I applaud the men and women who dedicate their working lives to caring for our seniors.
Unfortunately, the Frontline piece showed only negative occurrences that could scare away a family from putting a loved one into an assisted living community when they really need more care than the family can provide. People die at home, too, sometimes from not getting the care they need – care that they would get if their families were not frightened into avoiding assisted living communities when the need is there.
My 83-year-old mother had lung surgery earlier this year. She has been recovering in a skilled nursing facility, where she has received outstanding care. Her doctor informed us this week that she will likely need to move into an assisted living facility at some point within the year. My sister and I are planning on moving her into an Emeritus Senior Living facility if and when that time comes. We will do so without reservation and with confident knowledge that Emeritus and their associates are committed to providing a life with dignity and compassion, appropriate care and a safe living environment as are the thousands of other assisted living providers in the United States.