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Longer looks: Manufacturing killer flu; The ironies of the individual mandate; When the elderly refuse help

July 19, 2017

AARP Bulletin: The Case Of The Very Difficult MotherJohnnie's children and neighbors urged her to get medical help, but she refused. ... Johnnie looked "real sick," according to one EMT, and there was a strong odor of feces and urine. At first, Johnnie would not leave, slapping at a paramedic and knocking off his glasses. Eventually, she agreed to go. When the ambulance personnel picked her up they saw feces, urine, pus and blood in the couch. Johnnie's gown was covered with feces and urine, and she had bedsores. ... After she left the hospital, Johnnie went to live in a nursing home. On March 4, 2002, Stanley and Barbara were charged with one count of cruelty to the infirm. They argued that they did the best they could with their mother, despite her forceful refusals of help and her threatening manner. ... Should Barbara and Stanley be charged with cruelty? How would you decide? (Robin Gerber, 12/19).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.