http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/4246311/detail.html
I was looking up articles to choose one to post, and figured I may as well use the topic I'm planning on speaking about for the project. There are a lot of snip-its on the web about nursing home food and how bad it is, as well as what people at certain nursing homes are doing to make the food better. The article I found was through a local news channel in Pittsburgh, and it was really surprising to me how awful businesses can be to people when trying to save themselves money. The article wrote about Kane nursing homes and how they have been losing money over the past few years. To rectify this, they have cut their food costs by offering lower quality dishes and giving less beef to their residents. However, what I found really backwards, was that the home still offered free food to all of their employees every day, and did not cut those costs! My grandmother is in a nursing home and reading this article made me very angry. Instead of taking care of those who need it, they are providing unnecessary free food, of better quality, to their employees. On top of these injustices, the article later goes on to write that the Kane nursing homes, though 'trying' to save money, spent more than $11,000 on special functions (not for residents) in one month. It is really surprising to me to see how some nursing homes are going above and beyond to make dining a more enjoyable experience for the residents, yet some still turn a blind eye and stand behind their cost-cutting decisions, denying the residents are suffering because of them.
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When I read the above response I thought well how bad can the difference be between employee meals / events and the resident’s food. Plus feeding your employees is a great way to keep them happy and working for you longer because they feel I like they are valued and being taken care of. I know I liked it when I could eat a free meal at work. But, when I read the article I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Serving probably a lower grade ground beef to residents than their suppose to and then serving beef wellington at a going away party for the now former executive director. WOW?! I find this really interesting that they deiced to cut back on the food budget when their job is to take care of people. How well are they taking care of them if they are feeding their residents garbage? I know times are hard but it shouldn’t affect the care of those who need it the most. Plus who knows, if they are cutting back on the quality of food severed, who says they their sanitation standards won’t change for the worse too, especially if they are getting away with it. So, I looked up the Kane nursing home. I wanted to see what they were about. The nursing home lists nutrition management as one of the services they offer they residents and even states on their website that they are there “to help residents achieve the highest level of health” yeah it doesn’t sound like it. For those who want to check out their website: http://www.alleghenycounty.us/kane/
ReplyDeleteI don't think the fact employees receive free meals is the issue here, that is one of the perks of working there, I feel the real issue is that proper nutrition and meal quality isn't being met. Yes it is questionable when a nursing home spends $11,000 to say goodbye to someone, but the real crime here is the evidence of hypocrisy, the front of providing proper nutrition when evidence suggest otherwise. My grandmother is currently in a nursing home and my great-grandmother was in one for two years before she died, these facilities separated by two cities. Both complained that the food was horrible. First of all, I commend the nursing home on reducing beef on the menu, not the style in which they did it, but beef is one of the hardest proteins to digest and the elderly should only be served it as a treat, but that’s my opinion. Now to be frank, nursing homes are where the elderly go to spend their remaining years. The decent thing to do while these people are on a bed for the rest of their lives is provide some quality cuisine. For the love of all that is sacred, food is the reason I, and my family, live. If that goes to pot, then it’s over, why bother. I empathize with these elderly and it breaks my heart to know they are eating protein squares, mashed potatoes out of a box, and some orange paste on a plate. This was the meal I saw not a month ago on my grandmother’s plate. I think this article brings the attention to a serious situation, which should be further investigated forcing the nursing home to correct its obviously negligent actions.
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