Nursing Home Veterans Deserve Humane Treatment
Their ages and stories vary, but they all have one thing in common - they are our country's veterans, members of America's "Greatest Generation" who deserve so much more than what we have given them. They all have risked their lives for our country and our freedom. Their reward? A veterans' home that is no longer their "home" but an "institution" where they are no longer "residents" but "customers or clients".
Multiple investigations into the treatment of the residents of the Emory L. Bennett Veterans Nursing Home in Daytona Beach, Florida are ongoing by the State Department of Children & Families, Agency for Health Care Administration, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The changes have come about since the arrival in August 2007 of a new administrator, Belkis Pineyro-Wiggins, a former Navy corpswoman. Since her arrival, residents have been told that the facility is not their home - it is an "institution". Further, they are no longer residents, but "customers" or "clients". Reportedly, staff has been slashed so much that the remaining staff members do not have enough time to perform their regular tasks, much less any specialized tasks. In fact, the facility has lost 38 of approximately 120 employees since September 2007. There have also been complaints of residents' belongings being thrown away and mental and physical abuse.
