There have been numerous letters in the paper concerning the closing of Michener Center but very few of them have addressed the situation of our nursing homes.
Alberta is already getting a failing grade with the way we take care of our seniors. Waiting lists are so long families are waiting months to get their family members into a care facility. I recently was told by a friend that there had finally come a vacant bed for their mother — in Drumheller.
Wow, that’s real convenient.
I recently went through this with my mother and was lucky, after a few months waiting, got her a bed in Lacombe. Needing to put a loved one in a care facility is a very difficult thing to deal with. I thank God Lacombe is only a 25-minute drive, as one day I went there six times to assist my mother with various tasks that staff have no time for.
What would I have done if she was placed in Drumheller?
And now this government wants to take up precious beds for clients from Michener that have a bed and the best of care where they are.
Does Red Deer North MLA Mary Anne Jablonski realize that each of us is one accident away from needing to live in a care facility? Does she want her family member — or better yet, herself —- to room in with a client from Michener who screams, moans or gets aggressive 24/7?
These clients are happy where they are and the waiting lists for our seniors is already long enough.
Mike O’Neill
Red Deer