Monroe Community Hospital Executive Director Todd Spring did awful things.  The County Executive finally took action
and fired him last Friday.  Last night the Monroe County Legislature approved reconstitution of and appointments to an
Advisory Board for Monroe Community Hospital (MCH) – the Advisory Board had been defunct for 10 years.  Now the
politicians all congratulate themselves for taking swift action to ensure the safety of residents.

They go home and sleep well, thinking they’ve done their jobs.

It’s not enough.  If all we get out of this story of horrible abuse and ensuing investigations is the overdue termination of an abusive administrator and the reconstitution of a powerless advisory board that should never have stopped meeting, we as a society have missed the mark.  The people living at MCH deserve much more and much better.  Colleagues across the state indicate that similar abuses take place in nursing facilities near them.  Those residents deserve better as well.

Nursing facility residents have the right to be free from abuse.  No one disputes that.  The problem is that politicians and the Advisory Board will stop there if we let them.

Residents of nursing facilities also have a right to have the abuses committed against them treated like serious crimes should be.  These types of abuses should be reported and investigated by police, not bureaucrats or lawyers.  When the evidence is substantial, the police should take away the wrong-doer, like they would in any other circumstance. That would lead to real punishment and real deterrence, not slap on the wrist fines from the Department of Health.  Governor Cuomo and the NYS legislature were very firm on this point – for people with Developmental Disabilities.

Last year, in response to terrible abuses in group homes and developmental centers, the Governor and legislature created the “Justice Center for People with Special Needs.”  After choking on the name, we looked at what the Justice Center is supposed to do.  And even though it looks duplicative of what police departments do, there are a lot of good activities that people living in developmental disability facilities need for protection from and prosecution of wrong-doers.

We told Governor Cuomo and the legislature that the good stuff should be extended to cover people in nursing facilities.  Crimes against residents are just as rampant in nursing facilities as in developmental disability facilities, so let’s extend these protections to residents there!

It would have been the right thing to do, but instead we were told that it wasn’t necessary for residents in nursing facilities.  They’re already protected.  The situation we have seen recently at MCH and the underwhelming response with minimalistic interventions are clear proof that residents in nursing facilities are not protected and the Justice Center must be extended to protect those residents as well.

Where is the justice for residents of nursing facilities?  Where is the Justice Center for residents of these facilities?  Governor Cuomo, we’re asking you.  Assembly Majority Leader Joe Morelle, we’re asking you.  Senator Robach, Senator Maziarz, Senator Nozzolio, we’re asking you.

In the mean time, for anyone in a nursing facility that feels you have been the victim of a crime, do not wait for the Department of Health to come to your rescue.  Don’t accept that calling the corporate compliance anonymous tip line is the best action.  Call the police; it’s an easy number to remember: 9-1-1.