Quality of Nursing Homes Reflects Society

As a California-licensed nursing home administrator since 1979, I want your readers to understand that a nursing home is simply a reflection of society (“Nursing Homes Are Criticized,” Oct. 16).

When we as a society come to value the elderly, infirm and disabled more than a new or classic automobile, we will have accomplished something important. When our state regulators start to communicate with administrators and directors of nurses about what resources nursing homes need to improve care instead of how much we cost, we will also start to get somewhere.

It is simpler to cry “neglect” than to preserve dignity on a 24-hour basis for the infirm elderly, disabled and dying, given the level of funding our politicians provide through the state-funded Medi-Cal program.

Larry Oshinsky

Ojai