Screw Wall Street

Foreclosures and the economic downturn are taking a new twist, as the CEO of a local chain of assisted living centers just put 14 of them into Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This is a particularly difficult issue for those in Alzheimer’s or Dementia  Memory Care units, because, familiarity and routine are very important. It could be potentially quite traumatic for a person to have to move to a different facility, and meet new staff, and learn new layouts.

Who will take over these bankrupt facilities? Sunwest Management CEO sought an injunction to stop nine big investment banks from seizing the most profitable of the company’s nearly 270 assisted living centers across the country. Sunwest owes over $2.6 billion in debt. 16,800 seniors in Sunwest’s centers around the country, including about 5000 in Oregon, wait to see how it will affect their housing.

One local facility is already part of a foreclosure proceeding. That facility is now in a position they do not have the authority to pay it’s 46 employees a total of $43,400 for work done in the last two weeks of December. No one can expect employees to continue to report to work and not be able to pay for their living expenses. (Register Guard). 

You just KNOW these fragile seniors are not on the bailout “A” list ~ if at all. Remember– this is just one company of millions across the country. When I did a search for other assisted living bankruptcies or foreclosures, there were other hits on the topic. This is the tip of the iceberg, and perhaps the beginning of a domino effect of many repeats of elder care facilities going under, financially. If eldercare is not profitable, the financing vanishes. Our society is sick when it comes to the demands of corporations and genuine human needs. Most corporations have a hard formula for attendance programs, that results in workers feeling obliged to come to work sick, so they don’t get  negative attendance incidents, that would get them fired. The family medical leave act does allow some time off to care for spouse, child or parent, but it is time off without pay, and you have to go through bureaucratic bullshit, and have the Doctor fill out reams of documents to utilize the program. 

Some Seniors have such great needs, they really do require a secured environment, as well as 24 hour care. Continuing to live at home, even if family members could get time off work to do so, is often not an option. 

 The problem is, you don’t just check in to a care facility. Often times the better facilities can have a one to two year waitlist. They may require a $500 deposit just to be to be on the waitlist, as well as full financial disclosure. A lot of so called care facilities only care while you still have $.  They don’t accept medicare, so when your money runs out, and Memory care may run $7000 or more PER MONTH– the $ will run out, and then they quit caring.

The facilities that accept medicare are back in the waitlist mode & charge a hefty fee to even get in line for a potential opening, a year or more, later. I’m not sure it is related to the residents also having problems selling their houses. My Mom’s house is paid in full, but it is on the market flooded with rock bottom reduced price homes in foreclosure. It feels like we are stuck in a vortex that is spinning out of control. Besides the money changers & financiers doing their dance, what will become of the residents of these facilities is there is mass & widespread bankruptcy & foreclosures? The government often can not move quickly enough to divert such disaster, but I see this on the horizon, and it is a huge concern.

I visited a few bottom of the barrel care facilities when searching for one for my Mom, where  we decided we should run not walk out of those places. Visualize a  ”One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest” type scenario complete with Nurse Ratched.

Speaking of foreclosures, another innocent victim of this problem is pets.  People who have pets when they go through whatever economic trauma that gets them to the place of foreclosure, find themselves in a place of being unable to afford to care for or give space to the care of a pet. In the online animal shelter / adoption website, I noticed they have a column that lists where the animal is found. Several animals have “LCAS FRONT DOOR”, (county animal shelter) people are doing drop and run pet check in, because they probably don’t have the $ to pay the fee to put them up for adoption. Others are just leaving pets behind in the foreclosed home, or turning them loose. This has led to overcrowded shelters, and 50% of incoming animals are being put to death.  Locally, our shelter almost closed it’s doors entirely, because of budget cuts. I see lots of animals in Foster care, volunteers picking up the slack by taking care of some of the overflow of animals, but they are full to the max, and as more people lose jobs or are laid off, they are reluctant to take on another mouth to feed, and all the expenses to properly care for a pet. The article I read said people should check yards of foreclosed homes, to make sure owners did not just abandon animals.

Screw Wall Street! The more billions we give them, the less they learn about the consequences of their actions.  Bailout people going into foreclosure, including Elders in Eldercare facilities, and animals that are innocent victims of Bush-o-nomics. 

Just more reasons to add to the list of total disdain & loathing for one G. W. Bush.