Unfortunately, I cannot read the article in full because of the paywall, but before I entered into the tech-sphere, I had a brief stint in vulnerable persons hospice.
It was a nightmare fueled by the $15/hour wage in 2011 wages. While the price was right for my needs, ethically I could not sleep at night.
My first night involved:
- Persons unable to cleanse themselves after normal bodily functions
- Several dead persons
- Said dead persons and many others who took the time to edit their living will to reflect me because for the few nights I kept this job, I treated them like human beings needing help
I walked away from this job after a week and lawsuits followed from the bereaved and the business itself because I was named in the living will. From my perspective, these were persons who had no business signing a contract and by any medical definition were not fit to determine a reward in their living will. I am not here to pretend I understand the nuances of law and why such an action was allowed, but after quitting and outright telling my boss I was not up to the mental stress of seeing people die on a nightly basis and waiting for (US) medical services to arrive and literally kick a body around, I ended up with very little faith in the hospice system.
My coworkers openly bragged about the "opportunities" they found for themselves with persons who couldn't even figure out the current date without someone holding their hand and writing the date for them. This was abhorrent to me in ways I don't know how to put into words, but I have images of the nearby dog kennel and such persons taking advantage of the patients.
US hospice is absolutely an under-studied and over-abused factor in US life. To make matters worse, as I understood it from discussions with colleagues, far too many people see the abuses as a necessity or "fair trade" with the alternative being that persons who need hospice rotting in the street.
The irony kills me at a core point that so many people in the training accepted this as a sensible truth instead of being upset that those in need have the choice of total abuse or rotting in the gutter.
I will write that I am sickened by this environment, but sickened doesn't come close to describing the filth and awfulness I felt in such an environment.
It was a nightmare fueled by the $15/hour wage in 2011 wages. While the price was right for my needs, ethically I could not sleep at night.
My first night involved:
- Persons unable to cleanse themselves after normal bodily functions
- Several dead persons
- Said dead persons and many others who took the time to edit their living will to reflect me because for the few nights I kept this job, I treated them like human beings needing help
I walked away from this job after a week and lawsuits followed from the bereaved and the business itself because I was named in the living will. From my perspective, these were persons who had no business signing a contract and by any medical definition were not fit to determine a reward in their living will. I am not here to pretend I understand the nuances of law and why such an action was allowed, but after quitting and outright telling my boss I was not up to the mental stress of seeing people die on a nightly basis and waiting for (US) medical services to arrive and literally kick a body around, I ended up with very little faith in the hospice system.
My coworkers openly bragged about the "opportunities" they found for themselves with persons who couldn't even figure out the current date without someone holding their hand and writing the date for them. This was abhorrent to me in ways I don't know how to put into words, but I have images of the nearby dog kennel and such persons taking advantage of the patients.
US hospice is absolutely an under-studied and over-abused factor in US life. To make matters worse, as I understood it from discussions with colleagues, far too many people see the abuses as a necessity or "fair trade" with the alternative being that persons who need hospice rotting in the street.
The irony kills me at a core point that so many people in the training accepted this as a sensible truth instead of being upset that those in need have the choice of total abuse or rotting in the gutter.
I will write that I am sickened by this environment, but sickened doesn't come close to describing the filth and awfulness I felt in such an environment.