Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes • Hacker News Board

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#41

Post by jes » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:08 AM UTC

MisterBastahrd wrote: post #9

In all my time living in Louisiana, the only time I saw a fire truck near a home was when the house was actually on fire or under threat of fire. In Texas? EVERY SINGLE TIME I see an ambulance, I see a fire truck. It makes ZERO sense most of the time. Texas municipalities are using medical emergencies to fund their fire departments (and jack up insurance rates in the process) by sending fire trucks to people even whe…

I was a firefighter and EMT in Washington State about twenty years ago. On certain EMS calls we routinely dispatched an aid car (ambulance) and an engine to ensure enough crew (two from aid car, usually three on the engine) on scene to handle what might arise, such as the need for CPR, or getting a corpulent patient down a flight of stairs on a stair-chair.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#42

Post by paxys » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:08 AM UTC

MattGaiser wrote: post #3

If there is an industry that needs startups, it is long term care and senior care in general. Expensive, nearly universally badly done, and it seems like a lot of people could stay in their homes with some automated appliances/thoughtful redesigns of everyday items. Hoping that when my grandparents start needing it in 5-10 years that the options have dramatically improved.

This is not the kind of problem that can be solved with a fancy app. What the industry needs is proper oversight.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#43

Post by mberning » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:08 AM UTC

Our medical system is completely screwed up from a capacity standpoint. I was sick a few weeks ago and called my primary care doc. No appointments for a week. Do an online appointment which is useless and they say I need to be seen. Go to urgent care. 4 hour wait. I figured that was my best option so toughed it out. During my time waiting I saw multiple people come in, talk to the receptionist, and leave in tears when they were told it was a 4+ hour wait. A guy came in with a badly cut finger. I have no idea why you would try an urgent care aside from the fact that you know the ER is gonna take 12+ hours.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#44

Post by marsdepinski » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:09 AM UTC

john_yaya wrote: post #15

Senior homes and assisted living centers are a national disgrace. They are entirely about profit maximization (what business isn’t?), and as such hire people at the exact minimum and have well over 100% yearly turnover. The staff commonly steal from residents, and the management do not care. They’d rather retain a larcenous pig who barely executes her duties than have to go back and scrape the barrel for a replacemen…

They are given psychotropic drugs to make them easier to manage and less likely to be able to complain.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#45

Post by Factorium » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:11 AM UTC

john_yaya wrote: post #15

Senior homes and assisted living centers are a national disgrace. They are entirely about profit maximization (what business isn’t?), and as such hire people at the exact minimum and have well over 100% yearly turnover. The staff commonly steal from residents, and the management do not care. They’d rather retain a larcenous pig who barely executes her duties than have to go back and scrape the barrel for a replacemen…

The necessary innovation is ethical/political. People over age 80 should be able to request to medically cease their life for any reason.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#46

Post by kshacker » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:12 AM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #30

john_yaya wrote: post #15

Senior homes and assisted living centers are a national disgrace. They are entirely about profit maximization (what business isn’t?), and as such hire people at the exact minimum and have well over 100% yearly turnover. The staff commonly steal from residents, and the management do not care. They’d rather retain a larcenous pig who barely executes her duties than have to go back and scrape the barrel for a replacemen…

So the solution is to spend less money but pay people more, and shoulder the rest on taxpayers? This probably won't work very long since the population isn't as triangular as it used to be (to my understanding this is what happened to Japan). I get the justified call to fix things for people that require these services. The US can barely afford to school its children, purchase its homes, or enact reasonable public he…

You discussed everything except the profit motive of the owners to bleed every bit of penny from their "earnings"

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#47

Post by FunnyLookinHat » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:12 AM UTC

tomrod wrote: post #30

john_yaya wrote: post #15

Senior homes and assisted living centers are a national disgrace. They are entirely about profit maximization (what business isn’t?), and as such hire people at the exact minimum and have well over 100% yearly turnover. The staff commonly steal from residents, and the management do not care. They’d rather retain a larcenous pig who barely executes her duties than have to go back and scrape the barrel for a replacemen…

So the solution is to spend less money but pay people more, and shoulder the rest on taxpayers? This probably won't work very long since the population isn't as triangular as it used to be (to my understanding this is what happened to Japan). I get the justified call to fix things for people that require these services. The US can barely afford to school its children, purchase its homes, or enact reasonable public he…

> The US can barely afford to school its children

Ironically, I was just listening to this today: "Why Does the Richest Country in the World Have So Many Poor Kids? (Ep. 475) " [1]

There really isn't any excuse - it's all a product of our politics and culture, or vice versa... I'm not sure.

1) https://freakonomics.com/podcast/child-poverty/

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#48

Post by falcolas » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:13 AM UTC

john_yaya wrote: post #15

Senior homes and assisted living centers are a national disgrace. They are entirely about profit maximization (what business isn’t?), and as such hire people at the exact minimum and have well over 100% yearly turnover. The staff commonly steal from residents, and the management do not care. They’d rather retain a larcenous pig who barely executes her duties than have to go back and scrape the barrel for a replacemen…

> Elderly people should live with their families.

No. It’s an unreasonable burden to expect families, which are barely holding themselves together in this wonderful world of mandatory-two-income-households we’ve built, to take on not only their adult children who can’t afford to rent or buy their own homes, but also the extensive and expensive care of their elders.

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#49

Post by commoner » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:13 AM UTC

dls2016 wrote: post #28

GaryTang wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or firefighters can continue doing their job like the rest of us, seeing that they’re some of the highest paid members of our society… I think they’re just bitter they can’t use their lazy man recliners as much as they use to. I for one am glad they are finally experiencing what it’s like to work for any private organization.

You know there are a lot of places in the US with volunteer fire departments, right?

> NFPA estimates there were an estimated 1,115,000 career and volunteer firefighters in the United States in 2018. Of the total number of firefighters 370,000 (33%) were career firefighters and 745,000 (67%) were volunteer firefighters.

https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-too...

Re: Firefighters say they’re swamped by calls for routine care from senior homes

#50

Post by pmorici » Mon, Oct 04, 2021, 3:14 AM UTC

john_yaya wrote: post #15

Senior homes and assisted living centers are a national disgrace. They are entirely about profit maximization (what business isn’t?), and as such hire people at the exact minimum and have well over 100% yearly turnover. The staff commonly steal from residents, and the management do not care. They’d rather retain a larcenous pig who barely executes her duties than have to go back and scrape the barrel for a replacemen…

"Elderly people should live with their families."

Spoken with the confidence of someone who has never had to care for an elderly relative who was in both mental and physical decline. In any case it is a deeply personal decision without a definitive right or wrong answer. After seeing my Aunt try to care for my grandmother for years only for it to negatively effect their relationship because of her dementia I wouldn't blame anyone for choosing a care facility.

I know people who were so effected by their experience of caring for an elderly relative that they checked themselves into a senior living community in their 50's so their kids would never have to feel like they needed to do the same for them.