Re “Nursing homes’ closures chaotic: Patients forced out abruptly, advocates say” (Page A1, March 10): There is no good way to close a nursing home. There are many ways to run them well.
As a community psychiatrist, I have been in many, and years ago I had a chance to study some. A few facts stand out: The work is very stressful and the pay very, very low. Few see this work as an occupation with a career ladder built in, and few workers are paid well for the creative work they do.
End-of-life issues are avoided in conversations, and few in the health care industry are motivated to do such work.
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Maybe the problem reflects what we as a society consider important. Working with the elderly is clearly not highly valued. That is tragic.
Dr. George Sigel
Norwood
