Thursday, February 7, 2013

Corporations providing freebies on your dime

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When I was being trained as an Activity Director at a nursing home owned by a large corporation, we had to get up at five in the morning during senior games time.  The reason for this early rising was because this place I worked for was providing food for the big corporate meeting for the games.

Now the senior games (the senior Olympics of sort) may be a nice thing but I couldn't help but wonder how this nursing home could provide a better breakfast for corporate people and seniors in the community and the sponsors of the games, than they provided for the people living in the nursing home and who were paying to live there.

I've said before, nursing homes pull in the lion's share of Medicaid.  A whopping 85% of Medicaid goes to corporations and is nothing more than corporate welfare in my book.  Why people insist on hating the poor and not laying it at the feet of big business is beyond me.  It will always mystify me. I see postings, after postings on social networks, which amount to nothing more than the poor hating the poor.  Stop it!  The poor are not sucking your tax money up with a straw.  Big corporations are.  What's the answer though?  You want Grandma put out on the street?  I highly doubt it.

Well, during this big banquet which consisted of scrambled eggs, all sorts of danish pastry, fresh fruit and any juice and coffee they wanted, I observed those people with money come back for seconds and thirds.  I saw them wrap up danishes, croissants, rolls, you name it, and place the items in their big bags they carried.  So, again, how is it justifiable for this nursing home to provide better food to the well off, the well to do and corporate heads, than was ever offered to the people paying the bills?  When I questioned this I was brought to task and given a lecture by the Administrator, who of course, was a corporate tool.

My budget for activities, BTW, was a whopping 43 cents per day.  I had a budget of $350 a month for 120 residents and once gone, it was not available again until the next month.  This place had the audacity to constantly expect me to beg for donations for prizes for bingo games and volunteers to help during activities because, God forbid, they hired any more help.

Food for thought the next time you attend a care plan meeting for your loved one. Remember, YOU pay their bills.