CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 65

“I don’t use a lot of seasoning and salt when I
am cooking, I just add a little bit and anybody
who think dem food fresh can add salt to it,”
Brooks said in defence. But he would not say
how he catered to diabetic residents.
It is not just nutrition but also the overall health
of residents in nursing homes that is concerning.
According to the American National Institute of
Health (NIH), researchers Ana Montoya and Lona
Mody, found that the most common complications
in nursing homes include gastroenteritis, influenza
and skin infections.

“No, but I took some pills; but they’re not working.
I feel so weak,” she said in the same tone.
Culture of neglect
Health conditions of residents vary at the home.
There are residents who have difficulty seeing
and the assistance they receive from nurses is
insufficient and next to nonexistent.
One such resident is 90-year-old Sonia Thompson.
She was left to go to the bathroom by herself,
and oftentimes, she would walk into a wall or
an object due to her poor vision.

At St. Monica’s, 93-year-old Rupert Dailey
suffered from gastroenteritis for three days
while another resident, Daphne Brown, had
the flu for four days.

I watched her fumble from her room, bumping
into people and objects as she used the wall
and chairs as guides and support to find her
way to the bathroom.

Unlike Dailey and Brown who had speedy recovery
periods, 85-year-old Beryl Johnson had the flu
for more than eight days.

“Nurse, mi reach di bathroom yet?” Thompson
asked loudly.

There are two doctors assigned to the facility;
a medical doctor and a dermatologist who visit
monthly to check up on residents. In case of
emergencies, residents are transported to the
Spanish Town Hospital.
In her eighth day of having the flu, Beryl Johnson
sat outside her room in a rocking chair. She
was slouching in the chair, resting her head
against the wall beside her.
“Hello, Ms Beryl. How are you?”
“Not too well, I still have the flu,” she responded
in a frail voice.
“Have you seen a doctor?”

“Yes, you’re right there,” caregiver Tanya Daley
responded.
She walked away without assisting Thompson
to the stall.
Thompson fumbled for about five more minutes
until she reached inside and got to use the
bathroom.
Thompson is not the only one who is neglected
in this way by workers, as Beryl Johnson, who fell
and broke her hip before coming to St. Monica’s,
faces a similar situation.
Johnson’s hip is not fully healed so she walks
in a hunched position to get things done.

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