Inquiry sought at Lubbock facility for mentally retarded, agency official says fixes made.......

     Another article among many lately showing total disregard for our fellow human beings. Schools, Veterans Administration Hospital Facilities and now a facility for one of our most innocent.  I am not sure yet if this has been happening all along and only lately has found a voice, or if this is something new that has been going on and just swept under the rug.
     Well, I will pass this one along as it started on the front page of my local newspaper this morning (Friday March 23, 2007).

     "As the state grapples with widespread abuse of juvenile prisoners, a lawmaker is calling for an investigation into the Lubbock State School, where federal investigators found profoundly mentally retarded and helpless residents neglected and abused by their caretakers."
      Hmmm, caretakers? They are not defining what they mean by "caretakers"? Are they nurses, nurses aids, volunteer workers, they are not saying. Are they minimum wage workers hired off the street?
     "Assistant U.S. Attorney General Wan Kim said investigators found that Lubbock State School employees improperly restrained residents, sedated them or left them "sitting in the hallway or lying in bed looking at the ceiling."
     "The report said patients, many of whom are unable to move, speak or feed themselves, were given insufficient medical care. In some cases, they were given solid food even if they had a history of pneumonia from inhaling food particles, the report said."
     "In one cited case, employees found a woman unresponsive, but failed to perform CPR or call for help for a half hour. Paramedics determined she had been dead for hours because rigor mortis had already set in. And, in that case, investigators found employees had falsified reports to indicate someone had been checking on the woman."
     "The Lubbock school's "failure to protect residents from harm stems from inadequate supervision, the failure to appropriately detect and prevent abuse and neglect and an inadequate incident management system."
      Oh, all those helpless, defenseless people having to endure such tragic living conditions. Why are these and other incidents allowed to continue? Geez, we treat prisoners with more dignity than this! According to this article they say this facility was inspected back in 2005, yet it only made front page news today!!!
      Included in the article there is a list of  incidents that were cited, but I will not list all of them. I will however, list one or two to give you an idea of what they were cited for.
     "Spokesman Robert Black said the state Department of Aging and Disability Services, using an outside consultant (but they are not saying who?) undertook its own investigation of the Lubbock facility shortly after the Justice Department visited in June, 2005. The agency has installed across the board changes since then, he said. From appointing a new management team to hiring new medical directors and incident managers."
     Well, there you go! They do not say who is going to be held liable for these CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY though. No slap on the hand, no firings, no arrests, no trials.  Funny, it took the Justice Department to step in before anyone even noticed something was very wrong?
What gives here? Are you going to try to convince me that no one had any idea this abuse was going on? I really find that one difficult to believe.
     Let me give a couple of examples of what abuses they are talking about.

**"A night shift staffer "intimidated or frightened" patients in a home where residents were found with injuries, including facial cuts, black eyes and other bruises. The staffer had a history of being investigted for abuse, but the school took no action to investigate the pattern of patient injuries."

**"A case in which a fifty year old man was continuously fed snacks before bedtime even though he had a history of severe gastrointestinal problems that caused him to inhale food. The man died of aspiration pneumonia."

**"A man who was reported to have fastened a belt around his own neck while a staffer was distracted on her cellphone."

     "But Mr. Black said he is confident the problems in Lubbock have been resolved. Ane he said the problem with Justice Department's civil rights investigation is that the federal agency has no "minimum standards," meaning they sweep in and "say something is bad" without offering specific ways to corret it."
     Shame on him and all the other higher ups who are running this facility. You mean to tell me they do not have a clue??? Hmmmm, sounds like incompetency running rampant and once again the innocent pay the price.

      Let me see, how to correct this situation.


1. Hire a competent staff that does nothing but CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. Clean the rooms, beds, sheets, blankets, pillows, floors, windows, bathrooms, hallways, lunchrooms, get the idea?

2. Hire a competent, qualified staff of registered nurses and medical doctors to care for the patients medical needs. Keep a current log of any noticable changes, medications or anything new that may arise.

3. Hire a competent, reliable staff to tend to all and any mumdane tasks that they may be required of them. Sitting patients up, laying down, rolling over, walking to name a few.

4. Hire a competent, reliable staff of volunteers for all other needs the patients may have. Read to them, talk with them, comb their hair, cut and polish nails, helping them to eat, getting drinks when thirsry, helping them with bathroom facilities if they need it, getting dressed, playing simple games. They are retarded not stupid.

5. Probably the most important ingredient of all, TREAT THEM WITH THE DIGNITY THEY DESERVE.

    **To Mr. Black, please do not sit there and tell me you had no idea any of this was going on!