To the Editor:
In regard to Nursing Home adjustments I fail to see where the cost/benefit analyses were conducted to arrive at the cost savings decisions. Long overdue studies could have provided the rational for cutting programs or services by determining the Return on Investment (ROI) for each.

I think it is awful that the Governor wants to take our elderly out of the nursing homes where they are accustomed to being. It is not easy to move the elderly into a different environment, it is very stressful fot them and they get very depressed. If they are doing good where they are than they should be able to stay there and live a comfortable life. The only way someone should be moved is if they are being abused or not being taken care of properly! I wonder if the Governor would be so quick to move his own mother or father or one of his relatives! There are alot of people that cannot take care of their parents due to work and other obligations, that is why it is necessary for their loved ones to be in a nursing home to begin with. He will be adding stress to their families too!
Instead of attacking our elderly, go after these people that are on welfare and don't need to be. There are plenty of people out there that are abusing the system, we have people getting food stamps and are making more money than most people and cannot get food stamps or any other help. I know that as a fact! There are also plenty of women that take advantage of the system and keep on having babies so that they can stay on the system. Why doesn't he look into all of this and fix the welfare system and help the people that really need help, like our elderly!!!
Another thing he needs to work on is the illegal immegrants that shouldn't be here to begin with and are too on our welfare system!
No wonder that more and more people want to move out of Rhode Island, we get nothing but higher taxes and all the wrong people getting taken care of!!

I feel it is a good idea to change the welfare system. Yes There are alot of people who do need a helping hand and they should get it. But Welfare should not be a career. I see lots of people out there who abuse the system, they collect welfare have under the table jobs, live-in boyfriends who work full time. They have more kids to get more money or so they can keep collecting and won't have to work.

I think once the kids are in school they should be required to work at least during school hours.

It is pretty sad that I work 2 part time jobs my husband works full time, and yet my neighboor who is on welfare, has more money then we do. They go on crusies every year and have 52 inch tvs.

The governor better take off his rose colored glasses---or go back to Disney. Obviously, people end up in a nursing home because they cannot take care of themselves anymore. Throw them back in the community and who is supposed to take care of them?? They will wind up back in the hospital with fracture of some kind, dehydration, malnourishment, etc..Then on to the Nursing home again--Geez, what a stupid idea!

To the Editor:

The Governor's statement that a family is "a father and a mother, nurturing their children and building a future for themselves" is offensive to all of those whose family is not a father and a mother, and offensive to me: the grandfather of a beautiful and wonderful granddaughter who is the product of a committed relationship between two women. It is also offensive to me since I know, and have known, many nurturing single parents working to building a future for themselves and their children.

Through his statements, he seems to have rejected the commonweal in favor of dividing us up into the "good, bad, and maybe." I find it, frankly, appalling.

If he wants to make public policy on the basis of his moral and religious beliefs, then he should say: no welfare to single parents or same sex parents. Be transparent and let us, the people, decide whether or not we want that. Sliding those comments into a press conference is at best ingenuous.

We should expect, and demand, better from our Chief Elected Official.

Charles

It is about time.....the nursing home industry cares about filling beds. People belong in the community. If you disagree, I challenge you to spend 2 nights in a nursing home and then lets talk.

The Governor has his priorities wrong. The elderly and disabled should be the last people to be affected by cuts in the budget. I am disabled, living at home with the benefit of home care. Someday though I will need to be a nursing home or a state facility. I surely hope this will be available for me when I need it.

I think the governor should help the elderly and the disabled If elderly that need to be in nursing home sould let them stay the Governor sould not take people out that need to stay in Nurse home and that te Governnor should help the Disabled they should not cut there fund and people that have to have food stamp like Elderly and Disable and and people not cut them out Governor need to do a better job and listin to the people and the people that help take car of the Elderly and Disabled but it you go to try to cut them i dont think it far you sould be the one to keep them safe but it dont seam like it
Do the right thing Governor

PEOPLE ARE ABUSING WELFARE; I AGREE WITH THE GOVERNOR ON THIS. THE ELDERLY IS ANOTHER ISSUE; FAMILIES BRING THEM TO HOSPITALS AND EXPECT THAT THE HOSPITAL WILL TAKE CARE OF THEM.......HOSPITALS CAN NOT ABSORB THE ELDERLY; SOCIAL WORKERS WILL NEED TO GET TOUGH WITH THE FAMILIES TO TAKE CARE OF THEM. HOSPITALS WILL NEED STRICT POLICIES ON ADMITTING THE ELDERLY AND IF THEY ARE SICK TAKE CARE OF THEM AND THEN DISCHARGE THEM BACK TO THE FAMILY IN A TIMELY MANNER.

Great idea. Too many of the elderly are forced into nursing homes because it is the only option offered which they can afford. I'm sure there will be hundreds of elderly who would prefer to receive care in their homes.

If it costs us less in taxes, it should have been done years ago. I'm guessing that the nursing home lobby is pretty strong in Rhode Island. That's usually why commonsense solutions are ignored.

I know the idiots at ProJo don't listen but did anyone listen to what the Gov said?

He is not going to force anyone to leave a nursing home. He wants them to give them the option to stay in a home environment if they want to. Here is what he said:

I know from experience that most seniors would prefer to stay in their homes, or be cared for by a loved one, rather than enter a nursing home. All the data shows that not only does it result in greater longevity and improved quality of life – in fact it is less costly.

Our long-term care system has been principally focused on nursing homes. In fact, we have one of the highest percentages of seniors in nursing homes when compared with other states. 5.2% of RI seniors are in nursing homes, more than twice the rate of leading states.

We will change that emphasis.

No longer will seniors be forced into nursing homes because they need help taking medicine or services that can be provided in their own homes. Our seniors deserve to live independently and with dignity.

Our state is awash in red ink and the deficit will only be worse next year. We simply can not continue to pay for all of the current services and entitlements.

Some of the sacred cows will have to be let go.

This Governor is a psyco!!! He should be removed from office, either by impeachment or by recall. Notice how his friends at G Tech, CVS etc ALL got taken care of, but not the everyday person. This nitwit has to go....and soon!!!!

Unfortunately, the Governor has never heard of the separation between Church and State. Who is he is force his moral values upon his citizens? Suggesting that un-wed mother are lesser than their married counterparts is the ultimate insult to the female citizens of our State. Furthermore he is promoting a stigmatism against these women and the innocent children they bear. He is ignorant of the damage this can cause to the psyche of women and their children alike. What’s next? Will these mothers and their children be forced to don a scarlet letter when in the community?
He is attempting to force-feeding his values upon the women of Rhode Island who by right of the Constitution are free to procreate as they choose - in or out of wed lock. Women are also free to choose their religious affiliations or lack there of. Hello! Anyone remember who Roger Williams was and the premise on which our state was founded?
Even more disturbing is that the Governor wants to send elderly people who require the assistance of nursing homes to improve the quality of their lives and in fact extend their lives into situations where they will not receive the medical treatment they need. Is he now a doctor, an HMO and a priest? He should have a sign on his desk reminding him that he is a public servant and should act as such and remove himself from his more favored role of public menace.
First he targets abused and neglected children, single parent children and now the elderly. Why doesn’t he take on those that can fight for themselves - the corporations who receive endless tax breaks at a rate much hirer than the $67 million he is looking to save on the backs of Rhode Islands elderly.

I think that the Governor is right about keeping people out of nursing homes. A Nursing Home is one of the most depressing places on earth. People would do much better living in their own houses. Having a visting nurse everyday would be much better than a nursing home.
All we're doing now is wharehousing people.

Carcieri Can Afford To Cut Everything Know Doubt He Has The $$$$$$$ So Im Sure He Wants For Nothing... He'll Cut Everything And The Roads In Rhode Island Will Still Remain Messed Up With Huge Pot Holes...So After He
Makes All Theese Cuts Where Is The Money Going To Go....I Sure Hope Some Of It Goes On Theese Roads...I Hit 2 Huge Pot Holes The Roads Are Baddddd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What is the govenor thinking. Put the frail elderly out on the streets. Most are there because they cannot take care of themselfs or their family cannot.Does this plan take into account their mental status? Do they have Alzheimers or another form fo dementia. Most need more skilled care then can be provided at home. Sure dump them on the street like when the emptied the IMH years ago they will surely die quickly and become less of burden on the tax payers of RI.

I hope all you people that voted him back in are happy now!!! This is the most Idiotic Gov I have ever seen in my entire life. Lets start cutting all the jobs he made up for his family and friends. We have high taxes and high debt, brides and raods that are awful. The only people that make out are scumbag welfare lifers and the president is going to raise their benefits also. I think if you go on welfare you should have to be nuetered like a dog so you dont make it a career. What a beautiful state this is.

Ann,
Pay attention to what the Governor said, NOT what the liberal lobbyists said or the ProJo wrote. The Governor is NOT going to remove the elderly from the nursing homes. He wants to allow caretakers a CHOICE...nursing homes, assisted living, etc. Most Medicaid dollars go right to nursing homes which are extremely expensive. If he can shift some of those dollars to assisted living or home care it will be cheaper.