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Virginia nursing home residents deserve to compassionate, quality care as they reach the end of their lives. They also deserve to be treated well no matter their race or the color of their skin. Sadly, research has found that there is a difference in the care nursing home residents receive if they are Hispanic.
The results of a research project released earlier this year reveal that elderly Hispanics are more likely than elderly white people to suffer from poor nursing home care. The research was undertaken after a similar investigation found that elderly black residents were more likely to suffer from nursing home abuse or neglect than white residents.
Hispanic elders have traditionally been cared for in their family’s home, however as Hispanic families struggle like all other families with economic challenges, home caregivers have to leave the house to seek employment. Without anyone at home to care for their elderly family members, Hispanic elders find themselves in nursing homes more often than was the case in the past.
Since Hispanic elders tend to come from families lower on the socioeconomic scale, they may lack the resources for quality care. It may simply not be possible for families to ensure that their loved ones receive the care and support they need for a quality life, and their loved ones end up in low-quality homes with fewer staff, worse training, and more potential for abuse and neglect.
These findings indicate that the disparity may be due more to economic differences between Hispanic and white nursing home residents rather than race alone. However, any disparity is troubling and warrants further investigation.
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