If written today, the words could apply to the sentiments of persons living in nursing homes.
Many older people dread the institutional living situation.
The criminal grand jury's indictment last week of Guardian Post Acute Services Inc. on felony counts of neglecting elder and dependent adults underscores the validity of those fears. Still, the nursing home experience can be a satisfactory one. I met an 80-something nursing home resident who was quite satisfied with his living situation. When he set out to find a care residence that met his needs, he was incontinent and paralyzed from the neck down, with the exception of limited use of right arm and hand. Mentally he was fully functioning.