Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1961-10-02
By ALEX r. PRESTON
Star Staff Writer


Since the Montgo er y
County Poor Farm closed Is
year ago, rising costs of caring
for the INDECENT aged \ have
reached point where no
Aprivate nursing home can afford
&to take more than a small
share of the elderly persons
who are supported by public
funds.
This is one of the findings
of a recent survey by the Mont
.gomery County Commission on
Aging. It's chairman, Carl
Howe says:
Nursing homes do take tax
supported patients. but they
prefer not to. and sometimes
refuse to do so, for perfectly
good. logical reason.
That reason is contained in
the phrase-S3.85 per patient
per day"
That is the maximum amount
now allowed by all agencies Of
government = Federal, State
and local-for persons certified
for old-age assistance with
nursing care in Montgomery
ssCounty.
& AT this rate Mr.. Howe
@says, "a home cannot even
meet the minimum require
@7Ynents laid down by the county
and State in granting it
license to operate"
Mr.. Howe says that old per-
sons and private nursing homes
they seek to enter, are both
victims of an impasse.
Not "Only the Shiftless"
First" he said. ''let me pre-
sent a few facts for the doubt
ing Thomases-those who be-
lieve that 1t couldn't happen
to me- that being without
funds in old age is the fate of
only the shiftless. the incompe-
tent. the ne'er-do-wells.
Here are some SOLDERING
facts: Statistics for 1859 show
that less than half of the coun-
try's aged persons lover So
who are living alone or with
non-relatives had an annual in
come of even as much as $l.0lO;
four-fifths of them had an an
nual income Of less than
$4,000"
Mr.. Howe can cite numerous
cases in which patients now re-
ceiving public assistance for
merly were prosperous members
of society, some of them lead
ers in their community. But due
to a series of circumstances
often involving illness OF the
patient or members of his fam
lily, he has been reduced tt
restitution in his declining
years.
Prior to 1948, such cases
were placed on the County Pool
Farm" according to Mr.. Howe
To-day the county-to its cred
it-follows the policy Of pro-
viding funds to the patient ane
letting the individual seek &C
ccmmodation in private nurs'
ing home OF his or her choice
Thus the trend is forward
not backward"
New Set Of Problems
But this situation has giver
rise to an entirely new set ol
problems.
The nursing home has the
privilege of refusing the tax
supported patient" Mr.. Howe
says. "and is likely to do so
or at least to resist strongly
before being persuaded to take
him. This is especially true il
10 per cent or more OF the
homes patients are already o.
the unsupported type"
An elderly patient, when GER
titled by the county, may bt
given the minimum grantees
than $3-based upon his physi'
cal ability to care for himself
However" Mr.. Howe adds
this patient may have senility
symptoms, causing him to bt
like a young and irresponsible
child, and may. therefore, re
quire as much time and atten.
ton from the homes nursins
staff as a person who is physi.
cally Ill. In any event, thu
home must provide the same
meals, laundry and otheI
standard services to the mini
mum grant case as to all otheI
patients"
This is how a patient receiv,