Gay Prejudice in Nursing Homes

By Jeralyn, Section Civil Liberties
Posted on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 01:48:00 AM EST
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The New York Times reports on the sad fact of extreme prejudice against gays in nursing homes.

Elderly gay people... living in nursing homes or assisted-living centers or receiving home care, increasingly report that they have been disrespected, shunned or mistreated in ways that range from hurtful to deadly, even leading some to commit suicide.

Some have seen their partners and friends insulted or isolated. Others live in fear of the day when they are dependent on strangers for the most personal care. That dread alone can be damaging, physically and emotionally, say geriatric doctors, psychiatrists and social workers.

To combat the discrimination, L.G.B.T. Aging Projects are becoming more frequent:

As with the population in general, the number of aging gays and lesbians is increasing dramatically.

There are an estimated 2.4 million gay, lesbian or bisexual Americans over the age of 55, said Gary Gates, a senior research fellow at the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles. That estimate was extrapolated by Dr. Gates using census data that counts only same-sex couples along with other government data that counts both single and coupled gay people. Among those in same-sex couples, the number of gay men and women over 55 has almost doubled from 2000 to 2006, Dr. Gates said, to 416,000, from 222,000.

The only state with a law protecting elderly gays is California.

There are no federal laws protecting elderly gays:

Twenty states explicitly outlaw such discrimination in housing and public accommodations. But no civil rights claims have been made by gay residents of nursing homes, according to the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, which litigates and monitors such cases. Potential plaintiffs, the organization says, are too frail or frightened to bring action.

There seems to be no end to the problems facing the elderly in the country -- gay or straight. Their plight really needs to be publicized more.

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Gay Prejudice in Nursing Homes | 7 comments (7 topical)

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Funny, when I first read your headline (none / 0) (#1)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 01:11:31 PM EST

I thought you were referring to Nursing Home hiring practices, ie., they hire a lot of gay guys. My wife now works for a good-sized senior living/Alzheimer's facility and all, literally, of the activities coordinators are quite cheerfully gay. Perhaps that occupation naturally attracts such ebullient personalities?

anyway, I would imagine, if enough need is there, that "gay-friendly" elderly care will be good business.

I abhor discrimination..... (none / 0) (#2)
by kdog on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 01:43:57 PM EST

but do we need a federal law protecting elderly gays? Doesn't the Civil Rights Act already forbid discrimination based on race/sex/sexuality in all business involving the govt?

report that they have been disrespected, shunned or mistreated in ways that range from hurtful to deadly, even leading some to commit suicide.

I don't want the feds passing laws against hurting people's feelings or "disrepecting" someone. Hurt feelings and disrespect are par for the course in a free society. Mistreatment, I would imagine, could be combatted using existing laws on malpractice and/or physical abuse.

kdog (none / 0) (#3)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:09:52 PM EST

I am in full agreement.

[ Parent ]

That damn Rove..... (none / 0) (#5)
by kdog on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 03:16:27 PM EST

he must be using his patented Brain Manipulation Device on me again...where's my tin hat?..:)

[ Parent ]

: You funny. (none / 0) (#6)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 05:14:19 PM EST

[ Parent ]

Actually, (none / 0) (#4)
by Deconstructionist on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 02:42:49 PM EST

federal law does not place homosexuality in a protected class for purposes of discrimination laws.

Your point though is a good one because there is a big difference between "social discrimination" and discrimination in employment,contracting, housing or public accomodations, and even id the laws were expanded to include sexual orientation, what would that help in these situations?

Not every problem is one suited to legislation. It really seems as thopugh the nursing homes are in a manner of speaking "victims" rather then perpetrators of the prejudice here. No law can make the residents stop being prejudiced and the existence of the prejudice complicates life for the staff and administration.

This was something I was worried about (none / 0) (#7)
by Maggie Mae on Tue Oct 09, 2007 at 06:05:08 PM EST

When my brother (who was only 57) went into a nursing home/long term care facility in Phoenix. He was HIV+ and had become incapacitated by several mini-strokes and AIDS Dementia. He had been evicted from his apartment the last day of January, of this year, and was found the next day, after suffering another stroke. He passed away in July.

When they told me, in the hospital, that he'd likely end up in a nursing home (I live in PA and couldn't physically monitor what was going on). I was terrified for him, not just because he was going into a nursing home, but because he was gay and I didn't know how they would treat him, as a person, because of that. Luckily, the social worker at Maricopa County Hospital, was good and got him into a facility where the staff was excellent with him. It was still a county facility, but the nurses and the physician's assistant were unbelievable with him and me.

It was very hard being that far away from him. I kept trying to find a way to bring him closer to me, but without any money of my own, it was never going to happen. So, I stayed in touch with him and the staff by phone. They never had a problem with me calling or giving me information. When I spoke with him, he never had a bad word to say about them. He also had friends that visited regularly, who were also gay. It didn't seem to bother the staff. Many of the staff really liked him and one nurse was there to sit with him when he passed, for which I will be eternally grateful. I guess he and I were just very, very, very lucky. And I'd have to say that, for all the heartache in his life, he deserved to be treated well at the end.