" instead of wasting state money, maybe the us should look into mercy killings, if you are unable to take care of yourself and your family won't...you should be put down, let the money go to education and all that instead of paying old peoples medical billsand what not,,,, "

" to Judge Coffee: I for one can tell you the things I wrote about were NOT ALLEGATIONS!!! I was an EMT for 9 years and worked in a nursing home in Carbondale for several years and I can tell you that I KNOW GOOD as well as BAD TREATMENT in a health care facility! In the few short hours my mother was Mistreated, neglected, and the lack of care was life threatening. I realize the staff at most f these places are overworked and underpaid. I find it very hard to believe that the administrator who threatened to have me arristed was not overworked or underpaid...she just didn't want to be made to look bad by me removing my mother the way we did. AS FOR THE INVESTIGATION....WHAT A JOKE, charges of animal cruelty are taken more seriously!!! I waited very patiently for the investigation to be completed, just to be told IT DID NOT HAPPEN. I know that it did, I am not some untrained, uninformed villiage idiot. AS far as, living on a CNA's wages you are right they are poor, but if they are not commeted to properly caring for thier patients/residents then they should not be there. There are many jobs that pay the same, McDonalds, Hardees, gas stations and etc., at least, in these positions, no one's life is in thier hands. TO BOB:Yes,you are very right, more money is paid to take care of inmates. And that is a shame that the government thinks so little of law abiding citizens to ALLOW those taking care of our sick, injured and elderly. There are truely jobs out there that are valid min. wage jobs but not when it comes to healthcare/long term care facility positions, they should have better pay and benefits than the guards in the prisons. Why, well as I see it, if you break the law you lose your rights to your freedom and everything that goes with it. If I want to work out I have to buy a membership to a gym, if I want cable tv, I have to pay for it, if I want food I have to work, buy and cook it, if I want clean clothes I have to wash them. And I still have to go to work, pay my bills, and pray I will continue to have a job and the health it requires to keep it and I do so within the guidlines of the law. But for being a hard working, law abiding American, I have to sit by and watch my mother and anyone else be mistreated/neglected by underpaid so called professionals. The government needs to Raise the pay for CNA's so they can make an honest living instead of feeling like they are only going to do as much as they feel they are getting paid for. I would much rather see my taxes go for good quality healthcare/long term care than to do studies on endangered animals or whatever the cause of the month is. WAKE up or ILL/INJURED/Elderly are an endangerd species. overworked/underpaid "

" To Melody: What a story. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I hope The Southern follows up and keeps the heat on. "

" Hey, what do the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and God have in common? "

" Very interesting. Do you know that we pay people more money to baby sit prisoners than to take care of our family members who must be in a nursing home? Try supporting a family on a CNAs wages. You can't. I know because I worked as one before returning to school to finish my nursing degree. I now work in a local hospital. Guess what. The nurse aides still gripe because they think they are the only ones working and aren't paid enough. The LPNs gripe because they feel like they are doing RN work, but are being treated like an aide, and are not paid enough. The RNs are complaining because there are only three of them on the floor for 40 patients, and everyone thinks they aren't doing their share of the work. Oh yeah, and they sure aren't paid enough for the amount of work they do. Abuse is rampant, but what is any one gonna do about it? Hey lets form a committee. Geez, don't get me going again. "

" Allegations of misconduct are just that...allegations. I would wait until the investigation is complete before passing judgement. If the public is concerned with a privately funded nursing home, then consideration should be given to health care at a government home. The VA has one in Marion (which I hear is a modern, excellent facility) for veterans, and the state even administers a few. They fall under stricter federal and state mandates that some believe are more advantageous for the elderly. "

" My mother was placed by her doctor in so called rehab facility here in Herrin to regain her health, strength and hopefully start walking again, after a heart attack and a long stay in a St. Louis hospital. The orders were soft food as she could not swallow and for here to be fed or monitored as she tried to feed herself...she had a catheter and could not lay flat due to end stage COPD and a diabetic. She was given a manual bed (crank @ the foot)The ambulance delivered her from St.Louis before I could get there as I was in St. Louis with her. When I got there she was flat on her back and crying, she had begged them to put the head of her bed up, and to put her O2 back on her,give her something to drink and eat. When I got there and asked if they were given her orders by the EMTs, they told me they had been but 2 hrs after she had arrived they had not had a chance to look at them. I was an EMT for Herrin for many years, I can tell you if a patient has special orders like she had, the EMTs tell the recieving facility. I asked them to please read the orders, I was told that if she wanted her head up all SHE would have had to do was go to the foot of her bed and crank it up. I explained she could not walk, and I cranked up her bed. I asked for her something to eat and drink and told them it had to be soft/ground as she would be unable to eat and swallow anything else. They told me lunch would be served in a couple of hours, and she would be fed then, now mind you she is a diabetic and weighs about 76 lbs/5'7", she left St. Louis before breakfast and is starving and blood sugar dropping as we spoke. I decided to go buy her something and bring it back to her. I left, when I got back they had lowered the head of the bed making her lay flat, brought her some kind of food that even I could not chew, an unopened can of something to drink and left the bedside table where she couldn't have reached it if she was able to open the can or eat the food, but what was worse than that as I walked into the room, she was crying, she was in so much pain, couldn't breath and she said she had wet herself, I told her that she couldn't have because she was catheritized. I raised her head again listened to her, She said I called them and called them the lady in the next bed said she callled them and called them and tey were told to be quiet, someone would be in in awhile. Well, I checked, yes she had wet the bed, her stomach was the size of a 7th month pregant womans, I checked her cath bag, it was full and backed all the way up to where it was inserted and leaking out. I called them repeatedly and was told I would have to wait, I spoke with a janitor he said he had told them several times she needed help and they would not respond. I told him if he didn't get someone I would drain it in the floor to relieve her pain. Finally someone came, I explained her special diatary needs again and was told she would eat what was brought to her or go hungry until next meal, I explained she had to have help to eat, was told no, I asked why her head was lowered when I left and was told I shouldn't have raised it until they had had a chance to review her chart. I asked if her wet bed could be changed and was told they would get around to it. I said no, IT NEEDS CHANGED NOW. The LPN I was dealing with shruged her shoulders and left the room. My husband looked at me and said that's it! He picked her up and started to carry her out of this hell hole. We were stopped at the nurses station and told we could not take her out of there, I told him to take her to the car, the administrater, Theresa, came out and told me if I took her she would call the police and have me arrested, because I didn't know how to take care of her medical needs. I told her you have my address in the chart,if you EVER get the time to review it, by the time the police come I will be sitting on my couch with my feet up and know that my mother will be safe and taken care of properly! We left and I called the STATE on them and after the investigation I was told that it was unfounded....basically I didn't see what I thought I saw and my mother never experienced what she did. Needless to say the police never came, I had help from a home health agency come in and my mother lived for 5 years under my love and care. It is so sad that our elderly are treated like they are in these places, I also have worked in nursing homes and wore myself out picking up the pieces for other cna's, as well as nurses who could care less wiether the needs are met or if the doctors orders are followed. SAD to say but I would have never let her go to another of these so called nursing homes! I cooked what she needed, I changed her cath, I kept her head elevated, I fed her if she couldn't do it, I bathed her, gave her injections and meds, monitered her O2, suctioned her as needed, and I changed her bed, took care of her business,at the same time worked my job, took care of a family of 8 and never, never let her feel like she did in the 5hrs she laid in that nursing home. My mother lived with dignity and self respect until the Lord took her home on June 15, 2005. I know it's not easy to devote yourself to the care of a family member who is ill, I have lived it, but I know it is harder knowing someone who cared for you, fed, changed, rocked and loved you to be neglected by those who are being paid to care for them. I had 5 years with my mother that I would not have had, had I not took her to care for, no it wasn't easy but no one can take the special time I had with her from me. If anyone is able to care for a loved one at home, PLEASE DO, there is lots of help out there and it is a wonderful experience. "

" The elderly are throw awyas. There is rampant abuse in nursing homes, not one or some but in all. There isn't much can be done about it as anyone who complains, or speaks out is labeled as causing trouble. LET THE SUNSHINE IN already. I w2ould sink a bullet in my skull before i EVER let myself be put in a "Nursing" home. Often times the residents are unable to speak out and report abuse, and the ones that can't, are generally the worst treated. Caring for your residents doesn't mean you care for them well. It just means you know how to say you care for your residents... tell em what they wanna hear, right? heh. "

" I wish many of you would read the story again. Mr Parker indicated that he had tried numerous times to speak up about abuse going on, before the state came into investigate. Tell me why someone would get fired after working for 24 years? The fact of the matter is, I have worked in nursing homes. I am a registered nurse. I am sick and tired of cna's claiming they do all the work. I have many times helped the cna's do their jobs, or have had to go back and check their sloppy work. Please don't tell me what a great job cna's are doing. I beg to differ. I have worked with some great cna's, so I am not grouping them all into one category. Also, yes there are LPN's and RN's who are lazy and do nothing but sit in an office all day and don't do their job, but don't blame all nurses for the ignorance of some. I feel for anyone who has a loved one in any nursing facility. The administrators are NOT nice people and usually not approachable with anything that is good for the residents. They don't care about the residents, only a paycheck. "

" At any facility there is always some type of neglect or abuse going on. The main thing is they (the facilities) shouldn't hire highschool drop outs to do the work. I worked at a facility in herrin, Independence Place and except for a few, they were highschool drop outs that always called in or never showed up for their shift. I felt terrible for the residents because their "owner" of the facility was a cheapstake, and never gave them what they needed like shampoo, or enough towels and washclothes until state or someone threatened to call state on him. I would never put someone I cared about an any facility, they would be better off in a closet than in an assisted living place, heck isn't that what someone did last christmas at the Heila one in energy? Got mad at a resident and looked them in a closet during a christmas party. The best thing to do instead of picketting is call the Inspector General on them, picketting doesn't really solve anything..... "

" i work at shawnee christian nursing center and we love our residents very much. these former workers are just trying to start trouble because some of them were fired. the ones that walked out are not the christian people that they claim to be. they know that state survayers were there for their yearly survay and it is a good time to cause trouble. "

" My family member has been a resident of Shawnee Christian for many years and me or another family member are there every day at different times of ther day.We have never seen any sigs of abuse of any kind. All of the staff care very deeply for our loved ones. If Mr.Parker has seen what he claims he has, why did he not come forward sooner instead of after he was fired? I beleive he is just being ventictive and is using our loved ones to get back at the nursing home. I pray that everyone who has loved ones there realize that these accusations are not true. I want to thank evreryone who works there very much for the great care our loved one has reiceived. "

" I know for a fact that 2 of the people who were picketing were not fired, they walked out on there jobs. They were also given the opportunity to come back to work the next day with no questions asked. They abandoned the residents they say they care so much about. The employe that said she was fired because she reported abuse was fired because of abuse and the other employe did nothing but complain about the facility and her supervisor of housekeeping and maintanance. They are doing this to get attention. I have worked at this nursing facility and can assure that these residents are well cared for and loved very much. I also think that these people should be ashamed for what they are doing just because they are mad. The residents are very much affected by these allegations. I would not put my own mother or father in any nursing facility but Shawnee Christian. Shame on this supervisor for using are residents to get back at the nursing home for his being fired. "

" I have worked in nursing homes and assisted care facilitys for about 25 years and there a lot of things going on that the company's don't want anyone to know about. All kinds of abuse and if you say any thing you will get fired. It is true that the CNA do all the work and get blamed for any thing that goes wrong. "

" Unfortunately, this kind of institutional elderly abuse has gone on for decades at local nursing homes. It's time for the State of Illinois to start pulling surprise inspections of such facilities. As far as this one is concerned, criminals have been hiding behind the word "Christian" since the beginning of time. We have a chief executive in Washington very fond of quoting the Ten Commandments, yet who seems to know nothing of the Beatitudes. Such behavior will get its eventual day of judgment: the worst sin in the Bible is doing evil in the name of God. Amazing how there is never enough funding for adequate staffing but always plenty for administrators. "

" I have worked as a CNA then a LPN for 12years and know that a lot of incidents involving residents and staff do not get reported. The administration does not want to get in trouble with the state so they will instruct nurses to omit facts on reports or in some cases bury it all together. When residents are violent physically or sexually inapppriate towards staff we are told not to fill out reports even though legally we are supposed to and if we do our supervisors get upset with us and we end up in trouble and the report is thrown away. Then when that resident does it to another resident the CNA's and LPN,s get used as scapegoats when the state investigates. "

" THIS STORY TOUCHED ME. WE PUT OUR FAMILY MEMBERS HERE SO THEY CAN BE MONITORED PROPERLY, WHY WE WORK TO SUPPORT THE REST OF OUR FAMILIES. WE DO NOT PUT THEM THERE TO BE ABUSED! I THINK THEY SHOULD GET RID OF THEIR ADMINISTRATION AND START OVER WITH PEOPLE WHO CARE AND NOT WITH PEOPLE WHO WANT JUST A PAY CHECK AND HIGHER PAY. I HAVE SEEN CNA'S WORK SO HARD FOR A SMALL DOLLAR AMOUNT AND THEY PUT IN MORE CARE THAN ALL THE LPN'S,RN'S AND THE ADMINISTRATION DO IN A MONTH THEY PUT IT IN EVERYDAY. THESE PLACES ARE UNDERSTAFFED. OH! TO BE TERMINATED THERE IS A PROTOCOL, THINK NOT. YOU WILL MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THERE WAS ONE, BUT I HAVE SEEN THIS FROM OTHER COMPANIES, THEY HIDE WHAT THEY DON'T WANT KNOWN. I THINK THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE THE FACILITY NEED TO BE HEARD AND ON A MUCH LARGER SCALE. I APPLAUDE THESE MEMBERS I THINK THEY REALLY DO CARE THEY JUST COULDN'T REALLY SAY BEFORE. THEY DO IT NOW AND STILL GET PUNISHED. SHAME ON YOU SHAWNEE CHRISTIAN! I HOPE PEOPLE PULL OUT THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS! I TOO AM A CHRISTIAN AND GOD BELIEVES WE TAKE CARE OF THE ELDERLY. HE TOOK CARE OF US. "

" I worked in nursing homes for years as an LPN and I can tell you there is neglect going on because many times you will have one aid and one nurse trying to take care of as many as 20 patients at a time with no help from anyone. There would be as many as 5 nurses sitting in an office doing paper work and not even one would offer to feed a patient, change a bed or even help pass out the food trays. I couldn't pass my meds on time because I had to help the aid. When it was time for state to come for inspection those same people that sat on their butts all year would be out on the floor putting on a show by helping all over the place. "