John ___ spends his hours in a shed-sized room in St. Petersburg.
Wipes, hospital dressing gowns and diapers are stocked haphazardly along narrow wooden shelves.
John ’s feet, propped up on a large camel-colored reclining chair where he lies, are cracked and yellow. The recliner engulfs the cramped room, its edges almost touching the walls.
A fly flits greedily about his motionless body.
“I’m probably going to die here in my house,” he said.
John, 75, had a stroke in 2013 that left him partially paralyzed. But unlike many older adults who need help with daily living, he’s unlikely to enter a nursing home.
“Nobody wants me,” he said.
Calandra is a convicted sex offender, having spent time in federal prison for possession of child pornography. He’s part of a growing community of elderly ex-prisoners who want to be in nursing homes where they can get the care they need. But the nursing homes don’t want them.
If you want to start off your weekend on a happy note, this isn’t the article to read. Very depressing. One thing to take away from it though is to maintain your health. Those of you on long term registry requirements cannot risk the possibility of requiring medical assistance. It might not be available to you.
I have so far been lucky but be aware whenever you go to visit a Hospital or Medical Facility they often scan your DL to generate a pass. I was very worried as other Registrants have been denied entry even for any type of Visitation!. I was able to enter Tampa General to see a friend who just delivered her baby. Its becoming more and more of a issue with Tradeshows also. A friend of mine was actually working at some Tech convention in Tampa he was part of the Vendor crew. They scanned his Florida DL and was denied a pass due to a Felony. I believe these passes had been RFID. The funny thing is he was able to walk around the corner and buy a pass for $25 from a Scalper!!. Its a constant PUNITIVE battle.
These needless and unjustified restrictions are a result of civil attorneys who advise risk managers of insurance companies/ hospitals/nursing homes and various other entities. Their focus of concern is civil liability ($$$) should any registered citizen cause harm to anyone on their premises. Such focus also applies to landlords, employers, school administrators, and myriad others in positions of authority. And of course, there is personal animosity directed at our population, which certainly does not help. I wish there was some easy solution to turn them around, but I have yet to think of a strategy that would do so.
I hit a paywall, but don’t need the additional anxiety anyway.
I just placed my dad in a board and care facility and, as hard as that was on so many levels, I did not have the additional complexity of him being a registrant. I’m scared to death of putting my kids through that, should I live long enough. I hit the gym at least 5 days a week, mountain bike regularly and maintain healthy weight to stay fit for myself, my kids, quality of life, etc. Unless something radical happens, however, I think the only way to avoid the difficulties of getting into a nursing home is to retire outside the US. Once Dear Old Dad is gone and my kids go away to college, I’m out! That’s the plan, anyway.