[Sharon]

Inmate Andrew Shelton, left, one of Chaplain Keith Knauf's Pastoral Care Workers, reads the Bible to a dying William Merritt in the hospice at the California Medical Facility, a high-security prison in Vacaville.

When a hospice inmate is thought to have less than 72 hours to live, they go "on vigil" and are never left to die alone.

PHOTOGRAPH BY: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times

Click for larger size.

See rest of (protected) images and info about the facility here: http://framework.latimes.com/2011/11...nitentiary/#/0

[khathryn]

So prisoners get better treatment at the end than those in nursing homes. Nice.

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by khathryn ↗

So prisoners get better treatment at the end than those in nursing homes. Nice.

Makes you wonder eh?

[ZombieNinjaJudo]

Hm.

[juliemd]

Originally Posted by khathryn ↗

So prisoners get better treatment at the end than those in nursing homes. Nice.

That's why I stopped working at the nursing home I did work at. I loved my job don't get me wrong, but the other people who worked there and even the facility owners didn't care. I met one other person who cared like I did, she was a godsend compared to the others. I saw so much abuse and theft. Nothing was ever done about it either, I finally said fuck it and left.

[Spiffyfable]

Good idea... I guess

[khathryn]

Originally Posted by juliemd ↗

That's why I stopped working at the nursing home I did work at. I loved my job don't get me wrong, but the other people who worked there and even the facility owners didn't care. I met one other person who cared like I did, she was a godsend compared to the others. I saw so much abuse and theft. Nothing was ever done about it either, I finally said fuck it and left.

I was a CNA for a while - I couldn't stand the way we were forced to treat people like numbers. We weren't given the time or opportunity to treat them with the dignity and respect they deserved. When you have to wake, dress, and assist with AM hygiene up to 50 people by yourself, there's barely time to say, "Good morning."

Now, I work in a group home for developmentally disabled adults. At the most, it's an 8 to 1 ratio of clients to staff. And generally, it's lower than that. We get to treat them like human beings. I love it.

[Rusty666]

[LadyCPlum]

Prisoners tend to get a lot of things done better than the average law-abiding American citizen..and guess who foots the bill????

[khathryn]

Originally Posted by daveizgod ↗

Prisoners tend to get a lot of things done better than the average law-abiding American citizen..and guess who foots the bill????

In a lot of ways, yes, inmates do have it better than some law-abiding citizens. My wife is a correctional officer, and this particular story surprised her. She'd not heard of such a thing.