LI nursing homes, affordable housing, and climate change

I was a Nassau County ombudsman for two years, until 2017, after five days of intense training [“Advocate shortage,” News, Feb. 15]. I am also a state-licensed clinical social worker. Being an ombudsman was very stressful and thankless, with long hours and tons of paperwork.

I witnessed the director of a Nassau nursing home verbally berate elderly residents and make fun of them in staff meetings. Their clothes were destroyed in the laundry, and he said, “I’m not running a French five-star laundry.” The residents sat in diapers because their clothes were ruined.

They had no activities. They were overmedicated and were put in wheelchairs even if they could walk. They were left in wheelchairs behind long tables so they couldn’t move away — for hours.

They would cry, begging to go to the bathroom, but were ignored. We were understaffed.

I told my supervisor about the director’s words and inaction but received no support. I delivered the residents’ complaints to the director and, as a result, I was transferred to another nursing home by the ombudsman program.

It was one of hardest jobs I ever had, but it was rewarding. I loved the elderly. Soon after I left, the director was fired.

— Mary McKenna, Bellmore

For more than six months, a Nassau County nursing home where my mother resides had no state representation. Many issues went unnoticed until the state was called in to investigate and interviewed my mother. I am still waiting for the state phone call stemming from that visit.

Since then, the elevator has been out of service 15 times in the past month, leaving those who are wheelchair-bound to remain on the second floor all day, fearing a fire.

My mom and other residents were downstairs all day on one occasion with no assistance to get them upstairs at night. So I called 911 for assistance and it took 1 1⁄2 hours before help arrived. We didn’t wait. Four of us brought my mom upstairs, where she had to stay.

Many complaints go unheard because some residents do not have representation. The food is unacceptable. We have to advocate for the residents’ health, safety and dignity that they deserve in their golden years.

Offer people a decent salary to advocate for these seniors who paved the way for those who came after them.

— Claire Fuchs, Copiague

I have been a volunteer ombudsman in Suffolk County for over 10 years. It’s often frustrating but always rewarding.

When I visit one of the two nursing homes I’m assigned, I don’t simply look for complaints but also try to talk to residents, who appreciate someone just to say hello to.

Handling complaints is the most difficult part of the job, and when something is resolved, you know you have done a good service. The paid staffers are not only ombudsmen. They run the office, provide training for new and continuing volunteers (who must complete 18 hours annually), and work in the field.

In Suffolk, I see them as highly dedicated, competent and underpaid. Last year, the state provided a modest budget increase, but it is inadequate. Let’s hope that the state will realize how important this work is and provide more funds.

— Philip Paskowitz, Yaphank

LI is no longer that remote, quiet place

With all the talk of housing affordability and “becoming the sixth borough,” what most NIMBYs don’t see is that Long Island already is sort of a sixth borough “Housing more folks: How to deal with it?,” Letters, Feb. 14].

We have slightly more wiggle room compared to Queens and Brooklyn, but so much is still packed together. We see 7-Elevens and strip malls go on for miles on Middle Country Road and Route 347 until you get closer to William Floyd Parkway. Local traffic can be as infuriating as the city’s.

Even after you pass Route 112 heading east on the Long Island Expressway or Sunrise Highway, despite the thought of our being “remote,” it’s not true. Where can you find only nature without a soul in sight? Even farms are packed together.

Long Island being considered a quiet place is long gone. Suffolk County has about three times the population of Wyoming — with less area to work with.

It’s time to accept that Long Island is no longer some middle-of-nowhere place — it hasn’t been that for quite some time. The sooner we accept this, the better and faster we can build for the future.

— Mark Bain, Lake Ronkonkoma

Bravo to a reader for his poignant assessment that Long Island would be better off as a separate state [“MTA hike — LI should be a separate state,” Letters, Feb. 14], divorcing us from the blueness of the rest of New York, particularly the five boroughs.

One of the great benefits of living on Long Island was that New York City, once inarguably the financial, cultural and sports capital of the world, is transforming itself into a woke utopia by becoming a sanctuary city for undocumented migrants.

— Eugene R. Dunn, Medford

The climate answer is blowin' in the wind

Yes, companies that produce the heat-trapping gases that have disrupted the climate should definitely be on the hook for the damage they’ve caused [“LI hard-hit by weather events,” News, Feb. 14]. Of course, Gavin Donohue, head of the Independent Power Producers of New York, is opposed to this measure.

Yet, no matter how much these companies might pony up, as long as the economy relies on super climate-polluting methane gas, what “natural” gas really is, we cannot even soften the blow of the unfolding climate disaster.

As Bob Dylan memorably sang, “The answer is blowin’ in the wind.” Offshore wind is necessary for Long Island’s transition from dirty fracked gas.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s goal of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035 can be met if she can select the maximum number of productive wind farms in the next round of bidding.

— David Bissoon, Bay Shore