One Of My Pet Issues

Let’s face it, getting old sure beats the alternative of pushing up daises.

New report outlines problems faced by LGBTQ+ nursing home residents
Bay Area Reporter
By Lou Chibbaro Jr., Washington Blade
March 25, 2024

A recently published academic journal article by two University of Indiana researchers reports on problems faced by LGBTQ+ older adults living in the nation's nursing homes and recommends actions nursing homes should take to ensure LGBTQ+ residents are treated equitably and without bias.

The article, entitled "Postacute Care and Long-Term Care for LGBTQ+ Older Adults," was published November 9 in the peer reviewed journal Clinics In Geriatric Medicine. It is co-authored by geriatric physician Jennifer L. Carnahan, a research scientist with the Regenstrief Institute, which is affiliated with Indiana University's Center for Aging Research and Andrew C. Picket, an elder care researcher and assistant professor at Indiana University's School of Public Health in Bloomington. Carnahan also serves as an assistant professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

"Cultivating an inclusive and LGBTQ+ culturally competent nursing home culture means that all staff and clinicians should receive training specific to working with this group and time should be allocated for this to reduce staff burden," the article states.

It points out that while some older LGBTQ+ adults fear being forced into the closet while in a nursing home, "they also simultaneously fear unwanted disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity status, and their autonomy should be respected either way."

As a senior trans woman this is one of my concerns. What will happen when you are one trans woman in a long tern care facility with a 100 residents?

I don’t care if the LTC facility is LGBTQ friendly or it takes is one or two MAGAs in the facility to make your life miserable. All it takes are the magic words… It is against my sincerely deeply held religious beliefs that it is my “god given right to discriminate.”

Among the article's recommendations is that when new residents are being admitted to a nursing home, whether for short term or long term, "standard practice should be to ask sexual orientation and gender identity questions of every new resident along with other demographic identifiers." Doing this "normalizes sexual and gender minority status," and can also "help to reduce the invisibility and health disparities" that LGBTQ+ nursing home residents experience.

"For transgender individuals, the personal care received in nursing homes can be supportive, as intended, or traumatic," the article states. When nursing home staff provide assistance to transgender persons unable to care for themselves, "such as toileting or bathing, they may become newly aware of a resident's transgender status," the article says, adding, "If staff are not prepared for such an unintentional outing and how to react in a supportive manner, they may demonstrate microaggressions." That type of biased reaction can be psychologically harmful for a transgender resident, the report states.

Here is another thought, I was diagnosed with “Gender Dysphoria,” 302.85 (F64. 9). Now if you are in a LTC facility and one of the residents asked a worker at the LTC facility, “Is that one of the trans people?” and the employee answers yes. You just won a million dollars!  Hold it wait… as far as I know when you go into a LTC you sign a bunch of papers and one of those forms states that you agree to binding arbitration! Strike that winning a million dollars, the arbitrator rules yes, they did violate HIPAA but rules that the employee was at fault not the LTC… sorry no judgment in your favor.

The article points to a 2018 survey conducted by AARP, which advocates for people over the age of 50, that found most LGBTQ+ older adults, when considering entering a nursing home, "anticipate neglect, abuse, refusal of services, harassment, and being forced back into the closet."

The article says this fear of abuse and stigmatization may be related to older LGBTQ+ adults' experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ bias in their younger years.

"Health care workers across disciplines are not well trained in care for LGBTQ+ older adults," the article says. "Stereotypes and inadequate knowledge of the LGBTQ+ population are not uncommon among those who care for older adults," it says. And it says LGBTQ+ residents in nursing homes may also face stigmatization from other residents.

There are efforts around the country to make LTC and senior center aware of the needs for culture training, but in most of the Republican states that effort is being snuffed.

So not only are the Republicans going after youth LGBTQ+ programs but they going after senior programs also.

 

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This week is National LGBTQ+ Health Awareness Week, I bet you didn’t know that. I sure didn’t.

National LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week
By One Colorado
March 21, 2024

What is National LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week?

National LGBTQIA+ Health Awareness Week takes place annually in the third week of March. This initiative focuses on enhancing accessible, affirming, and inclusive healthcare for LGBTQ+ communities, highlighting the significance of collective action towards healthcare equity. National LGBTQ Health Awareness Week was established in 2003 by the National Coalition for LGBTQ Health, a leading organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community through advocacy, education, and research.

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Older Adults

Older adults face issues of mistreatment by health care, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, social isolation and lack of resources. Despite paving the way for LGBTQ+ rights, older adults are often not given the appreciation or recognition as the elders that have built our community to what it is today. As there is still much that needs to be done, we must strive to expand access to LGBTQ+ inclusive housing, gender affirming care, and services that promote healthy aging. One Colorado partners with SAGE, the national advocacy and services organization for LGBTQ+ elders, to stay informed on issues affecting LGBTQ+ older adults and ensure that legislation is inclusive of all community members regardless of age.