51 STATE, THE {THE FIFTY-FIRST STATE}: NURSING HOMES (TV)
Summary
One in this series of nightly news programs providing
in-depth coverage of issues affecting the New York
metropolitan area. This program delves into the
inhumane conditions in nursing homes in New York state.
The program begins with Irene Jarvis of the New York
City Dept. of Social Services, who addresses the U.S.
Senate Subcommittee on Long Term Care about the poor
quality of care in nursing homes. The first half of the
program is a black-and-white film that includes
interviews with unidentified staff members and a
former patient of Peter Cooper Nursing Home, who states
that the home resembled a "concentration camp." These
individuals recall ghastly atrocities at the Peter
Cooper Nursing Home. Topics discussed include the
general abandonment of the elderly, the physical abuse
of patients imposed by staff members, thievery among
the staff, and the treatment of the dying and dead. In
addition, a staff member recalls a murder committed by
a psychotic patient that could have been prevented if
the mentally ill were kept on a different ward from the
other patients of the institution. Also included is
footage of members of the press and an investigator of
New York state nursing homes, Robert Nesoff, who all
attempt to enter such places to see the conditions for
themselves. Though the program includes footage of
nursing home residents, most of these segments simply
portray institution directors asking people to leave the
premises. During the second half of the program,
reporters Robert Sam Anson and Lisa Feiner talk with the
director of nursing at Peter Cooper Nursing Home,
Gwendolyn Wilform, and with the executive director of
the Nursing Home Association, Robert Carr. Wilform
attempts to defuse the accusations against Peter Cooper
Nursing Home, while Carr attacks the media's general
portrayal of nursing homes and explains the purpose of
his organization. Carr also shows slides of nursing
homes that he feels more accurately represent most of
these institutions. In addition, Lisa Feiner reveals
her discoveries after having worked undercover at Peter
Cooper Nursing Home. At the end of the program, Anson
talks with John L. Hess of the New York Times about the
comments Carr made, the waste of taxpayers' money, the
immunity of the nursing home institution to government
regulations, and the Kaplan Report of 1960, which
contains documentation from the 1950s of the same
dreadful conditions described in this program. In
addition, Hess compliments the honest inspectors and
auditors whose findings are ignored by the government.
Cataloging of this program has been made possible by
Senator Roy M. Goodman.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: November 30, 1974
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:28
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:10859
- GENRE: Public Affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Medical care; Nursing homes; Public institutions
- SERIES RUN: WNET (New York, NY) - TV series, 1972-1976
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Gordon Hyatt … Executive Producer
- Dan Chaykin … Producer, Reporter
- Lisa Feiner … Producer, Reporter, Correspondent
- Richard Kotuk … Producer, Reporter
- Ted Ransom … Producer, Reporter
- Isabella Dane … Producer, Studio Discussions
- Ortiz, Jr, Eulogio, Ortiz, Jr, Eulogio … Associate Producer
- Mick Colgan … Director
- Richard Kotuk … Writer
- Richard Peaslee … Theme Music by
- Howard Tuckner … Host, Senior Correspondent
- Robert Sam Anson … Reporter, Political Correspondent
- Robert Nesoff
- Irene Jarvis