Yes there is Lizzie, I see more homeless people, death and dying than I care to, many of whom are the victims of (what we have even in this country) reputable nursing homes.
very true - as have i, and i can imagine nothing worse than to end up in one of these places if i still had my faculties about me. i have seen people dumped into these homes by the rele's when they are obviously nowhere near ready (physically and mentally). i often wonder "why" they are in a nursing home when they are so capable and able. i have also seen people in the nursing homes be hounded literally to their deaths by rele's demanding money from them upon the sale of the family home. despicable.
that is not to say, there are good nursing homes - but the rooms are often tiny with barely room for a bed, the stimulation is scarse, the meals are "okay". one of the better ones i used to visit with the dog wouldn't even allow aircon in the bedrooms apparently to force the residents out to the living area to socialise ... so we'd visit the residents in these boiling hot rooms (think australian summers) with nothing but a fan because they weren't up to sitting on plastic coated chairs in a big circle around a tv with the lady with the dribble, the one that wouldn't stop yapping, the old guy who constantly farted ... i found out later that the aircon wasn't allowed because it was too expensive to run.
that is one reason why i don't have a problem with what kathryn is doing. she is taking away a lot of the the financial and organisational stress, which can be enormous as one ages and loses the grasp a little. it doesn't mean these people are ready for a nursing home and if the rele's gave a rats they would've stepped up to the plate and taken on the responsibility themselves.