ST. PAUL – Last week, the Star Tribune released a multi-part story on rampant assault, abuse, neglect and other crimes in Minnesota’s senior care facilities and a lack of adequate response from state investigators to complaints about them.
Rep. Jen Schultz (DFL – Duluth) released the following statement:
“I’m horrified by the findings of this report. Many Minnesotans have loved ones being cared for in a senior home and they place an enormous amount of trust in those responsible for their care. It’s a shocking realization that a person could be put in such a predicament in which it’s possible for them to experience physical assault, poor care, theft of their property or any number of other despicable acts outlined in the report. I thank the reporters of the Star Tribune for such in-depth work which should serve as a wakeup call to us all.
“Gov. Dayton has taken action by appointing a task force to investigate the abuse and lack of oversight. However, we will need to do much to enact meaningful change. With Republican majorities proposing and passing health and human services budget cuts session after session, state agencies are not able to devote resources to adequately review cases of abuse. At their core, budgets should be about people, not numbers on a spreadsheet. Let’s work together right away next session to ensure adequate resources are available to keep Minnesota’s seniors safe and hold those responsible for neglect and abuse accountable.”
Rep. Schultz serves on the Health and Human Services Finance Committee in the Minnesota House.