Stepping Into The Breach

Police tape covers the entrance of the care home after the rescue of the residents.

When you start reading about what happened, you can hardly believe that this happened here, in the US, where we are one of the leading countries in the world in many ways. What happened was the closing of a senior care center, Valley Springs Manor, in Castro Valley, CA. But here's the thing: everybody, including management and the owners, left that day. abandoning 16 seniors with needs for assistance with their care.

How could this happen? Anyone with any amount of experience providing that care had abandoned these seniors in need. But there were two employees who remained behind: Miguel Alvarez, the janitor, and Maurice Rowland, the cook. Oddly enough, they were the only two people who felt some sense of obligation to the sixteen seniors, and so, they stayed and they did what they could, for the next few days, without pay. The manager, who was responsible for the medications and the pay, had disappeared.

Efforts by the two men to contact their employer received no response. Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Rowland continued to provide the care, as much as they could, for these dependent seniors, including changing diapers, bathing, dressing, and feeding them. They were never sure that they gave out the correct medications; neither had experience with this part of the job and they were forced to rely upon the recall of the residents, which was not entirely reliable.

Finally, Mr. Alvarez noticed that some of his charges weren't doing that well and had to make a decision. Having previously dialed "911" when residents were sick, he did that this night of Oct. 25. In the afternoon, sheriff's deputies and firefighters arrived and rescued the remaining residents, relieving both men of their felt obligations for these vulnerable seniors. They were able to go to their own homes and sleep with the knowledge that their charges were now safe.

But why did this happen? Were there no laws? I know in my home State of Maryland, residents of care facilities must be placed in other facilities that provide the same level of care, even when the license of the former is revoked. Certainly, State officials are involved, especially if the situation is so urgent that residents require immediate placement elsewhere. But, it appears that the legal code in California was lacking because this entire episode led to legislation that was passed afterwards, known as the Residential Care For The Elderly Reform Act of 2014. At least, no one else will have to endure what this group of people had to endure because of irresponsible owners.

Miguel Alvarez at home with one of his children.

Thanks to SFGates: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Castro-Valley-Janitor-saw-elderly-become-weak-4944795.php, and Kindness Blog: http://kindnessblog.com/2014/11/24/this-is-what-really-good-men-with-character-look-like/, which provided information for this article. There is information on SFGates' article about how to help the two men, who provided the best care they could for the almost completely abandoned seniors.

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