Everyone likes to watch birds at a feeder. Who can resist the sight of a black and white chickadee extracting the kernel from a sunflower seed? Or the delicate beauty of a bright yellow goldfinch perching at the feeder? But there is one group of bird watchers who particularly enjoy watching life at the feeder.
Nursing home residents around the country get tremendous pleasure from watching birds. In West Virginia, residents benefit from the dozens of feeders built by the state's Nursing Home Bird Feeder Project. Voluntary contributions by Kansas state income tax payers support wildlife projects through the state's Chickadee Checkoff Program. The nursing home program has given hundreds of bird feeders to nursing homes in Kansas.
An Ohio grade school builds feeders for nursing homes and donates them as holiday gifts. Local hardware stores donate the supplies, making this a real community project. A chain of stores that sells wild bird products offers bird feeder recycling: anyone who brings in an old feeder gets a discount on a new feeder. Store staff clean up the recycled feeders and give them to nursing homes, along with a five-pound bag of food.
In fact the feeders are so popular at some homes, residents organized bird watching clubs to learn more about the birds and share their enthusiasm with others. They invite local bird watchers to give talks about birds and show slides of the bird watching trips. In turn, local bird watching clubs invited residents to join their bird watching trips. An increasing number of accessible trails and viewing platforms make bird watching possible even for people in wheelchairs. And for those people whose mobility limitations restrict them to the car, who says you can't watch birds from the car?
Several nursing homes have extended the bird-friendly facilities to include bird hoses and birdbaths. At one nursing home, residents decorate houses for bluebirds and purple martins.
Hummingbird feeders are perhaps the most popular type of feeder. Slender translucent red tubes contain sugar water, which the tiny birds sip. Suction cups attach tube feeders to windows, so people can enjoy the quick movements of the colorful hummingbirds even from their beds.
Nursing home managers recognize the definite advantages of attracting birds to their residences. Bird feeders bring the dynamic natural world into the slower world of the nursing home. The colors, movements, and sounds of birds appeal to the senses. Bird identification stimulates the mind and provides opportunity for sharing and discussion. For those who are able, filling and cleaning the feeders are useful and rewarding tasks.
Giving to and taking care of others is a precious part of life. Taking care of the birds helps residents feel part of the flow of life, a feeling that too often gets lost in places like nursing homes and hospitals. Bird feeders give pleasure to nursing home residents and residents give sustenance to the birds--a true win-win situation. The new trend of installing bird feeders at nursing homes brings new meaning to the phrase, ?It's for the birds.?
On February 6, 2003, 87 year-old Harold Scharf* was transferred to the residential care facility in Bothell, Washington. Mr. Scharf had been previously diagnosed with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. He was considered a risk for falling. The residential care plan specifically stated that he was to be assisted with two persons while walking or being transferred.
On the first day Mr. Scharf was admitted, the staff left him unattended while sitting on the bed. One staff member attempted to move Mr. Scharf and he was dropped onto the floor.
The Washington State Department of Health and Social Services requires a residential care facility to report any injuries to a resident. Despite this requirement, the facility failed to report that Mr. Scharf was dropped onto the floor.
Over the next several days, Mr. Scharf's personal caretaker noticed that he was acting unusual and that he would wince in pain with certain movements. About five (5) days later the caretaker noticed bruising on Mr. Scharf's right hip and leg. She demanded that he be taken to the hospital.
The ER staff at a nearby hospital in Bellevue could not determine what was wrong with Mr. Scharf, that is, until X-rays were taken of his legs and hips. These showed that Mr. Scharf had suffered a fractured to his right hip. He then underwent emergency surgery. Mr. Scharf spent 6 weeks in a rehabilitation facility.
After Mr. Scharf's caretakers discovered that he had fractured his hip, they confronted the care facility and its owner. They learned that Mr. Scharf had been dropped, although the owner gave differing accounts of what happened. They immediately contacted DSHS to report the incident.
DSHS conducted an investigation and found that the care facility violated its own care plan and failed to promptly notify the agency and the resident's family members when Mr. Scharf was dropped. The care facility was issued a citation.
Mr. Scharf incurred medical bills of approximately $65,000, although this was disputed by the defendants. Most of this expense was paid by Medicare. However, Mr. Scharf is required to reimburse Medicare for this expense out of his settlement recovery proceeds.
Mr. Scharf is now 90 years old. He has made a near full recovery. Unfortunately, his Alzheimer's condition has worsened. He has no memory of his prior injury. He now uses a wheelchair and walks occasionally with the assistance of a walker and his personal caretaker.
Initially the facility made no offer to settle the case. After Mr. Scharf's family hired me to represent them we were able to negotiate a $250,000 settlement.
*Some names have been changed to protect our client's privacy.
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