OPINION

MIKE MASTERSON: Why so many?

I've always wondered how anyone at the wheel of their vehicle and in control of the accelerator and brakes (as well as vision and hearing) could possibly be struck at a railroad crossing.

You'd think with the deafening signal, bells, flashing lights, closed gates and such, these kinds of accidents would be rare or nonexistent.

Shows how wrong I am while thriving blithely among life's misconceptions.

I read the other day that AAA ranks Arkansas with Louisiana and Mississippi among 12 states as having the highest numbers of vehicle and/or pedestrian train cashes. And every four hours in America, someone is struck at a rail crossing.

In 2018 alone, 270 died at railroad crossings; 99 of those died after drivers wrongheadedly decided to go around a lowered crossing arm. And in the past five years 798 died while foolishly trying to make it across the tracks, says AAA.

A freight train traveling 55 miles an hour can take more than a mile to stop even when emergency brakes are applied, the story says.

Since our state ranks among those for such entirely avoidable crash deaths, might I kindly suggest forgoing any bizarre urges to beat the locomotive? Incidentally, while I'm feeling the pressures of an overly protective firstborn, please just turn around following rainfall that sends rushing waters flowing across any low-water bridge.

Counting the years

I read the other day that Bella Vista financial planner Will Corporon said more than two-thirds of Americans age 85 and older in our nation are females. Almost half over 75 are widowed, and on average they live five years longer than men.

Women need more tender loving care than men as a whole because they spend twice as many years as men in a state of disability as life draws to a close.

Women also are less likely to have a caregiver in their home, like a spouse or partner. Women spend nearly twice as many years as do men in a disabled state at end of life. Almost 70 percent turning 65 will require long-term care at some point.

Finally, if a couple makes it to 65, there's a 75 percent chance one will live to age 90 and and a 50 percent chance one will make it to 95.

Diabetics rising

Being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 1998, I managed to heed my doctor's advice and drop 75 pounds in a year to bring it under control. By keeping most of it off and taking two pills daily, I've managed to keep things under control for 21 years.

Unfortunately, many others haven't been as fortunate or determined, as evidenced by the latest study which projects Arkansas will have the eighth most cases of diabetes nationally by 2030. That translates to about 17 percent of our population with a disease that affects us psychologically and physically to include amputations and premature death.

Across America, the results show diabetes today is at epidemic levels with annual costs exceeding $300 billion.

Other findings are equally distressing. Diabetes will increase by 38 percent and affect more than 15 percent of the U.S. population by 2030. Twenty states will see diabetes rates increase by nearly 40 percent. Arkansas joins West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana (anyone else detect a pattern?) along with Ohio and Delaware as the 10 states with the highest rates.

I decided to opt for saving my limbs and avoiding an early death by dropping the weight and eating much more wisely. Now it's your turn if you're among the affected today. If you've been feeling unduly sluggish and/or overly thirsty of late, Non-doctor Masterson advises you to get checked for the disease.

Unacceptable deficiencies

Regular readers know I've always railed--in particular--against substandard and abusive treatment of our many nursing-home residents.

Some recent findings only reinforce those feelings. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services found Arkansas ranked 24th among the states in 2018 for the largest number of complaints per nursing-home facility. That amounted to an average of 7.55 deficiencies per facility, which leaves lots of room for improvement. To compare, New Hampshire managed its facilities while averaging just 2.59 deficiencies per facility. Our transgressions totaled some $378,446 in penalties, compared with Nevada, fined zero dollars in penalties.

Quality of care accounted for 20 percent of all nursing-home deficiency complaints.

And, valued readers, things don't look promising for the future unless things change dramatically. The number of Americans in nursing homes has risen more than 200-fold since the 1960s, doubling in only the past two decades.

Now, brace the walkers as the bulk of us baby boomers come pouring in. All this tells me those who own and manage these care facilities need to become creative and significantly rethink their moral sense of purpose behind opening their doors in the first place. Of course, as private businesses, they must turn profits. But never on the back of the most frail and vulnerable among us.

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Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.

Editorial on 07/09/2019

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