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“Plans don’t cover”: elderly abandonment exacerbates hospitals’ already weakened finances

Meanwhile, the Administration for Families and Children (ADFAN) acknowledges that some elderly people are dying while waiting to be relocated to long-term care centers

June 19, 2024 - 12:15 PM

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This content was published more than 6 months ago.

We are part of

Many older adults spend months in hospitals while the government decides which agency should take custody of them and place them in a long-term care facility. (David Villafañe)

By Marga Parés Arroyo

Periodista de Noticiasmarga.pares@gfrmedia.com

Editor's note

Third of four stories in the series "Pliegues en su piel, vacío en su corazón" (Folds in your skin, emptiness in your heart), which analyzes the increasing number of lonely older adults in hospital facilities in Puerto Rico. This work received the support of the Journalists in Aging Fellowship, awarded by the Gerontological Society of America, along with the Journalists Network on Generations and the Silver Century Foundation.

Last year alone, the Sistema de Salud Menonita (Mennonite Health System), a network of hospitals in Puerto Rico, faced $3,099,379 in losses due to 221 cases of abandoned seniors in its seven medical institutions. The million-dollar deficit was the balance of 5,001 days of hospitalizations not paid for by medical plans, since admissions without medical criteria are not billable.