We should do better

Sunday, May 18, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

A growing number of severely disabled youngsters are coming of age and being thrust into a nursing home system that is not prepared to handle young adults.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that young adults living with significant disabilities, such as head injuries suffered in traffic crashes, or with severe ailments, such as cystic fibrosis, have few housing and care options unless their parents can continue taking care of them or their families can find nursing homes willing to take young patients.

Of the estimated 1.4 million people living in nursing homes nationwide, about 8,000 are people younger than 30, the Times reports. Experts in the field say that’s a fraction of the number of young people who likely need such care, and the number is not going to diminish anytime soon.

“The people we are talking about did not exist 50 years ago,” Miriam Kaufman, founder of a Toronto transition program for children with disabilities, told the Times. “We simply don’t have a model for these children.”

Taking care of severely ill or disabled children at home is difficult even when the children are young and small. When they become adults, such care can be impossible for their parents, who are aging as well.

There are treatment regimens and facilities designed for children who suffer from severe illness or disabilities, experts told the Times. But nursing homes typically don’t offer the kinds of activities and programs that young adults need.

Edwin Simpser, chief medical officer of St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children — New York’s largest provider of rehabilitation and specialized care for children — said someone needs to create a clinical model for treating young adults who need special nursing care for their entire lives.

Thanks to medical advances, children who might not have seen an 18th birthday now can look forward to a future as adults. We need to ensure that they have the facilities and specialists that help them thrive.