Jupiter551 said:
"We don't lose the feeling, and as human beings we all need touch," Ms Cohen said.
"When somebody has been married for 65 years and they come into a facility, who are we to say that they can't hug or kiss or hold hands or share intimate times?"
that is at the core of the whole thing for me. i did my time in nursing homes and let me tell you how damn true that part is. most people dont realize it but most nursing homes have a policy of some kind about just this subject. usually the policy is that as long as consent is possible its between the residents and we are supposed to leave them to it. i have personally seen (much to my dismay) folks as old as 99 diddling themselves. and full on sex with a partner happens way more often than most people want to think about.
touch therapy is a wonderful, wonderful thing (yes i'm going to get the the big issue here in a minute). just rubbing some lotion on someone's back or arms or legs can do wonders for their health both mental and physical. hugs and a bit of hand holding can take a dreary, ugly place and give a patient a little bit of joy in their life.
the only part of that article that is going to ever be an issue is having pros brought in. now, in an assisted living place (different from an actual nursing facility) a resident can probably get a pro in if they want one, and more power to them i say. but in a skilled nursing setting that isnt possible. if a patient cant walk on their own they could still pick up a phone and request a visit, but they were talking about dementia patients, not just the disabled resident.
i can tell you for sure that even in the early stages of alzheimers or other forms of dementia that it is extremely unethical to make the arrangements for them. consent is legally impossible. sure, an individual might have enough lucidity to enjoy the event, they might even have lucidity to request it, but on a legal standpoint they are non compos mentis. which means that any sex worker who engaged in activity with them could be charged with rape no matter how happy and fulfilled the sex act might make the patient.
i for one am behind the enjoyment of the senses in old age. have sex, masturbate, whatever you want to do. i have bought toys for lucid patients. i have helped them find willing partners. (more than once i had to move very quickly and do some polite refusals to avoid becoming one myself lol). i have even a couple of times taught patients how to use devices to enhance their sexuality (by showing them how pumps and such work, not by direct contact).
but there are two rules that must be followed when it comes to sexuality and the patient. one is that you never engage in it with them if you are a caregiver of the professional sort. the other is that you protect them from harm of that nature. and by any definition i can think of making arrangements for a person with dementia to meet up with a stranger to have sex for money is harmful. again, even if it was their idea to set it up, even if they begged to have it done, what happens when five minutes into it they zone out and forget why they are where they are? and yes that is possible.
im no prude, but when the staff starts making the arrangements of that nature they are crossing a line.