Some unhappy with Ohio inmate-to-nursing home idea

CLEVELAND (AP) — Some advocates for the elderly in Ohio are upset with a legislative proposal to move the state’s sickest inmates to nursing homes to save money.

Ombudsman John Saulitis with the District 11 Area Agency on Aging in the Youngstown area is worried the proposal doesn’t include notification of relatives that inmates might be living next door to their older loved ones.

State Sen. Thomas Patton of Strongsville, however, says the measure he’s sponsoring would not put sick inmates alongside the law-abiding elderly. The Republican says ailing criminals will be placed in nursing homes exclusively for them.

Patton thinks 110 of Ohio’s 51,000 inmates are sick enough to qualify for transfer to nursing homes. The state prison system thinks the number is more like 20 to 30.