Nursing Home in Baghdad
There is one nursing home in Baghdad, a city of 5 million people. It accepts all Iraqis, based on what many residents say, it is their home of last resort. There are 44 women and 73 men in the home, and one nurse. The war's aftermath has kept better workers away because the home is on the fringe of Baghdad in an area not considered secure. About one in five residents has dementia and about one in 10 is incontinent. The odor of gasoline permeates the home, after it is cleaned, because workers use a mix of gasoline with water as a cleaning agent. There are few cleaning supplies, or medicines. Most residents are forlorn and forgotten.