The story of “Les Miserables,” both the novel and the Broadway musical, tells us of a man who spent time in prison for theft. He committed the crime of stealing bread to feed a child.
Grocery prices are up, but most of us can scrape up a couple of dollars to buy a loaf of bread. The real Les Mis moment for many people is about healthcare. Can they afford the medicine they need? What about their children? What about their parents?
Judith Hetzell, 64, admits she was wrong in stealing almost $81,000 from her nonprofit employer. A federal judge sentenced her to two months in prison and two years of supervised release for seven counts of bank fraud.
It’s a common enough crime. How often have we seen an employee who took an employer’s or charity’s money and spent it on vacations, shopping, even cars?
Hetzell’s crimes weren’t funding a lavish lifestyle. Instead, she used the money to pay for her mother’s medical care and nursing home bills.
Hetzell’s circumstances don’t excuse her actions. She stole money from accounts belonging to five people served by Federated Guardians, an agency in the business of providing guardianship and other services. Hetzell was absolutely wrong. She rightly pleaded guilty.
But her time behind bars and a promise to pay restitution out of her husband’s retirement funds does not change the reality of the problem.
We live in the most advanced time for medical treatment, with the longest lifespan in history. Western Pennsylvania has excellent providers.
And what does any of that mean if people are pushed to theft to afford it?
Pennsylvania is dealing with an aging population. We have profound challenges in providing not just healthcare in general but aging and end-of-life care in specific. We need more facilities. We need better facilities. We need more staff. We need home healthcare. We need respite care.
And families and government need the money to pay for it.
This is not an excuse for Hetzell’s actions. It’s an illustration that a larger problem can prompt an individual bad decision.
“This conduct arose from a unique convergence of acute financial pressure and caregiving responsibilities during a period when Ms. Hetzell believed she had no available resources or support,” said defense attorney Amy B. Levenson Jones.
Hetzell may be just one person, but she’s not the only person crushed in that vice.
This is not a French novel or a splashy, romantic musical. It’s the reality of healthcare in Pennsylvania.
Source: triblive.com
