By JULIA BARNES

Welcome indeed was the opportunity
to see for myself how senior citi-
zens live in a socialist country.

My daily association with aged men
and women confirms the-National Coun-
cil of Senior Citizens’ assertation, "Let's
face it, the vast majority of our elderly
people, who have retired on reaching the
age of 65. have had little reason to
call their retirement ‘golden years.’ *
“Eighty per centers,’ forced to retire at
62 on part pensions, fare worse.

I began my study of the “veterans of
labor.”” as they are respectfully called in
the Soviet Union: with a tour of the *'First
of May’’ home for the aged: Located in
one of Moscow's new sections, it is com-
fortably near an equally new station of
the Moscow Metro, yet within view of a
forest.

Fresh flowers in the elevator. flow-
ering plants in the spacious halls. care-
fully tended blooms in the bedrooms. A
profusion of green leaves and of bright
flowers even for the Soviet Union. which
celebrates all joyous events with bou-
quets. The residents and their surround-
ings contrasted with the depressed *‘in-
mates’? I had seen in sterile, uniform
wards in this country. Director Alex-
ander Alekseyevich Testin informed us
that The First of May is typical of the
twenty homes for senior citizens in and
around Moscow.

Dr. Ramira Leonodovna Korshonova.
the chief physician, started our two-hour
tour with a visit to the modern aud-
itorium. It seats 450. Why. we asked. need
it be so large when over 300 of the 665
residents are bedridden. There must be
seats. we were told. for guests during the
three weekly visiting days. as well as for
members of the staff who attend the
nightly entertainments and film show-
ings.

The dining room is large and sunny.
white cloths and colorful bread baskets
on each table for four. Seating is arranged
to keep together persons on one or
another of five different special diets
prepared in the spotless electric kitchen.
There is also an effort to seat together
persons speaking the same language.

An activity program, posted on the
dining room wall. included a 7
o’clock rising hour, working hours from
10:30 to 1. meal time. a rest hour. time
for snacks, 10 o'clock bedtime. We were

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—APRIL 3, 1970—Page 8

assured that the schedule was flexible.
We heard no startling bells or summons.

Dr. Korshonova introduced us to her
patients in cheerful bedrooms, shared by
two or three, in sitting rooms, in work-
shops and in various therapy centers. We
talked with a renowned retired actress.
with a former teacher who had devoted
her life to the education of deaf mutes.
with several artists and musicians, with
two nurses who had served in the Russian
Civil War.

A number of men and women in the
sitting room expressed regret that we had
not seen their own rooms. We found time
to accompany a few. The drapes in no
two rooms were alike. Pillow slips and
cushion covers were hand embroidered.
often by their owners. Curios and per-
sonal keepsakes evoked the past. Most of
the rooms opened onto small balconies.
Each room had a private toilet.

Among the diagnostic and treatment
facilities. we saw X-ray machines. card-
iographs. autoclaves. well-equipped
physiotherapy rooms. .a room for eve
examinations, another for dental treat-
ment. An aged woman was courageously
submitting to a dentist. Of special inter-
est was a machine for measuring breath-
ing capacity — an advanced model. as is
used at Bellevue hospital in New York.
Another machine provided a new type of
periodic oxygen treatment for hyper-
tensive patients. In the pharmacy, nu-
merous drugs are dispensed. The only
rooms never used in the three vears of
the institution's existence had been set
aside for quarantine. which fortunately
no patient had required.

Each resident is examined thoroughly
once a month. Doctors visit the ill daily.
The staff numbers 250. a ration of staff
to patients comparable to that of the most
exclusive hospitals and homes in our
country. It includes 8 doctors. 53 medical
nurses, 20 maintenance workers. phar-
macists. chefs. dieticians. medical tech-
nicians, physio-therapists. ete. Visiting
psychiatrists, dermatologists, and sur-
geons are on call. All of these are. of
course, union members.

A therapist was supervising correc-
tive exercises in a specially equipped
room. A dozen women in a workshop
were making garments on sewing mach-
ines for use at the home. Many residents
were eager to work, but medical approv-
al is required for this opportunitv. The
workers keep half of their earnings. The
balance goes into a common fund for the
use of all of the residents, supplementing

\ —Reprint from U.S. Daily World
{

the regular governmental allowances
they receive.

Another workroom was piled high
with cardboard boxes of all sizes. A work-
er was tying them together for distribu-
tion to stores. He explained that the ser-
ies of simple operations required for
their construction could be performed by
most of the ambulatory patients.

The pensioners worked. we were as-
sured, not for the small monetary re-
ward. but because they found idleness
oppressive and ‘work a tonic.”

Our final question concerned the op-
portunities for self-government, of the
residents. their participation in formula-
tion of policies for the home. We antici-
pated that the situation would differ
from that in our country, where institu-
tional inmates receive custodial care. We
were not disappointed. The First of Mav
citizens elect a presidium of 25. which
selects a chairman. They have an impcr-
tant voice in running the home.

Certainly there were men and women
among those we met who were often sad.
who felt the pain of separation from loved
ones who had died. frequently because of
the war. Some suffered painful illness.
Loving care they recived was not a pan-
acea. However. on the whole, their care
and attitudes compared favorably with
what we find in homes for the aged in
the United States. The pensioners sped us
on our way with greetings to the many
Americans who wish their country well.

Residents of the First of May home
doing corrective exercises under the
supervision of a therapist, above left,
while another is having her breath-
ing capacity measured by a special
advanced machine, above, and
others were sewing garments for use
in the home, below. Most residents
want to work, but special medical
approval is required. :