Dear Editor,
A recent incident and severe calamity at a care facility located in Tanki Leendert, has seriously endangered the life of an elderly resident. This event has sparked a wave of deep concern within the Aruban community and led to widespread condemnation of the facility’s management. The crisis, which directly compromised the safety of the residents, has shed light on one of the many critical structural issues in the elderly care: The hazardous integration of vulnerable elderly individuals with a person suffering from severe addiction; who, likely experienced a sudden outburst of violent behaviour causing a life-threatening condition by an elder caretaker.
This incident highlights a profound lack of capacity and structural tools within the management to handle resident safety responsibly. The families and the broader community demand immediate answers as to how a situation of this magnitude escalated to this extent. Specifically, they are questioning why an individual dealing with severe addiction was housed alongside vulnerable elderly patients. Concerns have also arisen regarding whether the individual combined prescribed medications, illicit substances, or other patients’ medicine, triggering this sudden, extreme violence. Consequently, the competence of the caregiving staff is under intense scrutiny. Currently, many critical questions remain unanswered.
Standard nursing homes are designed to provide a tranquil, peaceful environment focused on preventative and maintenance medical care for our senior citizens. Introducing an individual with a severe addiction to the same environment – without specialised staff and the necessary infrastructure – is a recipe for disaster. The absence of specialised supervision leaves vulnerable elderly residents exposed to severe tension, insecurity, and the threat of physical, emotional, and psychological abuse. This environment undoubtedly harms the mental health of the residents, an issue that requires professional intervention rather than simply increasing their existing prescriptions.
The calamity at Tanki Leendert underscores an urgent need for the Minister of Public Health,
Social Affairs, Elderly Care, and Addiction Management, along with their respective departments and facility executives, to re-evaluate their current management strategies. Beyond the evident shortage of personnel trained to handle addiction crises, a profound lack of professional operational standards is clear. A standard nursing home cannot, and must not, function as a rehabilitation or mental health crisis centre without the mandatory certifications and security measures in place.
This incident must serve as a critical turning point for the ministry and competent authorities in Aruba. It is imperative to implement the following measures:
* Separate care modalities: Patients with intensive behavioural or addiction needs must
not be integrated with standard elderly residents, as this creates structural safety risks.
* Implement strict protocols: Establish unambiguous guidelines defining admission criteria and vetting standards for nursing home personnel.
* Evaluate safety management: The government must review the management capabilities across all elder care facilities to ensure such an incident never recurs.
Since 2012, the Aruba Alzheimer’s Foundation FAA has actively campaigned against elder abuse in general and in the elderly care. Under this framework, the foundation launched the project; “Say No To Elder Abuse” under the permanent Slogan “No Excuse For Elder Abuse!”
Not a week goes by without the FAA receiving complaints or notifications regarding elder abuse or neglect. Within this group, many residents express an intense fear of reporting abuse or neglect due to potential retaliation, threats, or experiencing worse treatment from care professionals. The anxiety and outrage expressed across social media indicate that it is time for the public to openly voice their discontent against elder abuse and give a voice to those suffering in silence.
The right to optimal care: Every elderly citizen deserves a dignified life, quality nutrition tailored to their health needs, and respectful treatment. They built the very foundation of the society our community enjoys today. Most of these seniors dedicated their lives to building modern-day Aruba, paying taxes, educating the youth, and carefully saving whatever little they could to leave a legacy for their children. Consequently, it is the duty of a responsible government to uphold the human rights of all citizens, ensuring a life of dignity and good health.
For those transitioning into care facilities, the government is obligated to strictly regulate facility operations in compliance with legally proclaimed national ordinances (landsverordeningen) and transparent governance frameworks. The government fails in its constituency when it does not maintain adequate oversight over deficient care and elder abuse.
Regulatory frameworks of the Aruba Public Health Inspectorate (IVA): Several official
reports regarding care facilities have been published by the “Inspectie Volksgezondheid Aruba”
(IVA), including:
* Quality Care Ordinance: Kwaliteitszorg (LV 2014 no. 74)
* Nursing Homes Ordinance: Verzorgingshuizen (LV 2015 no. 61)
Since 2017/2018, the IVA has published multiple reports evaluating institutional care. Notable publications include the “Eindrapport Langdurige zorg” (final report on long-term care, 2018) and the definitive report issued on November 24, 2025, titled “Als zorg levens kost: calamiteiten in verzorgingshuizen” (when care costs lives: calamities in nursing homes).
The findings of these reports demand immediate corrective action and better training
frameworks for nursing home employees. They stress the critical necessity of implementing
institutional learning systems to learn from past errors and clinical calamities to prevent elder
abuse and neglect.
Present realities: It is deeply regrettable that in 2026, Aruba continues to face unacceptably
high rates of clinical incidents and calamities across nursing homes, domestic care settings, and hospitals. These incidents fundamentally constitute elder abuse and neglect. Public
dissatisfaction and distrust are rising drastically because no decisive steps are being taken to halt the unregulated growth of care facilities managed by uncertified, non-professional personnel.
These individuals often lack basic clinical knowledge required to safeguard vulnerable seniors, perform injections, or safely administer medications. What is missing is a strategic focus on SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Tangible) action plans to track regulatory progress and implementation. The recent facility calamity resulted in severe physical harm to an elderly resident who feared for their life, and the perpetrator has since been “incarcerated” pending a formal investigation.
The community demands to know what caused the perpetrator’s sudden behavioural shift, specifically questioning potential interactions between prescription medications and illicit drugs. Furthermore, the public asks: Why was an individual with a history of addiction placed in an elder care facility? Additionally, it remains to be seen whether an internal administrative investigation by the IVA and the care institution itself, will be launched alongside civil and criminal proceedings, as dictated by established IVA frameworks.
The Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs, Elderly Care, and Addiction Management,
alongside their respective departments, holds the legal accountability to enforce the statutory
regulations governing businesses and care homes. Action must be taken immediate together
with enforcement action against sub-standard facilities operating with unqualified staff, which
continue to proliferate rapidly.
Many families lack the financial resources to maintain specialised care for their loved ones at
home. They are forced into the unwanted decision of admitting their relatives into nursing
homes, fully aware of the rampant abuse and neglect in this sector. This leaves families carrying an immense burden of guilt for being unable to fulfil their loved ones’ wish for a safe,
dignified, and familial care environment.
Ultimately, patients in deficient care facilities, families dependent on commercial home care
businesses, and their loved ones may also be victims of institutional mismanagement and severe shortages of qualified healthcare professionals.
Conclusion: The safety and human dignity of our elderly citizens cannot be compromised by legal and administrative mismanagement. The Minister of Public Health, Social Affairs, Elderly Care, and Addiction Management, along with its administrative departments (including the IVA), has a binding obligation to Act. They must protect the well-being of the elder adults and deliver an optimal quality of life and health to every tax-paying elderly resident of Aruba.
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drs. Melva Croes-Yánez
President of the Aruba Alzheimer’s Foundation (FundacionAlzheimer Aruba)
Leader of the Project “NO Excuse for Elder Abuse”
