|
Home / Family / Elder Care
9 Unusual Truths About Nursing Homes
By:Martin Sabel
Let me give you a dose of reality when it comes to nursing homes. You may be shocked by whats revealed here. Few people really understand much about nursing homes. You'll have a much better understanding about how nursing homes work and the experience to expect after your loved one is admitted.
Truth #1: Some nursing homes provide better care than others.
Nursing homes, like people, have their own strengths, weaknesses and skill levels. While each nursing home offers the same basic services like nursing care, food service, activities, laundry and round the clock care some facilities will emphasize one type of care over another.
For example, some facilities cater to Alzheimer patients. Some offer on-site dialysis services. Others focus on rehabilitating stoke victims. If your loved one has special needs, find a facility that meets those needs. You get the most effective care that way.
Truth #2: Some people get better in a nursing home. Some can't .
If your mom is in the nursing home rehabilitating from a broken hip, you can realistically expect her to return home once the hip mends. But if she also has Alzheimer's disease, that same expectation may be unreal.
Alzheimer's sufferers have a difficult time understanding a therapist's instructions. If they can't duplicate instructions they can't participate in their rehab.
If they can't participate in rehab, the hip will not heal enough for her to regain its use. If she unable to regain her ability to walk, it's not because a shortcoming of the nursing home.
Truth #3: Mistakes happen.
Nursing homes are like every other business. Mistakes will happen. Don't expect perfection. You'll be disappointed. Even in the best-run nursing homes, errors are a fact of life.
Some will be minor like clothing getting lost or an aide being rude. Some can be serious like medication errors or inadequate hydration.
The key is how management responds. Nursing home
management wants to do a good job. The good ones
take full responsibility for the errors and take steps immediately to correct it so it doesn't happen again.
Management wants nursing home care to go smoothly. When it does you are happier with the care, the home is more profitable and the facility stays full.
Truth #4: Nursing homes are expensive.
The average cost of nursing home care across the USA is $55,000 per year. Some areas cost more, some less. Like any other service business, nursing homes expect to get paid.
The average nursing home stay is 29 months. Few families have an extra $132,917 hanging around (the average cost of care over 29 months. Paying nursing home costs produces a major stress for spouses both spouses and their adult children.
Truth #5:Medicare pays very little toward nursing home care.
The maximum Medicare will pay is for 100 days, but that's not guaranteed. Without long term care insurance in place, most families start out liquidating their savings, spending it down on
nursing home costs until they qualify for
Medicaid.
Medicaid is the only public program that pays nursing home costs. To qualify you must meet tight income and asset limits.
Truth #6: Ugly nursing homes can give great care.
Don't judge the quality of care by the nursing home's decor . We all have a tendency to prejudge a company's quality of service by how new the
place looks.
While it's nice to have pretty surroundings, it's not what counts. What matter are the people inside. Find out how conscientious and dedicated the people are inside the facility and you'll know the care quality you can expect.
Truth #7: People working in a nursing home want to do a good job.
Your attitude toward them directly impacts the quality of care. It also regulates your stress and anxiety level. People naturally respond better to those who treat them with respect and kindness. Think negatively towards the staff of the nursing home you select and you'll get negative results.
Truth #8: To get better care, shift your thinking.
One way to improve the overall nursing home experience is to make a slight shift in how you view your role there. Look at yourself as the individual responsible for selecting and managing a team to provides the care for your loved one.
It's your job to find, interview and hire the best staff to handle the job. By viewing yourself as an involved and caring manager of the care team, you'll feel more at cause over the activities of the staff.
In return they will be more receptive to you. You'll receive daily reports on your loved one's condition and how they have fared through out the day. Because the staff knows you care, they will gladly give you a heads up on health and social issues they see.
You'll be able to head off problems before they become serious. More importantly, you'll be more satisfied with the level of care provided.
Truth #9: To get the best care, visit frequently.
The quality of care rises directly with the amount of family involvement. The more family and friends visit a nursing home and the more involved you are with nursing home activities the better you'll understand how the nursing home functions.
The better you understand how a nursing home works, the easier it is for you to ensure your loved one gets quality care.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: nursing home, alzheimer's, care manager
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Martin Sabel, has developed a toolkit called "How To Find The Right Nursing Home". If you are worried about the safety and care of your loved one, this toolkit is a must. See for yourself at
|
|
| Top Elder Care Articles |
- 1). The Benefits Of Continuing Care Retirement Community By : Henry Clark
People nowadays have already realized the importance of saving for the future, especially for their retirement. This is because when they reach their retirement age, all they have to do is to relax and enjoy life together with the financial benefits that they themselves have tried to save little by little.
That is why, when it comes to retirement and the benefits that can be derived from it, people should take the matter seriously.
|
- 2). Managing Caregiver Guilt: 5 Tips To Manage Guilt So Guilt Serves You, Not Imprisons You By : Vicki Rackner MD
Guilt is a common feeling in the landscape of care giving. Guilt can propel you to be the best you can be …or it can immobilize you.
For caregivers, painful feelings -- such as guilt, sadness and anger -- are like any other pain. It’s your body’s way of saying, 'Pay attention.' Just as the pain of a burned finger pulls your hand from the stove, so, too, guilt guides your actions and optimizes your health.
|
- 3). Hearing Impaired? Hearing Aids? Advice for “Deafies” and those who put up with us By : Russ Miles
I have always had a hearing impairment. I was born with a 70% hearing loss in both ears. While I had a mother who was sensitive to my disability, I never believed there was anything wrong wth me. As a child, I refused to wear hearing aids.
When, at 19 years-of-age, I bought one hearing aid, it was as if someone turned the sound up. I felt even more invincible.
|
- 4). Be Prepared For Assisted Living By : John Morris
Assisted living is simply finding help in the form of a care giver or a family member assigned to assist an elder who with illness or diminished mental ability is no longer capable of living an independent life...
|
- 5). What's The Difference Between Alzheimer's and Dementia? By : Molly Shomer
"What's the difference between dementia and Alzheimer's?" It's a common question, and doctors are some of the best at confusing us. Physicians seem to prefer the word "dementia," possibly because Alzheimer's has become such a loaded word. "Dementia" somehow sounds less frightening to many people, and now even the experts have started using the words interchangeably.
|
- 6). Is Exercise a Natural Sleep Aid for Seniors? By : Isabelle Boulay
There are a number of reasons why exercise, particularly if performed at the right time of day, is considered the most positive sleep aid for seniors. None, however, are more significant than the fact that exercise is a completely natural form of aid. But before discussing why exercise is such a great sleep aid, it is important to examine both the definition of insomnia and the reasons that people suffer from this affliction.
|
- 7). Elder Day Care: A Novel Idea By : Jonesrck
Okay, we all know how hectic life is for people nowadays. We have jobs, kids, social lives, and other things that keep us busy.
People have been questioning for years the ethical argument regarding putting elderly people into nursing homes. Some people think that putting the elderly in places where they can be properly cared for is right, while others think that the abandonment of an elderly person's family just because of the complications is wrong.
|
- 8). The Differences In Elder Care Services By : Susie Drake
Time marches on and so do we. Before we know it, we are older and so are our parents or loved ones. Caring for them and being sure their needs are met become a prime concern especially when they begin to not be able to care for themselves as they used to. This dilemma touches most every family. The thing to avoid is to remain under a veil of ignorance by not understanding your options and waiting until the last minute to make an abrupt and often uniformed decision.
|
- 9). Tips For Seniors By : Wade Gibson
Since January, millions of seniors have enrolled in the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit plan. However, the task of choosing a plan may seem daunting and can often be confusing for seniors even after they have enrolled.
The decision to participate is important, and careful consideration is vital to ensure a plan is chosen that best meets a customer's needs.
|
- 10). Adjusting To An Aging Mind By : Wade Gibson
As our brains age, we're less likely to think as quickly or remember things as well as we used to. Research is now showing how the brain changes and adapts with age. You can use what we've learned and follow a few simple tips to help remember things and avoid scams.
Dr. Denise C. Park, director of the Roybal Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Illinois, explains that the knowledge we gain from life experience can sometimes compensate for other changes in our brains as we age.
|
| New Elder Care Articles |
|
|
|
|
- 3). A Grandparent’s Guide To Choosing Age Appropriate Toys By : P. Davis
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.3 million children are entrusted to their grandparents every day. Roles of a grandparent include spoiling and enlightening their grandkids with toys they will enjoy. After all, toys are considered to be treasures of childhood. With this role comes an added responsibility to make sure that grandchildren stay safe and enjoy a toy that is age-appropriate.
|
- 4). Managing Caregiver Guilt: 5 Tips To Manage Guilt So Guilt Serves You, Not Imprisons You By : Vicki Rackner MD
Guilt is a common feeling in the landscape of care giving. Guilt can propel you to be the best you can be …or it can immobilize you.
For caregivers, painful feelings -- such as guilt, sadness and anger -- are like any other pain. It’s your body’s way of saying, 'Pay attention.' Just as the pain of a burned finger pulls your hand from the stove, so, too, guilt guides your actions and optimizes your health.
|
- 5). Emergency Response Systems: My Experience By : R. Kingsley
One of the best ways to protect the indepencence of an elderly parent, or parents, as the case may be, is to set them up with an emergency response system.
First of all, the emergency alert system will give them the freedom of living alone because help, when needed, is only the push of a button away.
I know, because my 86 year old mother slipped and fell in her bedroom just a few feet away from her phone, but could not get to it to dial for help.
|
- 6). Stair Chair Lift: A Modern Day Wonder By : Teresa Lang
Have you even been to one of those historical shrines or perhaps ancient wonders where in you need to walk up more than 200 steps on the stairs, just to catch a glimpse of history? Whew! I’ve been to one. But going back is the farthest thing on my mind. In fact, had I known it was too be that exhausting, I would not have given it a time of the day. But what if you had no choice but to climb that flight of stairs…and everyday nonetheless!
Alright, so maybe not the 200 steps, at least a dozen or less.
|
- 7). 9 Quick Tips To Buying A Stair Lift By : Elizabeth Longbourne
Stair lifts provide more than just a means of getting from the downstairs floor of a house to the upstairs - they also represent mobility and independence to an ageing generation.
As time goes by, it is only natural that we find certain everyday activities, such as climbing the stairs, becoming increasingly difficult. For someone with limited mobility due to injury, disability or chronic diseases such as arthritis and angina installing a stair lift is a low-cost common sense solution.
|
- 8). Curved Stair Lifts – An Overview By : Elizabeth Longbourne
If you are looking to purchase a stair lift and are worried about getting one to fit because you have a curved, odd shaped staircase or multiple landings – dont be! Curved stair lifts are just what you need.
No matter what the configuration or layout of your staircase, stair lifts can be tailor made to the size and shape of virtually any staircase easily coping with bends, straights and landings.
|
- 9). Easy Movement with Chair Lifts By : Barney Garcia
Chair lifts are useful in enhancing the mobility of the people with handicaps. There are various types of chair lifts in the market, ranging from those that raise the chair to another level for stairs or vehicles to lifts that raise a person to a level that will allow them to stand. The most popular chair lifts are those that help people in wheelchairs get up the stairs.
|
- 10). Are you or your elderly parents moving to an Apartment from a house? Here's Help By : Karin Ahrman
So you're moving to an apartment, what do you do with all your favorite things you can't live without? Are your parents elderly and you're downsizing them? Sure you can't take everything, but you probably can manage your/their most valued pieces.
Admit it. We all have items that are precious to us and must be in the interior of our homes to make it home! Lets say Grandmas "chamber pot".
|
|
|
