In this article, I want to explain to you and your family how to make the right decision.
With the aging of the population, more and more of us face the dilemma of placing an elderly family member in a retirement home. It can be a decision that occurs suddenly after hospitalization or gradually as caring for an elderly person becomes more and more burdensome.
This decision may be postponed due to myths about the functioning of these institutions. To make it easier for everyone to make the right decision, it is important to find out everything there is to know about nursing homes.
What should be the ideal nursing home or specialist nursing home?
In the nursing home, apart from the hospital, there is usually the highest level of care for the sick. Nursing home workers should provide assistance with getting out of bed, with feeding and bathing. In an ideal retirement home, a licensed physician oversees the care of each patient and other medical staff are almost always on site. Other doctors and occupational or physical therapists should be available by telephone. This allows medical procedures and some treatments to be carried out directly on the spot.
Myths about nursing homes
- If we cannot look after our relatives at home, a retirement home is the only option
Nowadays, we find many solutions to help the elderly at home. Starting from assistance with errands or laundry, to providing assistance in accessing medical services. If care at home is possible and there is no need for constant monitoring of the relative's health, staying with an elderly person is the best solution. Even when qualified medical care is needed from time to time, it is better for a nurse or a doctor to visit the sick person at home.
- Nursing homes are for people whose relatives are not interested in them.
Many cultures strongly believe that it is the responsibility of children to look after their parents. Unfortunately, there are many smaller families living further apart in the world today. People often leave for work, and caring for a relative with a chronic illness is sometimes not feasible. When such a family finds a retirement home for an elderly person, it does not mean that they do not care for their relatives. When we are unable to provide the necessary care, the appropriate decision is to find a location where your relative's needs will be met.
- Seniors' homes are poorly run, which is why me and my family are afraid to leave the elderly in the retirement home.
Research shows that it is not true that all retirement homes provide mediocre care. There are more and more opportunities to collect future whereabouts data for a relative. We can easily find information about the facility online, and each violation is made public and generally available, so that it is easier for you to make a decision.
- When I enter the retirement home, I will stay there permanently.
Certain diseases or injuries require the elderly to stay in a retirement home for the rest of their lives. However, many people end up in a retirement home after unforeseen surgery, such as a fall. After a period of rehabilitation care, returning to a former life is quite possible.
