What Elderly People Really Think Of Nursing Homes

The inevitability of old age brings with it various inabilities to even perform the most common personal tasks. At this point, a family can reach the painstaking decision of having their elderly relatives admitted to a nursing home. Although a tough decision, it’s the best thing that could help the elderly get the best care because if you come to think about it, life has gotten busier and you need that job to get going. There are various reasons that can contribute to a senior citizen being admitted to a nursing home. These reasons include deteriorating health, the inability to live on their own, the need for specialized care, loneliness, and lack of time on the part of the family. Unfortunately, not all senior citizens will be on board with this decision.

Read on to find out what elderly people think of nursing homes. 

1. Nursing Homes are a Strange World

Imagine leaving behind the place that you built, lived in for the better part of your life, a place you called home, and find yourself in a totally strange place. It can be painful and unpleasant, right? The elderly also feel the same. Yes, the reasons are genuine for taking them there, but they would prefer to stay in their homes. However, researching for the best local aged residences could help you land on the best elderly homes to put an elderly person at ease. The home must be comfortable and homely. You also have the option of bringing this care to their home when needed, especially if the option of going to a nursing home is unwelcomed.

2. They’ll Lose their Close Loved Ones

If your loved one has complex health conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, debilitating physical conditions, and sensory impairment problems, it can make it hard for them to cope with strange environments. They’ll want to be close to familiar environments and where they are monitored by familiar faces. But with the best care and frequent visits by loved ones, it can greatly help elderly persons settle in nursing homes with much ease. You just don’t want it to seem as though they’ll be losing you but to use the nursing home as a way to provide them with quality health care services.

3. It’s a Hub for Overmedication and Abuse

Over the past few years, there have been reported cases of abuse in some nursing homes. Among the reported cases involved overmedication and abuse of the elderly. But with raised awareness and the involvement of humanitarian bodies, such cases have dropped and things are much better. Now, such reports can cause fear and discord among senior citizens making it hard for them to fully accept these homes. But it’s for you to play your role to not only convince them but ensure that they’ll be in the right hands where they’ll get quality care services.

4. It is a Permanent Transition

Depending on the reasons for taking an elderly person to a nursing home, the stay there can range from a few months to indefinite. Unfortunately, some families decide to make their elderly loved ones stay in these homes indefinitely. This shouldn’t be so because, for starters, elderly homes are not confinement facilities. The nursing homes should only be used as homes where the quality provision of care to the elderly is emphasized.

5. It’s Purely Business and you Get What you Pay For

Most nursing homes are manned by nurses who are trained to handle different cases in the provision of specialized care. But from an elderly person’s point of view, it could be different. For them, the homes are just another paid assistance station and the nurses are the ‘attending officers’. Furthermore, they might reason that the care accorded to them is based on the amount of money paid for their stay. But this is just from their point of view. There are so many nursing homes praised the world over for the quality services they provide. It just requires that you conduct extensive research on the best homes before making that final decision.

Nursing homes are essential health care institutions that provide necessary and specialized care to the elderly. However, the elderly don’t always view it that way. As a family, you need to find a way to inform them of the decision you are making and the reasons why. Additionally, if the elderly family member doesn’t feel comfortable being in a nursing home, there are alternative means such as specialized home care.

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