what do you think about NURSING HOMES? Have you ever had anyone you love in one? Did the staff work hard?

Question

to keep the person clean, bathed, comfortable, well fed? The basic needs - were they well taken care of? Why or why not? The amount of money spent by each patient would buy an all expense paid luxury cruise. What are they getting at the home? What can anybody do, or what have they done to make Nursing Homes good?http://yellowwallpaper.net/blog1/category/caregiving/

Answer 1

I am actually a Certified Nursing Assistant and I work in a nursing home. Everyday its a stuggle to do my job and come home not crying. I work with so many people who have no heart nurses and other CNA's. I report problems to the nurses and they blow it off my co workers are either outside smoking or hanging out in a patients room gossiping. We have a total of about six people who come to work and actually care about the patients. I report the problems to the administrator and DON but nothing is ever done. They pretend not to see whats goign on. To work in geriatrics you must have a compassionate heart. I treat these patients as if they were my family. I do what they ask and i go the extra mile to make them comfortable. I am not well liked at my job becasue they say I spoil the patients. I see peopel not touched for a entire shift hair goes uncombedm, teeth unbrushed, nails long and dirty, skin break down from noone helping them to the bathroom or changing them. Yet everyone acts as if they see nothing. I encourage family members to go and complaint ot the administator or the owner if that doesnt work. I dotn know what else to do. I love helping but at the same tiem i am driving myself nuts beacuse my co workers.

Answer 2

Hard question to answer, my Mom was in a nursing home, I was there every night until I got sick and was hospitalized myself, though I had a brother and sister, they were NO help at all, I took care of my Mom the best I could, even when in the nursing home, it was hard. But after they got all her money, around $4,000 a month, and she was in there for about 1 year and a half, which I still harbor alot of guilt because she never wanted to be in a nursing home, I think for the most part the people work their tails off, but like anything else, some people are just there for the money and they don't care about the residents. But the home Mom was in that was to a minimum and most of the people did care for the residents. If I could do things differently today I would, I really miss my Mom. It has been alittle over 2 years that Mom passed. :( Great question, though.

Answer 3

My grama and my great-aunt both stayed in nursing homes, in small rural towns. I've also visited Hubbies uncle in one, which was in a huge city w/ an international airport. QUITE a difference!

Even though the homes in the small rural towns (I'm talking population under 5,000) were not as fancy or big, the staff was outstanding. Many of them had family staying there, also, so I think that helped. Also, many, many volunteers! I couldn't believe the volunteer force they had...young and old. The many churches in surrounding area had groups come in and also the local public/private schools had volunteers come in. (Some public schools have volunteer programs for the kids and they have to do SOMETHING to earn points. Other kids simply like to help out.) Granted, it does take a huge amount of time to drive out from the city to visit the relative in the small-town facitlities. But it's definitely worth it, in my opinion.

Now, in comparison, Hubbie's uncle was in a huge inner-city nursing home. We live approximately 300 miles away in another state, so whenever we visited my in-laws, we'd go see him a few times while in town. He was on Medicaid, so be warned. I'm sure the metropolitan facilities that are more expensive are much better, but I've never had any experience personally with those.

Uncle's place was HORRIBLE. Every time we visited, as soon as we walked through the door, this horrible STENCH would hit us in the face. I called it piss-smell. Awful. Uncle was set in a wheelchair all day and left. Never given therapy (he lost his voice and use of his left arm). We had sent him photos, and when we visited him, we couldn't find them in his part of the room, so we asked the staff. They found them. They had never even opened the letter for him! I'm not saying all city nursing homes are this bad, but I wonder.

I think the only true way you are going to be able to check out a place, is to become a spy and get a job there or volunteer. I DEFINITELY would not tell them you have a relative that you may place there! Also, ask questions of visitors that come there, how satisfied they are with the care, etc. Maybe you have co-workers, friends that have experience with surrounding nursing homes?

I have a friend that gives me her AARP magazines when she's done (www.aarp.org). There is a lot of info on their website about nursing homes. Both of the nursing homes locally here, have recently added apartments. I think they call it extended care. Anyway, it's pretty cool. They have their own kitchen, so they can fix their own meals, but if they want, they can also just walk down the hall for every meal. Or have a cup of coffee and visit while everyone else is eating. It works really well, if one spouse is in the nursing home, but nothing wrong w/ the other spouse yet. They can still be close, but the other spouse can still have their own space, if they want, still go drive to do their own thing, etc. Like I said, pretty cool. This is much more expensive, I would imagine then a regular apartment, but may be worth looking into for your loved one.

Let us know what you find out, ok? Good luck.

Answer 4

Our loved one spent 5 years in a nursing home before passing away. While the nursing staff and others want to do a good job, often times there were staff shortages and budget cutbacks so that patients were neglected on occasion. A family member of ours was at the nursing home several times per day taking care of feeding, cleaning, massaging, visiting, etc. The patient complained regularly about the time it took for nursing staff to answer the call light.

We tried several nursing homes before settling on one that our patient liked....

The bottom line for us: the nursing home costs bankrupted the patient and spouse, and the care offered was not what it we would have liked it to be--not that it was horrible, the care just wasn't what we thought was being paid for.

Answer 5

I don't know what nursing homes are like right now, but I worked in them when I was in college. I worked in a county home for 2 years and it was clean and wonderful. I was shocked. Nursing homes scared me before that. Now, I love the elderly and always have. I worked in a "pool" for 2 years and went to many private homes. Some were "luxury" homes, but some were lower budget. They don't have a lot of money to work with. The staff is underpaid. They work hard and they do important work and don't get respect or pay for doing it. I admire and thank people that are nurses & nursing assistants. I guess if I had to put my parents in one, I'd check it out first. Become a visitor to one and get to know the staff & residents, etc. The most important thing I've seen is to make sure if you have a loved one in there, to visit often. Think of it as their own apartment and you can go check on them daily, etc. My friend has dinner with her mother everyday in one.

I think nursing homes get a bad rap & I think the people work hard. If you are involved with one, thank the staff often and tell them when they do things good, etc. We have so many "National ________ Weeks", it's too bad we don't have a "National Nursing home Staff Week" because they do such an important job.

Answer 6

My mother is currently in a nursing home. She is very well cared for there. She has three meals a day plus snacks if she wants them. The nursing staff work very hard there to care for all the people.They are kind as well as hard working. the beds are changed everyday and floors are always clean. She can go to the recreation room and play bingo or to hear a sermon on Sunday.She has her own phone and is surrounded by her favorite knick-knacks.She is in her right mind and knows everything that goes on with her.They bathe her regularly and changes her clothes daily. the highlight of her week is when someone comes to visit and offers to brush or wash her hair.If she misses a Sunday the pastor calls on her to have special prayer. My mom is happy.She has her own tv set too and never misses a soap opera.

Answer 7

There are some that are better than others but I've yet to see one that was outstanding.

The RN's sit behind their stations and bark orders, the MA's and the CNA's run themselves ragged and paid poorly -though they are paid better than most people at their education levels....

Some put on a show for families. All will try to buy families.

But the reality of nursing homes is that they are where many are sent to die. They are not happy places. Even if they are clean - they are still sad.

Go and visit some. See for yourself. Smell the smells (you will NEVER forget them) and be humbled by the fact it could be you someday.

Nursing homes are notorious for dehumanizing people. They don't mean to usually but it happens anyway.

Answer 8

Few of the many reasons why: 1. Filipinos are known for being hospitable 2. They are patient and diligent compared to other people 3. They are caring and they treat other people they get close to like their "own family" 4. They are also famous for being kind and treat other people nicely And it's not true they cannot communicate. Filipinos are also known for being "good" in English even without proper education and even with that "accent". This cannot be changed. Filipinos are in demand for a reason, a reason which is not bad at all. Please do not stereotype or degrade anyone just because they are Filipino. Most of these Filipinos are educated at least but job opportunities in the Philippines are hard so they go abroad just to provide for their families.

Answer 9

Whether you call it assisted living, rest homes, retirement center or whatnot, there has to be enough mental stimulation to keep both mind and body alert; otherwise, it's just warehousing.

You must look at the layout of the facility and whether they have the ability to lock down ot protect wanderers from wandering off. And what happens when they slide into dementia and Alzheimer's? Will you havde to move them again?

YOU may need to spend the money for an Eldercare Assessment, an organization that can direct you to the proper facility based on that person's needs

Answer 10

My Mother fell and broke her hip at 83. I wanted her at home but was told there was no way we could care for her. The first Nursing Home was pure hell. I told them no drugs, but behind my back started giving her sleeping pills, so she would become like so many you see out of it. I found her bed made up, when I pulled back the covers, it was made up over wet sheets. I came to visit one day and found my Mother in the hall, with a nose bleed and passed out. I couldn't get her to wake up. I was mad as hell. When I asked what they had her on, they said nothing, but I said bullcrap. They then said, just something to help her sleep. I took her home right then. We put her in another that we were told was the best, but soon we found the same things going on.

Sad to say but most are under staffed, and get hardened. If you must put someone in a home, then I would say to make surprise visits, go and watch them at mealtime,bedtime,bathtime. Watch if they start using drugs,or something to put them to sleep.