Should the elderly be sent to nursery homes?

Answer 1

only as last resort

Answer 2

This question could only be raised in the United States. In many other countries, the elderly remain with the family and are cared for and provided for at home. It is noteworthy that in metropolitan Manila, with a population of about 14 million, there is only one nursing home! In Los Angeles County plus Orange County, California, with a comparable population, there are something like 400 nursing homes!

Not unless they require the skilled nursing care provided there. Nursing homes are very expensive, and over time tend to exhaust the resources of the elderly person. When the elderly person is "spent down," that person then becomes a burden on the state Medicaid program

Ideally, most of us would prefer to remain in our own homes if possible and as long as possible. Many elderly persons need help with some or many of the activities of daily living, but not skilled medical help, and if unable to remain in their homes, would do just fine in an assisted living facility or residential care facility for the elderly, and at half the cost of a nursing home.

Answer 3

No, the family members of the elderly person should want more for them than to place them in a nursery home. You make it sound like a prison sentence. And, I wonder who would determine at what age we would be "elderly". I have seen younger people in nursing homes, so it isn't always about the elderly. A nursing home is usually an option for a person that cannot take care of themselves and has nobody that can take care of them full time.With Dad and Mom both working to support a household nowadays, it is hard to find too many American families who can stay at home to take care of an elderly relative. And, I am single and have no family, so who else would take care of me?

Answer 4

Last year, an elderly lady I know had to send her husband to one. He had developed dementia - kept forgetting who she was, where he was; made violent threatening gestures at her; was urinating around the house. Of course he needed to go into a home. Life is not airy-fairy land - people get old, they get dementia and it's not pretty - they can't wash or dress or toilet themselves, don't eat properly, get aggressive and abusive, wander, can't look after their homes.
In a perfect world, everyone would stay all lovely and nice, then die suddenly in their beds in their sleep.
However, life's not like that. Old age can be a scary place.

Answer 5

If they have medical needs that can't be met at home or if there is no one willing to tend to their needs, then as a last resort, the nursing home is an option...although, I might like to try the nursery myself...it doesn't sound as depressing.

Answer 6

No, they can be very productive explaining the difference between nursing and nursery homes to children in nursery schools.

And I second the TWIT comment from one of the earlier answers.

Answer 7

Only as a last resort as they often are not well cared for...at least that has been my experience with friends placed there, unless they are visited OFTEN. Plus with the world the way it is I see the future of these becoming less and more people staying at home with help until they are very fragile, and even then it will be less expensive to have them in a home with family and people coming into care for them. Just my take on it.

Answer 8

Only as the ultimate and final resort! (No pun intended). If I ever get to that point where I cannot care for myself, then I suppose that that is where I will wind up! And I plan to haunt the people who put me in a nursing home for the rest of their days! But having said that - I do have a plan B.
CJ

Answer 9

Only if the elderly individuals wish to be sent to nursing homes.

However, I'd be in favor of providing firearms to elderly people so's they'd be equipped to shoot it out with anyone who'd try to force them to go into a nursing home.

Other than that I have no strong feelings on the matter.

Answer 10

I have worked in over 20 nursing homes during a long career as a rehab professional, so I think I may be able to dispell some misconceptions about them.
In a perfect world, sure, it would be great to care for the patient at home, but not all (in fact, very few) families have the human or financial resources to care for their loved ones at home. Private-duty caregivers (not nurses-- they run up to $50 per hour) can cost up to $20/hr, particularly if hired through a home health agency. Nursing homes operate much less expensively on a monthly basis.
Remember, too, that in the US, both parents must work to support their family. We no longer live in homes with extended families who, years ago, helped to care for a debilitated patient.
Not all nursing homes are "snake pits", though they do exist.
The ones that violate the regulations are faced with hefty fines.The state reviewers are RNs and the inspect EVERYTHING in the building, from patients' charts, the condition of residents' skin integrity, to under the refrigerators in the kitchen-- even the standardization of the scoops used by the cooks when putting the food onto the residents' plates.
Nursing homes fulfill an important need in our society for individuals who cannot take care of themselves due to dementia or neurologic or orthopedic decline, or are incontinent of bowels and bladder. Poor seniors are often eligible for Medicaid, which covers 100% of the nursing home care.
Many families are also unable to care for elderly family members due to economic hardship or having disabilities or small children themselves.
Nursing home administrators and the top nursing staff (the Director of Nurses, or the staff developer) hire the nursing assistants and keep a very close eye on them and the care patients receive. This is not true of home health workers, as the agency does not observe their workers while patient care is happening. A home health worker is more likely to abuse a patient and get away with it than a CNA in a nursing home.
Most of the nursing homes I worked in have nutritious meals and the guidance of rehab professionals in safe feeding practices for patients with a swallowing disorder or who are unable to feed themselves. A registered dietitian keeps statistics on weight gain/loss and makes recommendations for appropriate supplementation based on food intake and special diets, clinical laboratory data, and the diagnosis of the patient. You don't get these things at home.
Nor are you likely to be able to provide intellectually stimulating activites for 6 hours a day, either.
The most important thing you can do for your loved one is to know how to pick out a good nursing home. Laymen have no training in how to pick one, or how to check one out to learn of state-determined violations and what corrective actions have been addressed by the facility.
Investigate through your state's nursing home regulatory agency. This agency will have all the info you need for the previous 5 years to check out a facility long before you walk in the door.
When visiting a facility NEVER call first, and always go during mealtime (lunch or dinner, as residents usually eat in their rooms at breakfast). You can ask all the questions you want, and are likely to get straight answers from the CNAs about how happy they are working there. That's one of the best predictors of how good a facility is.
Oh yes; a board and care is assisted living or independent living (most have these separated) and lots of seniors actually enjoy the social inclusion in such facilities and the fact they don't have to prepare their own meals, do their laundry, or do their housekeeping any longer. It actually is a great way to keep seniors active, longer.
So, think twice before you decide you "would never put my mom or dad in a nursing home or board and care". My mom was in the best one in our county, but I knew how to find the best. I was more than satisfied with her care, and I know I couldn't have done half of the job that those caregivers did..

Answer 11

I'm disabled and I took care of my Mother so she wouldn't have to go into a nursing home. Feed her by tube in her stomach, gave her meds, got her up and walked everyday for 13 years. And it was never easy but it was the right thing after you see some of the poor people in homes with nobody and no hope