How do you feel about putting elderly into assisted living homes?
many societies/cultures always take care of their elderly and rely on the community and family to help them when they can’t themselves. We tend to put our elderly into old age homes when they can’t do anything anymore. How do you feel about this?
Tagged with: cultures
Filed under: Presbyopia
Sometimes its the best place for them.
I have yet to see that in the Latino community.
I don’t like it.
i think it’s best to take care of them at home if at all possible, but i realize that isn’t always a possibility. either way, the elderly are not given the respect they deserve most of the time (in the U.S.)
If they are a danger to themself I say they need to go.
I’m just waiting for my sister to get old enough. I’d like to put that crazy, mean, cat lady away!
I think assist living places are great….I think there are people stuck in nursing homes that could have a great and productive life if someone took a minute and took care of them…nursing homes are like foster places for old people.
I figure it like this. My parents took care of me for a minimum of 18 years. Then I had to move back in for a couple of months, so I can take care of them when the time comes. If I need and Adult sitter when I go to work, then that is what I’ll do. I can make time for my parents and rearrange my schedule since they did it for me.
many of thoes socities are close nitt too unlike america we just cant trust anyone and techinically that is leaving the society to take care of our elderly they just simply are not living at home with a working mother of 3 trying to struggle and then has to take care of her mother i say if it is a nice home which some of them look better than my house and the nursing home is verry reputible then i would do it but if its one of toes sad depressing ones then no
I think it depends on a lot of things. If the elderly person is more independent they will probably feel happier in the home. And is the family able to have the elderly person in their home? Will they be able to take care of their relative like they need to be taken care of. Do they have the room for everyone to live comfortably? You have to look at a lot of stuff here.
*Rachel*
Well those who have no family have no other choice but I think since my mother has given all of her good years taking care of me when she gets to be very old and can’t do stuff for her self I’ll keep her. I know it’s tough work but I’ll be there and if I can’t I still keep her and have a nurse just for her. I will have hidden cameras cause I won’t want anybody hurting her while I’m away. But I think it’s sad when family members do that to get rid of them.They should help them with love as how they did when they were young.
I feel likes that’s an awful thing to do, We were lucky that when my mother got old we all got together and took care of her till she passed. We never once thought about a care center. Our parents gave us life and took care of us as a child, we should show respect and do the same when they get old.
I agree, it used to be a family situation where everybody took responsibility; these days most people work and aren’t able to take that on full time, as far as assisted living I think if it’s necessary the person or persons should be fully prepared to deal with that; it’s a final step, and the home should be fully investigated to be sure it’s a safe and healthy place
My family has always taken care of our ‘Grands’. Just because they are old doesn’t make them any less of a family member. I think that homes for the elderly are for people who don’t have family or who choose to be there but that is just my thought on it. The elderly are gems, we should treasure them. Even the ones we aren’t related to, we would learn so much about life best from the ones who have lived it already. Best Wishes ! Cool Question.
I use to work security in a nursing home. It is very depressing to see someone put in a home. Especially if they do not need full care. I seen so many countless elderly people able to take care of themselves with little or no help needed just placed into a home by there family cause they didn’t want to bother with them. If you’ve ever just sat down with one of these people and ask them to tell you about there life. It is an AMAZING story to hear.I’ve listened to stories about the first car, the early wars, advances in technology, etc. It makes me sad to see that happen just for the kids to never come and visit till he/she passes away.
I work in a nursing home…. I feel its a good decision if the elderly person needs that type of care…. there is ALWAYS someone checking on your loved one…someone who is skilled in taking care of emergency situations… you must remember… taking care of the elderly is alot different than taking care of a baby….If someone is not able to take care of your elderly loved one because they need special care then the best decision for all involved is to put them in an assisted living facility…. but go see them a lot… we have many residents whose families dont come in… we end up their family.
Great question and good points!
I live with my 80 yr. old father for the last ten years. After my mother died of cancer, I didn’t have the heart to leave him alone. I also work in a assistant living home and enjoy it very much. Although my true belief is family should always be there for family. Unless there has been domestic abuse involved. My parents raised me, taught me their values, (argued with me over mine)fed me, sheltered me, worried about me, prayed for me, Most of all the ADOPTED me and the list goes on….They did all this because they loved me. Now it is my turn to do all the same back.
Taking care of elderly is OK if there is a large family willing to share the responsibility. From personal experience and being an only child I looked after my elderly father for 2 years on my own and had to put him into a nursing home in the end as I was on the edge of a physical breakdown. This wasn’t a thing I wanted to do and i took some convincing that I would be unable to look after him if I became ill. There are a lot of people out there these days who seem to put themselves first. This seems to be the way or society is going at the present time.
So many people ignore their children, and then wonder why when they are old their children ignore them. I don’t agree with either one.
Sadly it gets to a point where you just cannot take care of them anymore. Caring for a disabled person is very demanding physically and mentally not to mention financially. And some require treatments and medical equipment you just cannot provide at home. Lifting them into wheelchairs and transferring them is very hard and It also requires somebody to be around all the time to take care of them. If you can afford a private duty nurse that’s great but even they can only be around so many hours of the day.
You also need to be able to take the disabled person to all of their doctor’s appointments and treatments. Once again to do this you have to transfer them from the wheelchair to your car and store the chair unless you own a special equipped van which is pretty expensive. Which if you have to give up a job to care for them. You also have to pay for treatments and necessities which aren’t covered by insurance.
Many times you also have to outfit your house with necessary equipment to care for a disabled person like wheelchair ramps, chairlifts, safety bars in the bathroom, special adapters for the toilet, etc.
If you don’t have adequate insurance this is all 1,000 fold harder than it sounds so in the end it is best to bite the bullet and send them somewhere they can get the care they need.
Some people require medical care that family members at home are not equipped to deal with. I cared for a family member for 12 ( not 22, sorry!) years, and since I have seen both sides, I can tell you that caring for an adult with Alzheimers is the hardest thing ANY one family can do. Once the get to the point where they are violent, refuse to eat, and will not take their medicine then we’ll see how well you deal with it at home.
I believe in putting elderly in because quite often, the family is ill equipped and not trained to handle common elderly problems like:
their inability to move due to painful osteoperosis, arthritis…
cannot handle the mood swings and memory loss/hostility/depression due to:
Alzheimers or dimentia
cannot protect their loved one from:
adverse reactions to over-medication or drug interactions
cannot safely maneuver them:
in the shower or pick them up when they’ve fallen
cannot always safely transfer them:
FROM their wheelchair to toilet, bed, shower or car.
cannot offer proper physical therapy for:
poor circulation, edema and increasing limited movement of extremities.
If family members were SKILLED caretakers, there would never be a need for assisted living. As a caseworker nurse and advocate for skilled care INSIDE the home, I see value in placing certified homecare aids with people who need them, regardless of age. Two considerations make skilled care facilities the LAST resort:
1. The person must give up the majority of their belongings and all of their privacy.
2. They get frightened when they awake in the middle of the night and DON’T know where they are due to unfamiliar surrpoundings you don’t get at home.
It is disgraceful! I worked in assisted living facilities doing additions to the facilityin construction, so I was exposed to the entire population. I would say that about half of them were happy there because I got to know all of them, and I really like old people and they enjoy the company of others, whereas they had been living alone before and solitary and their children were not visiting. And some needed medical attention as far as oxygen, help in the shower, wheel chair bound. I did some work on the alzheimer’s unit and it was a nightmare and I could never do this job. It has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. They were fine physically but no mind at all. These are the people that should be in assited living without a choice in the matter because there is no way the family can take care of them and watch them every second. It is odd that we don’t take the time to take care of the elderly as we did in generations ago. But I suppose times change, people change, values, morals, ethics, etc….. It is the almighty dollar that causes this selfishness towards our elderly. If either of my parents becomes unable to care for themselves I will bring them to live with me if they so chose. Or they might like the assited living as they are outgoing, social people and may benefit more from being there. It is a tough question. I hope I have given you an informed, unbiased open honest answer that will help you if you are trying to make a decision about this. It really is dependent on their health conditon and personality & whether they are suited to this lifestyle