The Importance Of Nursing Homes Are The Best Places For The Elderly

Choosing a long-term care facility can be very difficult because of incidents of abuse and/or neglect reported against care facilities can be overwhelming. For example in “Ending Elder Abuse: A family guide”, Diane Sandell lists many elder abuse incidents from her files such as: neglect of decubitis ulcers led to infection, sepsis, gangrene, and death. Facility failed to provide necessary diabetic diet; improper insulin administration, insulin overdose; dehydration and death. Resident left alone in chair in shower room fell, became paralyzed from neck down. Many reports of pinching, rough handling, slapping, yelling, threats (2000). It is believed that abuse is most likely to occur if the caregiver not only finds the work difficult but also (1) works full time, (2) cares for young children, (3) is poor, (4) feels little affection for the older person, (5) finds the elderly person very difficult, and (6) gets no support or help from others (Macionis, 2005). Although there is no excuse for abusing elderly Americans, it is still very prominent in today’s society. Diane Sandell explains in Ending Elder Abuse, that her 91 year old mother was beaten by a long-term care facility employee in the middle of the night for reasons unknown. It is stated that her mother died 6 weeks after the incident, unable to recover mentally from the abuse (2000).

Barry Corbet states his experience in a nursing home in his essay “Embedded.” A nursing home is a private institution for elderly or sick people who are unable to care for themselves. Corbet’s essay says “Nursing homes are environments of isolation and disempowerment” (Corbet 165). “Nursing homes are not just for old people, they can be for people with disabilities also” (Corbet 164). Both age and disabilities can be a huge factor when considering a nursing home.

Australia is one of the most advantaged aged care systems in the world. The increasing numbers of ageing population is one of the major transformations being experienced by

Assisted living helps each person value life to its fullest potential. When it comes to making an older individual feel more at home and also be able to focus more on non-stressful activities, they need to be ensured the best care. “Families feel more confident and are less ‘protective’ when there is continuity in staff and they are deemed competent. Staff are more likely to be retained where they feel valued”2 part of the quote which is especially conducive to the argument is, “where they feel valued.” When picking and choosing a nursing home that fits individual the best, and will provide them with the care needed, it is important to make sure that everyone is valued in the process. This quote is important because if the workers are not being taken care of, then they are less enthusiastic and also less likely to give someone’s loved one the care needed and to know what is expected from them. It is assumed that when picking an assisted living home, that the well being of the person and also many other characteristics are taken into

When you hear the words, “Nursing Home”, what comes to mind? Sad, helpless, elderly individuals? The smell of urine? An overall, unpleasant place to reside in? Unfortunately, this generic description is accurate amongst majority of the nursing home facilities across the United States. More often than not, the elderly suffer from inhumane living conditions while residing in a nursing facility. Quite often we hear stories on the news about cases of elder abuse in the nursing home and we automatically think physical, mental, or emotional abuse from caregivers. However, the fact that these individuals are also living amongst unsanitary, inhumane conditions, and ran by a staff that includes

| * Identified the minimum levels of care a vulnerable adult should be given in care homes

The Long-Term Care Act was to benefit and work with seniors to improve their overall well-being. The Long-Term Care Homes Act guarantees to help residents living within the long-term care system to receive dependable, high-quality, and safe care for the residents. It is often common for seniors to adjust when placed in long-term care as this is a new and challenging transition for the senior and their families. The commonplace goal is to have a long-term care home environment where residents feel comfortable and at home, where residents are treated with the respect they deserve, and have the proper supports and services that cherish to their particular needs for their overall health and well-being. These services are physical and mental health related services- especially one that relates to the Community Worker Program such as Community and Social Workers that are crucial in a senior’s life often.

My second quote I will give to support this is “The nursing home is a mess. There’s vomit and bodies everywhere. ”p.256 This says that nursing homes would deteriorate, and that care for older people might disintegrate altogether. people couldn’t have the care that they need, and honestly, other younger people might take their priority anyway.

In Being Mortal, Atul Gawande painted a little depressing picture of the realities faced by the elderly in the US nowadays: declining health status, economic insecurity, and loss of independence. It seems once the older people move into nursing homes or assisted living facilities, they lose autonomy, dignity and privacy as the institutions are not able to fully individualize care. Even though the situation has been improving, it still shocks me to see how unhappy some of the elderly are in these circumstances. Realizing senior care facilities often fail to address all aspects of well-being, I would like to explore the issues of promoting both objective and subjective component in quality of care for the older people.

Are nursing homes abusing and neglecting the elderly? The elderly are abused and neglected in society today by caregivers in nursing homes. Elder abuse or neglect is a single or repeated action occurring within any relationship where there is an overlook of trust which causes injury or distress to an older person.

Both of the gentlemen stated they had been in other homes and that this was the nicest home they had been in. Kenneth complained of his first home ¡°smelling more like a zoo than a nursing home.¡± John told me that his last home was on the South Side and that the neighborhood was filled with gang bangers and hoodlums. When his family visits here though, they wheel him through the Lincoln Park neighborhoods and it¡¯s nice. For all of the questions that I asked these two men, they had just as many questions for me. Heading in to this assignment, I hadn¡¯t really considered that someone would be asking ME questions. In the midst of all that happens in nursing homes, it¡¯s important to remember that these residents aren¡¯t just dependent, older people, but that they are still people just like you and I.

The author of this article, David McKie a CBC crew member describes the situation of nursing homes in Canada. He talks about abuse from the staff and from the seniors. This article specifically refers to two examples in Canada of this abuse and it also states that about seventy percent of nursing homes are a dumping place for elderly who are “mentally unstable”. McKie states that it is difficult to know exactly what is going on in nursing homes because the staff are aware when a safety check is going to happen and can fix whatever is wrong before this time comes. The CBC crew is still attempting to get more information from nursing homes

Before there was any type of reform, legislation those that were running these Long-Term Services were abusing and neglecting the patients they were be paid to take care of, in light of quality of life. They were giving them medications that were keep them in deep trances were they didn’t have to care for them, but could keep them in a trance like state for hours and even days at times. “Although Nursing Home Care in general has improved, problems persist in areas relevant to end-of-life care, including pressure sore, malnutrition, dehydration, pain and quality of life.” (Sarah Thompson, 2008 ) These were all serious issues that needed to be addressed and major improvements starting happening within Long-Term

The book As We Are Now, written by May Sarton, targets those concerned with the care of elderly individuals in nursing homes. In the book, Sarton artistically highlights the plethora of ongoing issues social workers face in their work as they attempt to provide quality care to the elderly population. The book is written as the memoirs of a very thoughtful elderly woman, Caroline Spenser, as she spent part of her life in a nursing home; and brings to light the lack of quality of care that elderly individuals received when living in such a facility in the 1970’s.

It happens to most people. You start getting older, and you realize living in your current home is no longer safe or logical. You know you need a little extra help, but as you look at nursing homes in Toowoomba, you begin to wonder if there are other options. If any of the following four things apply to you, a nursing home might not be the best option for you.