Best Place for Elderly: Nursing Homes?

A nursing home is an institution, public or private, which is used for specialized care for the chronically ill or elderly individuals who can no longer take care of their selves. Aged people develop body and mental complications which might make the person not suitable to stay in a
hospital or at home due to the complexity of the ailment. These ailments associated with old age includes memory loss, mobility difficulties, Alzheimer’s among others. The above psychological and physical conditions, makes it difficult for the persons living with the elderly person.

This is because, they require a twenty-four hour care and monitoring.

They need medication and provision of the basic needs such as food, clothing and proper sanitary assistance. One maybe unable to do the above in person due to a certain disability, therefore readily available assistance is necessary. Some conditions of the elderly people may need
professional knowledge and medical facilities which are not available at the residential. It is clear that, the elderly will not be well attended at home and will create a burden to the family members.

They may not get the constant care they need and may end up being neglected. Being lonely in the house without anyone to motivate them and offer occupational therapy may result to depression. Depression worsens the health of the individual. A lot of working hours are spent in attending them and the family members would not be able to do their activities as expected. Once the individual is left alone, he may end up harming himself while trying to do some activity.

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For instance, one can fall off a wheelchair or the Alzheimer’s victims may fall on objects or fire and suffer injuries or death incase nobody is in sight. This shows that,
more specialized personnel and facilities are of vital in taking care of the elderly persons.

Nursing homes have trained nurses with all the related medical experience and the necessary medical tools to assist them in attending the elderly on a twenty-four basis. Hence, the elderly should be taken to nursing homes for better custodial care. Nursing homes should be a
priority when considering the well-being of an elder person. They offer better assistance and care to the elderly and they have the professional knowledge in handling the old. Nursing homes have many benefits to the old person and also to the family members.
There is always a twenty-four emergency response unlike home. This is because, the elderly persons are in the same premises with the nurses who mostly are on patrol. The constant availability of the nurses also ensures medication monitoring and inspection of health progress.
Any negative changes are noticed in advance and treated. The nurses also provide personal care to the old. This includes provision of nutritious foods and also feeding those who cannot do it by themselves. Toilet assistance, bathing and proper dressing is guaranteed in the nursing homes.

Nursing homes provides sufficient space for the elderly and boarding facilities which ease the movement and the care of the elderly (Doty et al, pg. 24). The rooms and beds are made to comfortably suit a certain medical need making the person comfortable. The medical facilities
assist in medical diagnosis, treatment and physical therapy and are available any time needed. In the nursing homes, the elderly can be engaged activities which can occupy their minds and with some positive outcomes. They can be given a scheduled activity to do on daily basis or twice a week such as visitinga particular event or place.

As a group, they are encouraged to participate in recreational activities to create fun which might not be possible at home. This activities makes them more energetic to even do an exercise on their own. This acts as a means of reducing depression. Creation of fun at home may
be difficult because the family members are actively participating in their daily activities. Being at the nursing homes, the elderly are far away from their daily chores. Therefore, the stay in the nursing home is leisure time which helps more in doing something constructive to the health of the elderly. The recreational activities in the nursing homes also give the individuals a chance to build a new life.

In the nursing homes, peers are brought together and this helps in that, the individuals are able to share same stories of interest. They can interact and socialize with their age mates making them feel as a family group. The feeling of being at home and the therapeutic recreation assist them in coming up with new ways doing what they used to do while they were able. This is usually achieved through occupational therapy. Lastly, nursing homes gives the residents an opportunity to give back to the society through fund-raising and donations. This can be done by charitable organizations or individuals for personal satisfaction. This helps improve the standards of the care and services provided to the elderly.

However, when an elderly person is admitted in a nursing home, he or she experiences some psychological transition which can worsen the health of the person if not well managed. This is characterized by boredom and loneliness. The new environment makes them helpless
because they cannot do what they want. This also reduces the communication rates of an individual and may result to depression. Therefore it is necessary for the family members to frequently visit the nursing homes to know the wellbeing of their elderly one. This not only assures the elderly of the family support but also to ensure the services provided are as expected. The issue of the elderly can be used to foresee and plan for the future, as one grow older. For an individual, one should start planning for the best care he would wish for once he is too
aged to take care of himself. Savings and insurance schemes can be done at young adult ages so that sufficient funds will be available when one is unable to work. This funds can be used to provide the best medical care to the insured elderly person.

In the U.S., the aging population is viewed as a general threat to the income of the family members and also the economy of the country. This is because the elderly require a lot of medical care due to their chronic illnesses and therefore too costly for the family members. The
government has also set aside some programs and pension schemes to cater for the medical care for the aged and the disabled (Blanthome et al, pPg. 35). The fact that, the elderly can no longer be productive and expenses on them are increasing, it makes them to be a threat to the economy of America. However, they should be taken care of, especially in the nursing homes.

Work cited:

1. Doty, Michelle M., Mary J. Koren, and Elizabeth L. Sturla. “CULTURE CHANGE IN NURSING HOMES: HOW FAR HAVE WE COME? FINDINGS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH FUND 2007
2. NATIONAL SURVEY OF NURSING HOMES.” (0): Print.Blanthorne, Cynthia, and Mark M. Higgins. “Tax Relief, or Lack Thereof, for the Long-Term Care Costs of the Aging Population in America.” Journal of Legal Tax Research (2009): n.pag. Print.