Table of contents:
- Nursing home for the elderly
- The advantages of nursing homes for the elderly
- 1. Having advanced medical services
- 2. Interact with other people
- 3. Live a regular daily activity
- Lack of nursing homes
For some people when they hear the word nursing home may feel unpleasant feelings. How could it not be, most of the nursing homes depicted in films and TV shows were the elderly there who looked unhappy. In fact, nursing homes for the elderly have their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Come on, get to know what makes nursing homes an alternative choice for leaving the elderly and why there are a number of things to consider.
Nursing home for the elderly
Reporting from the National Institute on Aging, a nursing home or nursing home is a facility that offers health and personal care. This facility is intended for seniors who are over 70 years of age.
Most nursing homes are filled with people who are single, whether divorced, never married, or left behind. There are also elderly people who choose to be in nursing homes even though they have friends or family members.
For the elderly who want to spend the rest of their life in a nursing home, of course, they have certain reasons. Generally, those who experience health problems and have difficulty living daily life alone, such as bathing and dressing, choose to live in a home.
Apart from having problems with physical health, it turns out that mental conditions also affect why nursing homes are available for the elderly. For example, dementia is the most common mental health problem.
Thus, more than three-quarters of nursing home residents have memory problems and do not know their current position from time to time.
The advantages of nursing homes for the elderly
In the past, nursing homes may not have become an idol for the elderly due to the government's lack of attention to these facilities. However, along with technological advances and increasing funds, many nursing homes have complete and adequate facilities for temporary living.
Here are some of the advantages that can be obtained through nursing homes for elderly people.
1. Having advanced medical services
Source: Aging in Places
One of the advantages of nursing homes for the elderly that made them choose this facility is that it offers advanced medical care.
Generally, nursing homes have medical services similar to those offered in hospitals. Elderly people who have recently had surgery or treatment of other health problems are usually treated here.
This is because the elderly require a higher level of care, while the length of stay in the hospital is much shorter than before.
Health services in each nursing home will certainly vary, but usually include the following:
- provide skilled nurses
- orthopedic treatment, such as muscle, joint, and bone problems
- treatment for respiratory disorders
- postoperative care, such as wound care
- antibiotic and intravenous therapy
Not only paying attention to physical health, there are several nursing homes that provide nutritional counseling, social work, and recreational activities. This aims to make the elderly feel healthy and comfortable to spend their days in a nursing home without worrying about their health conditions.
2. Interact with other people
Apart from getting advanced health care, another advantage of nursing homes for the elderly is that they can interact with other people.
You see, most elderly people may choose to live separately from their children and grandchildren so as not to trouble them. However, not a few of them may be lonely because they are at home alone or together with a partner and occasionally accompanied by a nurse.
By being in a nursing home, the elderly will more often meet people their own age. This is because nursing homes often hold events and activities that allow residents to socialize with each other.
Talking and spending time with other people is quite important, especially so that the elderly are healthier and happier. The reason is, with age, people tend to find it difficult to have friends of the same age to talk to.
3. Live a regular daily activity
When the elderly live at home with their children or are alone, they may feel bored more quickly. How not, the condition of the body makes them unable to move as much as they were when they were young.
Nursing homes for the elderly provide regular daily activities. Starting from waking up in the morning, having breakfast, exercising together, until the evening is arranged by the manager.
Everyone responds differently to order because some people like it and some don't.
The advantage of this nursing home is that it helps the elderly remember things and may not bore them. However, it all depends on the activities offered by the nursing home and how the elderly respond in carrying out these activities.
Lack of nursing homes
The benefits offered by nursing homes for the elderly are varied. However, it is possible that there are things that make people choose not to live there.
Nursing homes can make some elderly people even more depressed. This may be because they feel deprived of their "liberty" by being in this facility. For example, they cannot choose the daily food menu or activities they like that day.
In addition, it is possible that the nursing home has less quality services than when the elderly are at home alone or with a nurse. As a result, these older people are not healthier, they get sick more often.
Nursing homes may appear scary or unpleasant to the elderly. Not to mention the feeling of being betrayed or feeling abandoned while there.
Therefore, family members need to be involved in the decision as to whether the elderly should be placed in a nursing home or not.
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