Nursing Homes Archives

Four Key Benefits of Nursing Homes for Senior Parents

Howard Fensterman has been instrumental in helping nursing homes maintain high quality health care for their patients. Most nursing facilities provide private accommodations and personal care to a majority of folks that are elderly individuals; hence, the decision to move to a nursing home can be emotionally taxing for both the immediate family members and the senior parent.

Most often, family members try their best to take care of the individual. But the demands of the work involved or the illness can become difficult at times, especially if the family member is not well versed in medical care. Sooner or later, it may become mandatory to seek outside help. In such a situation, nursing homes are a viable option.

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Here are four main benefits of nursing homes for senior parents

Social Experiences

Nursing homes provide the best social experiences for the elderly individuals. They can take part in activities with other senior persons and share their life views and experiences. Some of the nursing facilities also organize social events where all the residents of the nursing home can mingle together and share experiences.

As a result, the senior parent won’t succumb to the feelings of depression or melancholy due to being isolated. Most of the senior individuals that reside at nursing homes enjoy a quality time having fun with people of their own age group.

Assistance with Chores

Performing simple daily chores becomes difficult during the old age. Several senior individuals lose their ability to perform such simple tasks. Nursing home care professionals assist the senior individuals in performing activities such bathing, changing clothes, eating and drinking, driving, administering medicine, and using the restroom. What’s more, the help is offered to the senior individuals as a premium service and not as assistance due to being handicapped. This ensures that the senior persons don’t feel invalid in any way due to not being able to perform simple daily chores.

Round the Clock Medical Help

Nursing homes provide 24/7 medical help to the elderly individuals. Many nursing facilities have medical professionals onsite at all times. Living in the home will ensure the perfect safety of the senior patients and can offer immediate medical assistance in case of an emergency. This will ensure that your loved one is under the proper care and able to lead a good life without much physical or emotional pain.

Safety and Security

Another key advantage of a nursing home is that they offer a greater level of security as compared to home care or when the individual is living alone. Imagine the horror if the senior parent forgets to turn off the gas after cooking, or forgets to lock the door at night. Placing senior parents in a nursing home will offer a peace of mind in knowing that the loved and dear one is provided maximum protection and security, both during the day and night.

In conclusion, a nursing home is the best option when it comes to the care of the elderly parent. The senior individual can have a quality time socializing and engaging in fun and exciting activities. Also, the senior person would be offered round the clock medical help that will ensure maximum safety and protection of the individual. The decision to place in a nursing home care can be the best one you can make for your senior parent, particularly during the stage of life when the person can’t live without external assistance.

Retired Baby Boomers Enjoy an Active Life in Nursing Care

There are around 75 million baby boomers in America. Also known as the World War II baby boomers, it includes persons that are between the ages of 52 and 70 in 2016.

Nearly 3 million baby boomers will retire in the coming two decades. Most of them will depend on their immediate family members for care. To meet the long-term care needs of these individuals, the best option is a nursing home.

Advantages of a Nursing Home for the Baby Boomers

Whether you are a baby boomer or an immediate family member responsible for the care of the elderly individual, you should consider nursing homes that serve as a silver lining in the cloud for baby boomers.

elerly people

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Nursing homes provide the perfect opportunity for senior individuals to participate in social activities. The activities provide the platform for the residents to come to know each other and have quality time together. It gives the senior person the opportunity to lead a highly satisfied and active social life.

Nursing homes schedule a lot of activities that allows the residents to mingle with each other. All the individuals that reside in the nursing home are encouraged to take part in the social activities. The best part about these activities is that it allows the elderly baby boomer to enjoy a quality time.

After retirement, the senior individuals have limited opportunities to interact with others. Most of the immediate family members are busy with their own work and social life. In such a situation, the elderly person feels left out and neglected.

In a nursing home, the retired baby boomers will have no time to feel depressed or abandoned. The nursing home care professionals make sure that every resident is offered the opportunity that makes them feel an active member of a society.

Every activity is performed under the supervision of the nursing care providers. They are there to offer immediate medical help in case of an emergency. This ensures that the elderly individual is able to enjoy a quality time while remaining perfectly safe and protected.

Conclusion

A nursing home is a perfect option for baby boomers that are nearing retirements. It is particularly a good option for retired baby boomers living alone. Instead of sulking alone in the home, the senior individual can lead a socially active life at the nursing home. The senior persons will find their hours filled with quality time mingling with other retired senior individuals.

The benefits of a nursing home, however, go beyond allowing the baby boomers to lead a satisfying post-retirement life. The individuals are offered round the clock care in dealing with both daily chores and coping with difficult health conditions. It would be better and much safer for the aging baby boomer to spend quality time in a nursing home as compared to assisted home care.

When is Nursing Home Care Recommended for Seniors?

Happy Senior Citizens A common question among family members with senior loved ones is when is the best time to move the elderly from the home to a nursing home? While most senior persons prefer to live the remaining years after the retirement in their own home, sometimes their health conditions necessitate moving to a nursing facility.

A number of factors should be considered when deciding on the best option for the senior person. In this article, we will discuss some of the situations where a nursing home is preferable for the seniors instead of a home care.

1. Problems in Performing Daily Activity

A nursing home is a right choice when the senior individual cannot perform daily activities such as bathing, dressing, driving, and shopping grocery items. Nursing home care providers can help the senior individual in performing the daily chores.

The friendly and welcoming professionals at the nursing home will ensure that the senior person has no problem while performing their daily tasks. This is especially helpful for senior individuals that suffer from physical or mental problems that prevent them from performing the daily chores.

2. Suffering from Health Disorders

Taking Care of the Elderly Senior persons that are in advanced stages of Dementia, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease can greatly benefit from nursing home care services. The nursing home ensures that the elderly individual is offered round the clock assistance and surveillance that is not possible when residing at the home. So, if the elderly individual suffers from a serious medical condition, moving him or her to a nursing home would be recommended.

3. Reside in Remote Place

If the senior resides in an area where immediate medical assistance is not possible, then the best option is to move the individual to a nursing home. The nursing homes offer facilities that ensure that the senior person gets the immediate medical service whenever needed.

In the unfortunate event that the senior individual suffers a heart attack, the nursing home care personnel will make sure that the person receives immediate medical care to minimize the damage.

4. Alone at Home

Dementia Patient A nursing home is a right option when the senior who is leading a post-retirement life is mostly alone at home. Nursing homes offer plenty of opportunities for the residents to lead a socially active life. Residents of the nursing home lead a satisfying life while taking part in a number of activities that are organized by the nursing home administration.

Most people want to live the remainder of their post-retirement life full of fun, joy, and laughter. Nursing homes can offer an environment for the elderly to live an active and enjoyable life. The facilities offered at the nursing homes can ensure that the senior person has quality time without facing any hardships that manifest due to advanced age.

The Importance for Seniors to Stay Fit

We all have this common misconception that too much movement and activities are just too dangerous for seniors. In all honestly, it is the opposite that puts them at jeopardy. Staying inactive for such a long period of time not only makes them a victim of many diseases, but also lowers their life expectancy.

As we begin to age, our bones become brittle and the muscles lean towards shortening; as a result, elderly people begin having trouble staying active, flexible, and simply, coordinating their movements. That is where all the exercises and physical fitness techniques come in handy.

In addition, keeping the blood flowing during exercise helps the mind stay active also. One senior that we knew well remained active his entire life, by making sure he exercised to what would equate to walking 10 or more city blocks a day, every day. Our patient lived till he was 99 years old, four months before he reached 100. In this case of course, he was totally independent and did not need the convalescence of a nursing home, but for those that are already residing in nursing homes, it cannot be more emphasised that the individual exercise everyday (of course, under a doctor’s guidance*).

Let’s discover the importance of exercising and how exercise can help people in their later years:

Flexibility

As we grow older, we begin to grow weak. Exercise is one of the most effective means of maintaining our strength. Sitting in the same spot for hours and avoiding any kind of physical exertion will not only make the seniors inactive, but will also bring several physical problems with it; one of them being atrophied muscles. Regular movements and even basic exercises, such as walking, could lead to better mobility and an active lifestyle.

Healing

David C. Niemen, a Ph.D. doctor and author, believes that the effect of physical activity on healing is so high that no medicine can even come close to replicating its effects. It was found that people who begin exercising early built up a better immune system which subsequently helped them deal with their injury faster.

Reduces Stress

It is not just physical fitness that can be achieved through exercises. In fact, it is our mental health that benefits from it too, just like most people run to get rid of their stress or play their favorite sports to release all that strain. Similarly, an elderly person too can have a positive effect on their mental health by doing exercises. Just taking a light stroll down the street on a bright sunny day can do wonders to lift their spirits.

Social Activity

Exercises are a solution to many of the senior problems and one of them includes loneliness and solitude. Joining group exercises and group activities will not only help seniors deal with all the rigidness in their bones, but will also give them an excellent opportunity to meet new people and have a positive impact on their life.

Prevents Injuries and Accidents

Most fatal injuries in seniors are caused by falling, which incidentally happens because of their bad coordination. Due to aging, muscles begin to grow weak and the only way to stay up to date with their body is through exercising. It will reduce the chances of falling and ultimately, lead to fewer risks of deadly injuries.

Better Sleep

Sleepless nights are just a side effect of growing old and the best way to deal with it is to have enough physical exertion in the daytime that will enable them to sleep peacefully at night.

Do not wait until later to get your elders in the habit of exercising. At the first sign of weakness, visit a doctor for an exercise plan and then reap the benefits.

* Disclaimer. This article is for information purposes only and as such, we highly recommend that the patient or the patient’s guardians refer to a physician for the appropriate type and amount of exercise that should be recommended for the person in question.

Nursing Home Information Being Added To Yelp

Consumers will now be able to look up government information on healthcare facilities thanks to the data ProPublica has compiled data on 15,000 nursing homes, 4,600 hospitals, and 6,300 dialysis clinics using information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, according to Washington Post.

Pages for nursing homes contain information about fines paid to the government and whether inspections have shown “serious deficiencies” in the last 3 years. The data is color-coded for ease of use.

“Now the millions of consumers who use Yelp to find and evaluate everything from restaurants to retail will have even more information at their fingertips when they are in the midst of the most critical life decisions, like which hospital to choose for a sick child or which nursing home will provide the best care for aging parents,” Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelmen wrote in a blog post.

Healthcare and medical businesses have already been available on Yelp for consumers to review using the star-rating system, but now the additional information from ProPublica will appear on the page as well. According to Yelp, the health category makes up 6% of reviewed businesses.

Most of the information being made available on Yelp is already available on Medicare’s Hospital Compare site, which can be difficult to sift through.

“While it is helpful, having general information doesn’t really add as much value as doctor-specific feedback that pretty much every hospital in the country is capturing,” Mr. Stoppelmen wrote. “Healthcare is very personal — often it is about a one-on-one relationship, so the information that consumers crave the most is information about a particular doctor.”

Obama Considers New Best Practices for Nursing Homes

The federal government is considering a new rule that would improve the care and safety of the 1.5 million patients living in more than 15,000 long-term care facilities or nursing homes in the US.

The current requirements for Medicare and Medicaid participation have not been reviewed or updated since 1991. Since that time there has been extensive evidence-based research that has enhanced knowledge of resident safety and health outcomes.

“In light of these changes, we recognized the need to evaluate the regulations on a comprehensive basis, from both a structural and a content perspective,” according to the rule.

A proposed rule being considered by the Department of Health and Human Services would create best practices for nursing homes that participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs. The rule would require staff be properly trained on caring for patients with dementia and preventing elder abuse.

The rule also would require facilities improve their care planning and provide more food choices. Nursing homes would also be required to update infection prevention and control programs.

“These proposed changes are necessary to reflect the substantial advances that have been made over the past several years in the theory and practice of service delivery and safety,” HHS wrote in the rule. “These proposals are also an integral part of our efforts to achieve broad-based improvements both in the quality of health care furnished through federal programs, and in patient safety, while at the same time reducing procedural burdens on providers.”

President Barack Obama initiated the call for improved regulations at 2015 White Conference on Aging. The president is working to bring nursing facilities towards utilizing the current trends in medical technology.

In an excerpt from the deliverable, “The 2015 White House Conference on Aging is harnessing technology to bring today’s conversation to communities across the country. Hundreds of watch parties are happening across every state in America and are being hosted by organizations such as AARP, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Diverse Elders Coalition, Leadership Council of Aging Organizations members, and numerous cities and counties.”

Many nursing homes are already on this course, but the new regulations will ensure that these rules are followed across the board.