| SusanC
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In United States
Registered Jun 02, 2011
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SusanC's most recent comments:
- On 8 Jun 2011
in
Crazy for Nursing Homes,
SusanC said:
OO, you may not have taken in the reality of what is meant by 24-hour care of a totally dependent elderly person. The fact that you think the person doing this could also cook and clean for the rest of the family tells me that you haven't actually tried to do this yourself. Try doing that for a couple of months and then re-think your plan.
24-hour care means 24-hour care. This is not "full time." This is three shifts a day, every day. Yes the person might be able to get a nap in now and then during this time, but it is not a schedule that can be held up by one person indefinitely.
After taking care of my elderly and invalid parents for a couple of years, I was in desperation and thought I would look into hiring enough staff to take over their care at home with my supervision. It was not feasible, though I did have one 8-hour shift of help per day. After my mother died, I re-evaluated the situation and decided it was time for my father to go to a nursing home dementia unit. That was more feasible than hiring 24-hour care at home.
And, as Jeff S said above, my father was actually better off in the unit with professional caregivers who were not at their wits end. I chose the nursing home very carefully after my two years of caregiving, and we were very fortunate in the choice. - On 2 Jun 2011
in
Crazy for Nursing Homes,
SusanC said:
I saw this at the nursing home (dementia unit) where my father spent his last months. I think it's because people are so conflicted about sending their relative to a nursing home instead of taking care of them at home. They want everything to be PERFECT so that they will feel better about it. But the staff is dealing with a situation that is far from perfect and a reality that is often not pretty.
Also, for many of these people, it is the first time in their lives they have ever "hired" someone to perform a service, and they are confused about what it means. They actually do think they have hired a set of personal servants who are there to do whatever they want.
It's no wonder there's a lot of staff turnover. Anyone working in that world is heroic.
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