Problems Patients Experience in Nursing Homes
Moving your seniors in nursing homes is a big decision. It involves the family’s finances but more importantly, it involves various emotions. This big move is not easy to make specially on the part of the elder who will be moving. Transition does not come easy. Similarly, the adjustment will also pose a few challenges both for the elder and his family outside the facility.
Families may live in another town or another state. Such distance limits the regularity of visits and the frequency of communication with the resident. If this is the case, it is more important to make every visit count. Ask about your senior’s condition. Ask about her experience with the facility, employees, and other residents. If you feel like there is a problem, try to convince him or her to speak it out and share it with you. Listen and understand what she is trying to say.
Common Problems
There are quite a number of possible challenges that come with living in a nursing facility. Each has its own gravity but most of the time they can be resolved. Here are some of the things that often trouble resident elders. Similarly, here are some of the ways you can address and resolve such issues.
1. Getting used to the new residence set up.
You cannot expect an elder to fully adjust in a short period in his or her new home. It will take time before seniors feel comfortable with their new surrounding and the new faces around them. Actually, during this phase, the new living arrangement is not the only thing troubling them but as well as their condition which required them to enter the facility in the first place. They might also be bored. With these, they can really make use of your patience in hearing them out. This is your chance to encourage them and look at the positive things they can get from staying there. Not just the specialized medical care, but also the activities they can do and the people they will meet.
2. Dealing with other residents
Inside nursing homes, seniors will get to meet various types of people. Some are easily likeable while some can be just undeniably irritating. Such issues are common specially in between residents with pre-dementia or conditions that can aggravate aggression. It may be unavoidable that your loved ones get into petty conflicts and misunderstandings. With this, it is important to work with the homes’ staff. Let them be oriented with the resident’s daily routine so they can watch over those specially who wanders a lot and evades other residents’ spaces.
3. Poor quality of care
Poor quality will cover not just insufficient care but neglect and abuse as well. When you visit your loved ones be sure to ask them if they are treated and cared for properly. Do not just ask once, because they may be hesitant to share at first. Also, try to inspect their bodies for physical injuries. If you see a bruise or a wound let them explain how they got it and make sure it was not inflicted by another person. If you found out that a caregiver is neglecting or abusing your senior, report it. Cases of abuse are quite common to nursing homes. Depending on the gravity of the situation, you can also contact your state’s health department on possible actions concerning your issues.
Processing your request, Please wait....
