Good Or Bad?

Good or Bad?

Nursing homes are meant to help the elderly when they are no longer able to take care of theirs selves. However many will try to wait as long as possible to stay out of them, which depending on how long they wait it may cause them physical or even mental damage. The elderly seem to dread nursing homes so much that it leaves many wandering if will actually help them or hurt them.

What is it that makes the elderly dread nursing homes so bad? One of the many reasons for this is that they will not be able to do the things that they are accustomed to. Lola M. Armstrong a writer for Nursing Holmes Long Care Management writes "Those who can still think lucidly for they feel restraints the most. Oftentimes, it is some very small thing that seems depressing; but if it could be summed up in a few words, those words would probably be, loss of independence." (34) Loneliness is another reason as she goes on to explains

Loneliness also is high on the list. People feel that their own homes are empty of all their dear family members. Sad to say, they do not realize that in the change they are going to make, they will encounter a different type of loneliness. There is such a thing as being lonelier in a crowd than when being alone. One feels cut off from the mainstream of life, as it was formerly known. Living quarters are one room (or half a room) where there is not much space for the many things that were precious in earlier life. Good retirement/nursing homes ... try to plan various activities, but

everyone's interest does not fall into the interests that the home can supply (32).

What she is saying is that while they are not alone physically some may feel that they are alone because they are surrounded by things they are not used to and this causes them to feel emotionally alone. However, the main reason may be the stories they hear about in the media. There are many reports in the media involving accidents and deaths in nursing homes. Patricia Walsh, the staff writer for Sarasota Herald-Tribune writes about a lawsuit against a nursing home that charges that Cleo E. Gibbs death was caused by inadequate medical care. The nursing home then tried to cover it up by altering the records. The lawsuit charges that the time of death was changed on documents to make it appear that they had performed resuscitation as well as other procedures. When in fact no such emergency procedures were performed (1B). With stories like this who would want to live in a nursing home? They would always be scared when they get sick that the nurses might make a mistake and give them the wrong medicine or implement a treatment that may be harmful to them. It is this kind of carelessness that causes them to fear nursing homes.

However, it must be remembered that the media mostly reports the bad and not the good because it does not sell. Therefore, it must be known that more good happens than bad. This is why the elderly should not fear nursing homes because it is a very rare that stories like this happen. According to Kim S. Ellis the writer of Mark Contemporary Long Term Care, many newer nursing homes no longer have the look or feel of the

traditional nursing home and many personnel are encouraging patients to feel like they are back at home. This makes them comfortable with their surroundings and it helps them make the transition from their own homes to the nursing homes. There are also ways of countering the loneliness