Nobody wants to face the challenge of turning over the care of their elders or loved ones to nursing homes. However, sometimes providing continuous, round-the-clock care at home is impossible. So, you have no option but to turn to the professional services of nursing homes. This step involves experiencing conflicting emotions such as satisfaction, peace of mind, guilt, and regret.
While sending your loved one to a nursing home is difficult, many families face this difficulty. According to 2023 data, more than 1.4 million people, representing over 2.4% of the elderly US population, reside in nursing homes. It means you are not alone in dealing with the contradictory emotions of sending your parent to a nursing home.
Unfortunately, nursing homes have received bad publicity recently due to neglect and abuse reports. This makes choosing a nursing home over home care more dreadful and difficult.
However, not all facilities are the same, and there are ways to ensure that your elderly parents are adequately attended to in these facilities.
Read on to learn how to ensure your elderly / parents are given proper care in nursing homes.
1. Research the nursing homes thoroughly
Before you choose a nursing home, it is important to do your research. Visit the facilities and speak with the staff to know the standard of care provided. Look up online reviews and ratings to see what others say about the nursing homes you are considering.
Also, check if any residents have approached the law to file a nursing home neglect lawsuit against a prospective nursing home on your list. If so, stay away from that facility. However, we recommend the Nursing Home Abuse Center, a reliable online resource that provides information on nursing home abuse and neglect.
Residents file nursing home neglect or abuse lawsuits if they are not well taken care of or receive injury or abuse at the facility. If abuse or neglect is proven, residents get compensation for the physical and emotional damage inflicted on them.
2. Stay connected with the staff
After selecting and sending your loved one to the nursing home, contact the staff. You can connect with the staff to ask questions about your loved one’s medication schedule, dietary restrictions, and any other concerns you may have.
Maintaining contact with the staff helps you to address any issues that may arise promptly. You can work with the care providers to find solutions that meet your loved one’s needs.
Regularly communicating with the staff sends the message that you are concerned about your elder parent’s health and safety. More importantly, you are monitoring the quality of care provided to them.
Fostering a relationship with the staff also helps you convey your loved one’s needs and preferences to them. Ultimately, they can develop more effective and customized care plans.
3. Visit your loved ones/parents often
Besides, staying connected with the staff, you must visit and contact your loved one often. This way, you can help them stay connected to their family and friends even when they are physically apart.
Though nursing homes tend to provide a supportive living environment, they cannot replace the social connections and support you get from family and friends. Therefore, it is possible for people to feel lonely and isolated. Visiting them can reduce their loneliness.
On top of that, frequent visits provide a sense of normalcy and familiarity in a nursing home’s confusing and unfamiliar environment. Familiarity with the environment is particularly important for individuals with cognitive impairment or memory loss.
When visiting your elderly parents at the nursing facility, take note of the surroundings. Most importantly, check their living conditions, cleanliness, the staff’s behavior, and overall hygiene and health. If you see anything is off, immediately discuss it with the staff.
4. Get to know other residents
Ask your loved ones to interact with other residents. Some benefits of encouraging your loved one to interact with other residents are:
- Maintaining social interaction in a nursing home builds meaningful relationships and assuages loneliness and anxiety.
- It helps in developing camaraderie and a network of support. Residents can lean on each other for emotional support and understanding. They can also provide practical assistance to one another if an issue arises.
- Socializing with fellow beings improves mental health. It boosts mood and self-esteem, provides a sense of purpose and belonging, and makes you happier.
- Social interaction fosters a sense of safety, encouraging you to open your heart to others and let others confide in you.
- Interacting with other residents can also stimulate cognitive functions. Playing games, solving puzzles, and engaging in meaningful discussions improve memory, attention, and focus.
There are many ways to encourage your loved ones to get to know other residents. Your loved one can participate in group activities or initiate discussions at mealtime.
Whatever the way, building relations with other residents will improve your loved one’s overall well-being and quality of life at the nursing home.
5. Make sure their living space is personalized to their preference
Living in an unfamiliar place is difficult, especially in old age. When in a nursing home, your elderly can experience uneasiness due to the unfamiliarity of their surroundings. As a result, they might not respond to care plans. Research also suggests an unfamiliar environment can exacerbate an older patient’s confusion and behavioral disturbance. To make the surroundings familiar, ensure your parents’ living space in the nursing home is comfortable and personalized.
You can work with the staff to put personal items like photos, blankets, and other decorations to familiarize them with the space. You can also make sure the room is decorated according to the liking of your loved one, such as the placement of furniture or the arrangement of the room.
6. Monitor their physical and emotional health
When visiting your loved one, monitor their physical and emotional health. If you find them experiencing discomfort, pain, bruising, or wounds, ensure the staff knows and addresses them.
Besides physical health, look for signs of anxiety, depression, and or other mental health issues. Lack of social interaction, long spans of silence, and an inability to communicate problems are some signs of stress. Collaborate with the staff to eliminate these problems and to make your parent’s stay in the nursing home comfortable.
In situations when the nursing home staff and management do not respond to your loved ones’ mental and physical health needs after persistent requests, you can always approach the law.
Conclusion
The steps mentioned above help ensure that your elderly parents receive the best possible care in a nursing home. Always stay informed, communicate regularly with the nursing home staff, and advocate for your loved one’s needs. With the right approach, you can ensure your loved one feels comfortable, safe, and well cared for in their new home.
