What would you want if you were in a nursing home?

1. 0

   lisasuniquevoiceposted 9 years ago

   What would you want if you were in a nursing home?
   
   

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2. 89

   Austinstarposted 9 years ago

   A nice, comfortable room. My tablet or personal computer. A common room for meals and socializing. Cleanliness and comfort would be my top priority. Medical care if needed.
   I think I would enjoy visits from local schools, service organizations, and writers/story tellers.
   I wouldn't want to be isolated, but I wouldn't want to be conscripted for anything either. Maybe there could be a list of things that i could choose to do or not do.
   I love the photo you posted! That looks like a very nice place to spend some time.

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      lisasuniquevoiceposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Austinstar,
      I like the idea of having different people and organizations visit the nursing home.
      Thanks,
      Lisa

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3. 71

   dashingscorpioposted 9 years ago

   
   
   Depression comes with knowing one has reached the "end of the line" and essentially are marking time until the grim reaper shows up. Having regular visitors can help to brighten one's day.
   However I would hate to have people revert to talking to me as if they were talking to a young child using a "melodic high pitch" voice.
   There's a difference between being 8 and 88!
   I would want my own room and privacy. (Books, TV, CD/DVD player)
   I would not want to be forced to socialize or be lined up in the hallway with other people in wheel chairs. I would want the hallways to be odor free. Fun optional activities would also be nice including recent movies. Stop over medicating people would be nice.
   At age 90 no one should be worried about cholesterol levels.
   Lastly when I do press the call button I would want immediate attention and not have to sit in soiled linen for hours.

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      Austinstarposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The hallway parade is horrid. Certainly I would want comfortable seating either in my own room or in a common room like a living room/den/library kind of thing. NO HALLWAYS! More like a real home situation.

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4. 81

   tamarawilhiteposted 9 years ago

   Companionship, double checking on staff and supplies, at a minimum.
   
   I wrote about this in my Hub How to Help Someone in a Nursing Home

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5. 58

   bluesradioposted 9 years ago

   Access to the outside world through the Internet, and definitely constant visits from family and friends..It's when folks get abandoned in homes that I feel they lose hope....

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6. 84

   gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

   
   
   To tell the truth, I DON'T EVER want to be in a nursing home.  I INTEND to be independent until the VERY END.   I refuse to submit into the old old paradigm which is as one becomes older, one becomes more helpless & start to lose one's mental capacities & begin to act/feel old.  Becoming old is merely an evolution in life.  Becoming old shouldn't be synonymous with adopting an attitude of resignation & wishing for one's youth.  One can be young & youthful by adopting the new old paradigm.  Age is only a number after all. 
   
   I have noticed that people change when they become "that certain age".  They subscribe to the societal paradigm that when one is old, h/she must slow down, stop being curious/active/ engaged, & to even withdraw from society.  Old people who subscribe to this old paradigm are more likely to be nursing homes because of this negative self-fulfilling prophecy.   Old people who refuse to subscribe to such negative paradigms as to what it is like to be old, remain youthful & engaged throughout their lives.  Also, be active & continue to do things that you did when you were young.  Be vital physically, emotionally, mentally, psychologically, & even psychically are ways to avoid that nursing home which is oftentimes the anteroom to death.  I have seen it & will do anything to AVOID that kiss of death!

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   1. 89

      Austinstarposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Betty White eats hot dogs every day for lunch! I want doughnuts! and milk. OK, and I want someone to change my diapers if I can't make it to the toilet. We might not get to decide on nursing home or not. A stroke can make that decision for us. Sigh.

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