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Elder Care Information |
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5 Myths You Should Know Before Choosing Elder Care
Myths associated with selecting quality nursing home care suggest quick and easy ways to identify quality care. In fact, relying on these myths can lead to disastrous results. I have identified a few of the most common myths in hopes of helping you avoid some of the problems commonly found in many nursing homes. 1. The Smell Test You've heard it repeatedly: "The best way to determine the quality of care a nursing home provides is to be alert to bad odors when you visit the home." It seldom, if ever, works. Why? Nursing home administrators have heard the very same advice. As a result, they are particularly sensitive to unpleasant odors in any area that might receive visitors. Almost all will do their best to remove offensive odors as quickly as possible, even when it means avoiding their primary responsibility to their residents. 2. The Personal Recommendation Recently, I heard a guest on a radio talk show state that the very best way to find great nursing home care is to get recommendations from a friend. Like other myths, there is a grain of truth here, but you must check whether your friend has had extensive interactions with the nursing home recommended. Often that is not the case. Last weekend I dealt with an emergency call from Jim, a friend who had placed his mother in a nursing home recommended by a friend. Although she was recuperating from a stroke, no nurse or aide checked on her condition for more than 14 hours. Jim discovered her in the morning with many cuts and bruises, her bedsheets soaked in blood. He was astonished that anyone would recommend such a poor care facility. "My friend said her grandmother was in this particular nursing home," he reported. "So, I thought it would be good care." "How often does your friend visit her grandmother?" I asked him. "I didn't think to ask," he responded. "And did you check the latest survey for that nursing home?" "No," he answered. "I thought a personal recommendation was all I needed." Jim's mother is now back in an area hospital. No one knows yet how much damage this experience caused to her recovery. 3. You Get What You Pay For Nowhere is this statement less applicable than in nursing home care. In fact, I'd replace it with another shibboleth -- "Buyer Beware." Our own research, encompassing more than 6000 nursing homes and more than 100 assisted living facilities shows no relationship between cost and quality of care. You may find quality care in an expensive facility, or you may not! Similarly, the fact that a facility is low-cost does not indicate whether you'll get poor, average, or quality care. You have to do your homework. Relying on price as the sole indicator of quality care can lead to disastrous results. 4. Adequate Staffing Equals Quality Care A recent report by the Senate's Special Committee on Aging indicated that quality care for a single nursing home resident requires more than three hours each day of nursing and nursing aide time. However, statistical analysis of the latest federal database on nursing home deficiencies indicates no relationship between quality of care and staffing levels. This finding is consistent with a number of university studies. What should you look for, then, in nursing home staffing levels? There is a level below which nursing homes are so understaffed that quality care can not be provided. I'd suggest that you not consider any home providing a level less than two hours per day per resident. For levels greater than this, I'd focus not on the number of hours available for care but on the motivation of staff available to provide care. Those who are motivated to care for the elderly will do so. Those who are motivated only by a paycheck will probably provide shoddy care regardless of their numbers. 5. A Well-Known Chain Will Provide the Best Care This is another myth that can lead to tragedy. Sometimes, well- known companies do provide top-quality care. In other instances, however, a quick review of newspapers and magazines will show you other companies with long records of legal troubles stemming from accusations of neglect and abuse. One such company has been sued simultaneously by several states' attorneys general. How will you know? The company is not likely to tell you, so you won't know unless you take the time to look into the company's historical performance. There you have it -- 5 myths exploded! What does work? There is no substitute for your own personal investigation. With a little research, with personal visits to nursing homes before you sign anything, you can avoid many of the difficulties that have come to those who relied on such myths. About The Author Copyright 2002, Phyllis Staff. Phyllis Staff, Ph.D. - Phyllis Staff is an experimental psychologist and the CEO of The Best Is Yet.Net, and the author of How to Find Great Senior Housing: A Roadmap for Elders and Those Who Love Them (2002).
MORE RESOURCES: A pioneering S.F. program seeks to keep rapidly aging immigrant population out of nursing homes San Francisco Chronicle NTI Invests in Community Facilities for Elder Care Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Elder Law Guys: Filial responsibility is back — will you be responsible to pay for your family member’s care? Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 'Don't open another bed': St. John’s doctor says there's a better way to keep seniors out of long-term care PNI Atlantic News Physiotherapy Elder Care Outpatient Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver Coastal Health Guiding Souls Home Care Continues To Set New Standards In Elder Care In Sacramento The Globe and Mail Frailty Nova Scotia Health ‘What they wanted to see’: Rankin Inlet elder facility to welcome 22 residents in April Nunatsiaq News BPK student research looks to history to find a way forward for Indigenous elder care Simon Fraser University Canada’s aging crisis and a call for reform in eldercare The Hill Times Nova Scotia Health’s Dignity of Risk Program leading change in caring for older adults living with frailty and dementia Nova Scotia Health Seniors Care Program Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre Bay of Quinte Mohawks donate $60K each to Elder Care Home project, Belleville General Hospital Foundation Kingstonist News Eugeria Acquires Eldergrow, Relaunching Trusted Therapeutic Gardening Program for Senior Living PRWeb Video: How the Immigration Crackdown Threatens Elderly Care The New York Times Anglican elder care specialist and advocate named to Order of Canada The Anglican Journal Initiative to address women’s care load in Africa expands with two new projects IDRC - International Development Research Centre Stepping towards better health: Early Mobility team wins Nova Scotia Health Quality Award Nova Scotia Health A game of hide and seek? McKnight's Long-Term Care News WHO calls for urgent transformation of care and support systems for older people World Health Organization (WHO) Elder Care Homecare Expands Commitment to Families with Specialized In-Home Care for ALS in New York City The Globe and Mail Support for Seniors and Caregivers Act ontario.ca Why Cameras Are Popping Up in Eldercare Facilities KFF Health News Geriatrics Sinai Health Help! I Can’t Believe the Disgusting Thing My Father Did at My House. I Demand an Explanation. Slate Opinion | The Decline in Geriatric Care Hurts Us All The New York Times When Elder Care Is All in the Stepfamily The New York Times Companion Care - Robotic devices are becoming more prevalent for senior care and companionship Trend Hunter Digitalization for Improving Elder Care Asian Development Bank Bonjour Résidences at the SMASH Conference in Las Vegas: Technological Innovations for Senior Care Bonjour Résidences Research Reaches Aging | Faculty of Nursing University of Alberta National Yarning Circle opens in Adelaide to advance Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care Inside Ageing Norbert Health and Lumina Care Announce Strategic Partnership to Transform Elder Care through AI Technology Business Wire New long-term care home coming soon to Kamloops BC Gov News MHA grad rewrites policy to benefit elder care USC Price School Ageing and health World Health Organization (WHO) A look at elder care initiatives in Northside - The Daily Tar Heel New long-term care home coming to Squamish BC Gov News Elderly care highlighted at China's 'two sessions' Global Times AEDs for Retirement Homes and Elderly Care Zoll Medical Long-term care home moves forward in Surrey Fraser Health Authority America’s ‘Silver Tsunami’ Crisis Is Only Just Beginning Bloomberg.com Indigenous-led aged care the focus of national yarning circle National Indigenous Times President's Budget Proposal for FY26 Harmful for Aging Service The National Council on Aging (NCOA) Elder Care Graduates in Hot Demand in China Sixth Tone China to use AI in elder care as population ages: official The Economic Times Sunnybrook Leads the Way: First Canadian Hospital to Achieve Age-Friendly Health System Status Sunnybrook Hospital Georgia State University, A.G. Rhodes Launch Innovative Elder Care Partnership Georgia State University News Automation Solutions for an Aging Society: The Future of Elder Care A3 Association for Advancing Automation Juniper’s Industry-Leading AI-Native Network Transforms User Experiences and Safeguards Data for St Luke’s ElderCare in Singapore Passionate In Marketing Elder care practitioner Jade Jasken joins Essentia Health St. Mary’s-Detroit Lakes Clinic Essentia Health B.C. judge orders $1.2 million home returned to victim in shocking case of elder abuse Vancouver Sun Helene left some N.C. elder-care homes without power North Carolina Health News Ontario Building New Hospital in Moosonee ontario.ca Will the Coalition’s aged care waitlist pledge hold up? Aged Care Guide |
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