Assisted Living

I completed my service learning at The Arbors of Bedford, a nursing home for older adults suffering with memory loss due to dementia. Their mission is to care for the whole person in a manner that promotes freedom, choice and the opportunity to live a meaningful life (n.a., 2017). The Arbors of Bedford promotes a therapeutic environment by creating an open and welcome environment and by giving the residents as much choice in their lives as possible. For example, they can choose whether to sit by the window in a seat by themselves, or in a living room chair with a group of people. There is usually a television or music playing in one section, while another section is quiet which allows the residents to choose the setting that is best for them. They host a variety of activities that focus on different therapy areas. The activities offered include listening to spiritual hymns, tai chi, craft designs, piano performances, and invention trivia. These components together, along with a caring and competent staff, allow The Arbors of Bedford to fulfill their mission statement.

Assisted living is a fairly new and unique part of the long term care continuum of services. The goal of assisted living is to maximize the independence of older adults while living in a homelike environment. This paper will provide an overview of assisted living facilities including the number of facilities and residents, costs, services, and growth expectations. Challenges with oversight and regulations will be discussed as well as solutions to the problem. Challenges and solutions for staffing and training issues will also be discussed. The paper will also highlight “In Loving Hands Assisted Living” which is a local assisted living facility that I called and visited to aid in my research. I will give an overview of the

The first author of the article, Medicaid Funding for Assisted Living Care: A Five-State Examination, is Eric Carlson. Carlson is the directing attorney under the National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC). He graduated summa cum luade from the University of Minnesota, and obtained his law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California Berkeley. Most of his career has been spent advocating for older adults in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Carlson is very knowledgeable on these topics, and frequently presents to other attorneys and social workers at conferences nation-wide about these issues (NSCLC).

Assisted Living Homes are designed to provide residents with basic everyday assistance. An important aspect is that assisted care facilities provide a safe and comfortable environment for older adults who need assistance with duties such as bathing, dressing, shopping, cooking, grooming, arranging doctor’s appointments, medication administration and laundry services. These facilities have social and recreational activity programs designed to keep the residents active. The recreation groups provide residents with activities for enjoyment, exercise, and interactions with others to build character. Special activities such as luncheon,

Understanding the benefits of assisted living homes is important in determining where a loved one will best enjoy their remaining years. The ability to remain independent, yet have the appropriate level of care can relieve stress for both family members and the loved one. There is a big difference between assisted living and nursing home facilities. Realizing these differences can help ease the idea of leaving home behind and moving into a facility with round the clock care.

I personally investigated the long-term facility as research project. The research process included interview of the Director of Nursing (DON) and the director of the organization. We strive to make the facility appear very homely for the residents. Behind the facade of homeliness and supportive environment is the reality of ineffective plan and facility design. To enable our clients with superior clinical services for excellent rehabilitation and healing outcomes and meet emerging technological and regulatory needs we need to renovate our facility. The research and interview indicated that we need to address certain impediments to providing effective long-term care especially for patients with dementia. Currently, we have some patients who have dementia with challenging behaviors. Not only these, we need effective in-service and pre-service training for both staff and family members on how to meaningfully work with people with challenging behavior problems due to dementia. Also, we need to increase community awareness and services provision of people with dementia as we provide excellent care to our clients. Hence, our plan will include dementia-friendly facility, expanding support and interventions for family members. Last year one of the patients with dementia broke the window and left the building. It took more than an hour before it was realized

Regarding this chapter 14 assignment, adults placed in assisted or nursing homes usually fit in the category of Erikson's final stage of ego integrity vs despair. changes that can occur in skilled nursing, intermediate care, home health services, respite care, CCRC, greenhouse model, and aging in place are elder speak, communication predicament model, attraction effect, life story, widowhood, empty nest, developmental schism, resource model. They begin to face issues such as androgenetic alopecia, sarcopenia, immune senescence, neuronal fallout, age-related macular degeneration, presbyopia, cataracts, glaucoma, presbycusis, shrinkage of olfactory receptors, etc.

Millions of people wish there was a magic pill to stay young and healthy forever, but we all know that’s just an illusion. Many people are being compelled to depend on others for twenty four hour care as their health fails them. Taking care of people should be a privilege to caregivers and they should show the utmost respect to whom they are caring for at the time. Family members may have a hard time placing their love ones in a nursing home due to the fact that they may not receive the proper care they are entitled to. Among different people they have experienced personal problems while staying in different nursing homes. Neglect and abuse are the top problems, some residents face when they have to reside in a nursing home. There

There are many advantages of assisted living and why it is a growing trend. An

Assisted living has become the generic name for most senior living facilities. However, today these facilities come in many different sizes and levels of care. Early in history there were only two choices for seniors, they could age at home with family or they could enter a nursing home. Many seniors who couldn’t completely live on their own and were still to some degree independent and able bodied did not need higher levels of care offered at nursing facilities; creating a need for different types of senior living. Assisted living became a more ideal lifestyle for seniors who wanted to age independently. Facilities have now begun to tailor their offerings to specific populations creating specialties with differing levels of care. With the U.S. population aging there is not only an increase in number of senior facilities but also their characteristics.

These videos were an eye opener for me. It was heartbreaking to see how these kids struggled and some of them went a long time before anyone notice they had learning disability. I have learned a great deal with watching these videos. It has opened my eyes to keep an open mind when dealing with exceptional students and general education students where I work. I have seen it takes one step at a time to get these students to succeed.

With there being a negative stigma towards nursing homes I’m sure you are aware that there are problems that need to be solved within the whole industry. One of the main problems that arises is abuse and neglect in many nursing homes which I am sure you are aware of. So many smaller problems that happen in nursing homes effect resident negatively and in the bigger picture can result in abuse or neglect among the resident. With the statistics showing the numbers of abuse and neglect in the nursing homes I’m sure you can agree that this is a problem and we need to find a solution, as no one would want there loved one to be abused in a place where they are supposed to be cared for with love.

However, organizations such as nursing homes should not be overlooked due to the fact people are hired and paid to care for the residents it houses. Not every employee has the time in their day to accomplish every task, and spend time with every single patient, and without volunteers simple tasks would not be completed. Although not every organization or facility needs volunteers on a regular basis, it’s still everyone’s responsibility within the community to watch out for the one’s that do require some assistance. Throughout my group’s day spent at the nursing home we achieved many activities with the patients, learned about the facility itself, and accomplished many tasks. Without the helpful hand of generous people, organizations and facilities such as nursing homes would struggle to stay alive and provide adequate care to its

I viewed the clip last night but had some time this morning to give my input on it. I will be focusing on Care ethics involving

Dargle Valley nursing home faces similar problems when it comes to taking serious steps and considerations related to patients. In a report that was released by Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) it was