College Essay On Nursing Home

Volunteering at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home over the summer was an invaluable experience. As I became more comfortable, I began extending my duties beyond physical tasks such as serving food or transporting residents. I started interacting with the residents on a more personal level, not as a volunteer, but more as a friend. In return, the residents became increasingly open, and the nurses watched as I conversed with residents they had deemed as reserved. Sometimes when I helped residents they would say nothing, but at the same time they said everything I needed to hear. I probably appreciated helping those residents, more than they appreciated me. Every night when I went to bed, I felt I had actually made a difference. This volunteering experience allowed me to realize that whatever I do in life, I want to go to sleep feeling the same way I did that summer.

To begin with, many families decide to place their loved ones under the care of a nursing home to receive some peace of mind. But are they

Those 3-4 days we were there, I had a lot of exposure to older people and it just opened my mind to what was like to interact with seniors who were experiencing mental or physical disabilities, illnesses, etc. The whole experience change my attitude towards the elderly because I realized that their capacities/health start to deteriorate due to illness or aging, and that only a few of them remain in “good shape”. So, I started to be more attentive and careful around them. I also felt sad and intimidated around them due to the conditions they were in and their reactions they had toward the staff, other residents, or us. I will say that not all the residents were mean or anything because some of them were friendly, talkative, and had a good sense of

I signed up to volunteer at a local nursing home. Because my father works there, I have been there many times before. However, volunteering there was very new to me.

The delivery of Healthcare is a high touch enterprise that calls for interaction among every stakeholder within the healthcare sphere. Communication, whether interpersonal or intrapersonal, is a crucial part of these dealings and may be transformed by the intellectual use of communication tools. Information is the means of support of healthcare. Therefore, communication systems are the backbone that supports the whole idea. Care of patients in the nursing homes now almost unavoidably entails many different people, all with the need to share patient information and talk about their organization. As a result

The long-term care services delivery system in the United States has changed substantially over the last 30 years . There are approximately 17,000 elderly and disabled persons are receiving care in nursing homes (NNHS, 2004). The number of people using nursing facilities, alternative residential care places, or home care services are projected to increase from 15 million in 2000 to 27 million in 2050 (HHS, 2003). Identifying the best nursing home that would fit their needs can be difficult and time-consuming. Although nursing homes usually provide certain basic care that patients need, some nursing home facilities provides special care for certain types of individuals with special needs. For example, people with dementia, AIDS, ventilator-dependents,

Assisted Living Concepts Inc., hereafter referred to as ALC, was a Nevada corporation formed in 1994 with its principal place of business in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. ALC provides senior assisted living residences that provide multiple personal services for their residences. ALC was purchased by Extendicare Health Services, Inc. in January 2005. In 2006 ALC was spun off from Extendicare as a publicly traded company. As of December 31, 2012 ALC had 211 assisted and independent living residences in 20 states totaling 9,348 units with 4,600 employees. ALC generated revenues in excess of $228 million dollars for year-end 2012 (Assisted Living Concepts, Inc. 2013). In July 2013, ALC was acquired by the private equity firm TPG Capital, L.P. for $278.3 million dollars (Boulton 2013). In March 2014 ALC changed their name to Enlivant (Enlivant 2014).

I have also noticed this is the population who most often isolates themselves from the rest of the residents. They chose to remain in bed, keep to themselves, and not get involved in the activities offered at the facility. It seems they fear being involved in the life of the nursing home means they have accepted their current situation, and they do not want others to think that. I have often heard these residents say things like, “I don’t belong here” or “I don’t want to be around all those old people.”

I ambitiously decided that I would brighten the lives of the elderly by volunteering at a rest home, but discovered that the elderly were being neglected, shoved aside and forgotten. As I stepped into the home a pungent odor penetrated my nostrils, causing an instantaneous gagging reflex. The place was abounded with neglected and subdued inhabitants, yearning for attention. Anybody that passed them caused a sudden outburst of ranting. The negligence and disregard the home displayed appalled me, but helped me to realize that I wanted to make a difference and change the condition people live in.

Both of the gentlemen stated they had been in other homes and that this was the nicest home they had been in. Kenneth complained of his first home ¡°smelling more like a zoo than a nursing home.¡± John told me that his last home was on the South Side and that the neighborhood was filled with gang bangers and hoodlums. When his family visits here though, they wheel him through the Lincoln Park neighborhoods and it¡¯s nice. For all of the questions that I asked these two men, they had just as many questions for me. Heading in to this assignment, I hadn¡¯t really considered that someone would be asking ME questions. In the midst of all that happens in nursing homes, it¡¯s important to remember that these residents aren¡¯t just dependent, older people, but that they are still people just like you and I.

As a nurse, I have worked around the elderly for the last eight years, and before that I was a Certified Nursing Assistant for approximately 3 years. Over the years I have witness the end of many lives. I have seen residents pass with a multitude of family members and I have seen a resident pass with just a staff member holding their hand. I have been able to be a part of many lives and have witnessed how activities can make a great impact on these same lives. This is why I chose to complete my service learning project in a long term nursing facility to be a first-hand participant in these activities.

The cultural experience that I decided to participate in was volunteering at a nursing home. Hospice centers focus on the care of chronically or terminally ill patients. Volunteering at such a center would require training and certification and a clean bill of health. Nursing homes require similar training for some forms of volunteer service, however there are other options available that still allow direct interaction with residents. I chose to volunteer at the LakePoint Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that is located in my hometown. My goal was to directly engage with the residents there so that I could better understand their experiences and overcome my feelings of discomfort.

Just the mere mention of “nursing home” causes most people to shudder and think, “I would never put my relative in such a ghastly place.” There are a great deal of horror stories that stem from nursing homes, most along the lines of , “ My mother was neglected after I put her in a nursing home. I would go to visit her and she would be lying in urine and have a new bruise, different than the one that was there last time.” There seems to be this popular perception that nursing homes are places where aging people go to wait out their final days and die; this causes many individuals to shun them. People are too caught up on these negative stories they

As individuals age changes occur physiologically that are part of normal aging. These changes occur in all organ systems and can impact an individual’s quality of life. The changes related to aging can be attributed to an individual’s genetic make up, lifestyle, physical activity, and dietary lifestyle. Being able to differentiate between normal changes in aging against disease process is important because it can help clinicians develop a plan of care (Boltz, Capezuti, Fulmer, & Zwicker, 2012). Creating an accurate plan of care for older adults will greatly impact their quality of life.

Out of the rapidly inclining population in the world, there are people who develop dementia every 66 seconds(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Being such a common disease in the elderly, there are 47.5 million people in the world with this disease(“2016 Alzheimer’s Disease”). Once families start to realize that their parents and grandparents have developed this, they start to wonder if they are able to live on their own. Within a few months, a decision is made whether if it is best for them to be put into a nursing home. Most often, those with dementia do happen to end up in nursing homes. Many wonder if being put into a nursing home will actually cause their dementia and their ability to live on their own to worsen. With the effects of activities, this could change. Activities help slow the deterioration of the brain(Smith). The activities and exercises performed by nursing homes to help improve the overall cognitive development in dementia patients. Nursing homes should induct purposeful daily activities to improve cognitive, social, and psychological development in dementia care