Putting Elderly Parents in Anursing Home

The decision of whether or not to place an aging parent into a long-term care facility, or to try and to keep them in their own home or yours is one that many American families are facing each day. Factors in dealing with this decision are too numerous to count but we will address a few of them in the following paper, like the financial aspects, psychosocial, and meeting the overall needs of our ever aging parents.

The first person or people who should be caring the burden for elderly care lies within their own family. Within the American culture many family members prefer to put their older members in elder homes. My family is originally from Mexico so I am aware of the family values embedded within Mexican culture. I have never seen a Mexican family have their elderly family members live or be taking care of by somebody else that is not a relative. We live in an American society that does not value the care and need for the elderly and prefer to leave up to state and national departments. Since they were the ones who created the generation in which we live in we should be grateful and provide them with the best care possible within our own homes. Many elders who live in homes receive poor or abusive care from faculty. This is not an environment that we should be letting them live in especially if they are your parents. If they lived there lives to watch you grow and take care of you we should be returning them the favor and taking care of them until their final days. The only exception that I have for not taking care of them would be if they have a serious disability or if they are mentally ill. There are illness where the son or daughter of the family member is not able to care for that person because of circumstances that out of their reach. In this situation it would be ok to admit them to home where they are professionally prepared to care for them and have the resources needed

(Geewax, M. 2012). The fact that many people are living longer today than they ever have in history is increasing the overall cost of caring for family members in this traditional environment, and making it nearly impossible for the United States and American families to keep up with rising cost. According to the current statistics provided by AARP, the average person will spend about 2.44 years in a skilled nursing facility. With these estimates, the cost of providing skilled nursing care for just one parent is at about $190,588.00 dollars. Medicare covers about three percent of this cost in total or approximately $5700.00 dollars split over just first one hundred days. Medicare pays at one hundred percent the first 20 days. Then with Medicaid, the general rule of thumb is all personal holdings such as savings, properties and retirement funds must be expended prior to applying for the program. The one exception to this rule is owning a property the parent can apply for Medicaid with the understanding that their home will be sold and the proceeds of the sale going to the state. Additional cost are offset with social security, most facilities will allot forty dollars a month out a residents social security benefits then apply the remainder to the amount to the monthly bill. The remaining balance would then be the responsibility of the resident, resident’s family or Medicaid

Activities of Daily Living can include just that, such as cooking/eating, bathing, personal care, toileting and help with medications. This around the clock care can be quite expensive for anyone, especially those who have already retired and were living on a fixed income, including retirement and social security. In the facility that I observed to live on the skilled care side and receive care twenty four hours a day seven days a week in a semi private room (double occupancy room), the cost was nearly $11,000 a month for each resident. The average cost across the country is $248 per day for a private room and $222 daily for a semi-private room (Costs Of Care), which for a private room can add up to over $90,000 a year. While that number is quite high assisted living can be much cheaper, at an average of $3,300 a month for the “base fee”, however each additional service that they require help from staff to complete is an additional fee. In the facility observed there was a fee for every action that staff completed or assisted with, including assistance with medication, trash, cleaning, and applying treatments such as a breathing machine. Though the cost may seem high many who do not have children or other family members to help provide care for themselves or have a condition that cannot be managed at home (due to physical or financial restraints) have no choice but to enter a long term care facility to receive help completing tasks needed for simple

Also take a close look at the long-term care insurance policy of your loved one. There are plan that pay cash to the policyholder to spend on caregiving help monthly. But these policies are very expensive and not very common, so if your loved one has one, take advantage of it.

Don and Mary are not financially stable to pay for all the at home care they need, for long term health care is very expensive. They are often receiving financial assistance from family members. Just like Don and Mary, many people end up coming out of pocket to afford these services. “In 2008 the median annual rate for a private nursing home room was $67,525, compared with the 2013 median annual rate of $83,950” (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 2012). Don and Mary do carry Medicare insurance but they do not have long term health care insurance. Medicare will cover a portion of the long term care depending on the facility and the costs of care there.

Therefore, many people in America are worried if there is going to be a crisis in health care. The chapter also discussed that doctors and nurses are starting to make more house calls to the elderly population. These increasing house calls are due to their patient’s fragile nature which forces the patient to be homebound. Furthermore, the chapter also touched on the fact that many of the elderly people are going to nursing homes. This is due to many different reasons. One of the reasons is that years ago the family size was much larger and so there were many people in the family to care for the elderly in the family. But, in present time many of the elderly do not have as many children or that the children do not live close by

If your parent seems to think your suggestion is out of line, encourage them to consult other people whose opinions they respect. They might talk with a clergy member or their doctor, for example. There may be another relative closer to their own age who can help them understand why assisted living is a good idea.

Though eating well may be vital for everyone, it is especially important as you grow older. As you age, your daily food choices can mean the difference in your health as well as how you look and feel. One of the benefits of senior home care services in Dallas is the assurance that your loved one has a balanced mix of foods every day.

This paper will address aging population in Canada and the strain this will have on our healthcare system. The aging population will bring with it an increase in chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, dementia, and heart disease. These are complex conditions that the healthcare system is currently not prepared to handle due to the lack of home health supports. This issue is important for the nursing profession because as the population ages, people have more chronic conditions and corresponding need for hospitalization and medical care. Canada’s aging population is not sustainable in our current healthcare system as there is a lack of homecare and health promotion.

This relates to some of the points brought up in this week’s discussion board and long-term care. Many others have mentioned that having to pay for long-term care for elderly relatives is emotionally and financially stressful. This scenario of being the primary caregiver for elderly relatives, rather than putting them in a nursing facility, also adds the stress of time management and the emotional and mental stress of walking a relative through the last stages of their life.

If you have a parent with dementia, you may need to look into nursing home care or assisted living. You might want to care for your parent in your home for as long as possible, but at some point your parent may be safer in a facility that knows how to care for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Here are some reasons why.

It’s difficult to decide to place aging parents in home care, and there are many mixed emotions involved. For example, you may feel guilty you are not able to provide everything your parents need, but also relieved at the same time because you will finally get help to care for them.

The idea of hiring a home aider becomes a legitimate alternative since most families are not well equipped to take care of a senior relative with family members being caught up in other daily activities too.

It is cheaper to live with family, than by yourself. "Families living with elderly relatives save on nursing-home payments while working mothers can cut child care costs. Household chores such as cooking, cleaning and maintenance work can be less time-consuming with more people around to help out." This evidence shows that living with more people is cheaper. Other people can help pay the bills, also if you have to go to work and you