Welcome back!
The last three years as caregiver to my now 87-year-old father has been quite a learning experience. After he landed in the intensive care unit (ICU) of an out-of-town hospital last August due to a fall down a flight of stairs, he was sent to a rehab center to continue his treatment. He spent three days in ICU undergoing numerous tests as doctors tried to figure out what caused him to pass out, unfortunately, just as he arrived at the top of the stairway.
They never did find out the cause of the blackout, but sent him to a rehab facility to help him gain strength before sending him home. What I did not realize until we arrived at the rehab center was that rehab was located in one wing of a nursing home.
A nursing home by any other name…
Other family members have ended up in various types of nursing homes over the years, but I never thought about the difference in the designations. Dad’s stay was only to help him gain strength. He really didn’t need other care, was able to take his meals in the cafeteria, and was encouraged to spend as much time walking around and visiting others as possible. His twice a day workouts in the rehab exercise area helped him gain strength.
On the other side of the building was a skilled nursing area for patients who needed much more care than he needed. But, eventually they were destined to return to their home or the home of a loved one. They might even end up in an assisted living facility.
Another family member lived in an assisted living facility where she had her own apartment. She would walk to the cafeteria for her meals. While she was out of her room, housekeeping would come in and change her linens and clean her room on a daily basis. She had a great deal of independence and enjoyed her stay until she was no longer able to care for herself.
My mother, on the other hand, had TIA dementia and we found it necessary to place her in a nursing home, where she remained until she passed away.
Learn the terms
What I did not know about the above terms was that when someone enters a nursing home, they rarely leave until the end of their life. Those in assisted living are there as long as they are independent enough to live pretty much on their own with some assistance. When they get to the point where they are no longer able to care for themselves, they may move to a location where they can obtain greater care, or they may receive hospice care where they are at.
Before you make any decisions about where your loved one will spend their remaining days if they are unable to stay at home, learn all you can about the options you have. Some places are private pay only, while others take Medicaid patients. There is a vast difference in the type of facility and, unfortunately, the quality of care they may receive.
Thankfully, Dad only stayed in the rehab center for ten days before coming home. There may be a point in time where he needs greater care than what I can give him at home. As we research the various options, we are learning we need to understand the difference between the facilities. All of us want our loved one to have the best care possible. Taking time to understand what the facilities offer will provide peace of mind when the time comes to make the next move.
