Why I’m choosing a home care service and not a large nursing home facility
One-on-one care.
In a nursing home, there can be several units with different nursing staff attempting to answer call lights and pay attention to a great many duties and residents. Even a large facility is divided into smaller, manageable units where nursing staff can make the rounds for daily routines and administer medication. The large number of residents in a large facility requires much more staff to accommodate everyone. The high volume of personnel and residents makes it harder for people to get to know each other on a meaningful level. It also means staff cannot always take the time for top quality care as they often feel rushed at these large facilities to finish making their rounds before their shift is over. Meanwhile, the resident can be waiting in frustration as he or she pushes the call light in order to get a drink or a chance to go to the restroom.
At a home care facility, the attention to personal needs goes beyond the physical, and includes relational needs. The home environment means fewer residents, so there is no need for additional divisions based on numbers. Still, the staff to resident ratio is accommodating to the needs of the resident. In the home facility, the residents not only get their calls answered more rapidly, the staff is able to anticipate their needs and create a meaningful atmosphere that feels less like a hospital and more like home. Nurses become friends to these residents, and sometimes that friendship even feels like family to the resident.
Comfort.
Both large and home care facilities have access to the same medical equipment and supplies to help assist the resident in his or her daily routine. Whether it’s a bed, a lift or a wheelchair, the resident is going to be able to get around or lay down comfortably. Personalization can also happen at both settings.
The comfort a home care facility brings is in the details, the kind that affect the five senses. Aesthetic elements arising from the decorating or the array of natural beauty surrounding a home facility bring out a constant therapeutic environment. A resident will be able to take in the pleasant atmosphere surrounding the home from room to room, in the hallways, and outdoors.
Whether it is the lack of beeping lights and fewer staff meandering the halls, or a well-placed photo or fountain, these promote a healthful, quiet and peaceful environment. Even though a person is getting older and living in a care facility, doesn’t mean he or she suddenly has no need for beautiful views or the sensations of a gentle breeze or glistening sun on the porch. Even though this is all possible at a large facility, it’s definitely an intentional opportunity at a home facility.
It’s home.
Whenever we talk about care for a person, institutions are seen as statistically less efficient, no matter what we’re talking about. Even if a nursing home is run efficiently and wonderfully, a home can do better. We’ve always valued home to care for our kids, to care for our families in every stage. So, now, if living in our own home is not an option anymore, it makes sense to transition to a home care facility rather than a large facility. Not only will it be efficient, it will feel like that home environment we always valued and hoped to nurture in others. Now as we are in our last years, let home take care of us!
One-on-one care.
In a nursing home, there can be several units with different nursing staff attempting to answer call lights and pay attention to a great many duties and residents. Even a large facility is divided into smaller, manageable units where nursing staff can make the rounds for daily routines and administer medication. The large number of residents in a large facility requires much more staff to accommodate everyone. The high volume of personnel and residents makes it harder for people to get to know each other on a meaningful level. It also means staff cannot always take the time for top quality care as they often feel rushed at these large facilities to finish making their rounds before their shift is over. Meanwhile, the resident can be waiting in frustration as he or she pushes the call light in order to get a drink or a chance to go to the restroom.
At a home care facility, the attention to personal needs goes beyond the physical, and includes relational needs. The home environment means fewer residents, so there is no need for additional divisions based on numbers. Still, the staff to resident ratio is accommodating to the needs of the resident. In the home facility, the residents not only get their calls answered more rapidly, the staff is able to anticipate their needs and create a meaningful atmosphere that feels less like a hospital and more like home. Nurses become friends to these residents, and sometimes that friendship even feels like family to the resident.
Comfort.
Both large and home care facilities have access to the same medical equipment and supplies to help assist the resident in his or her daily routine. Whether it’s a bed, a lift or a wheelchair, the resident is going to be able to get around or lay down comfortably. Personalization can also happen at both settings.
The comfort a home care facility brings is in the details, the kind that affect the five senses. Aesthetic elements arising from the decorating or the array of natural beauty surrounding a home facility bring out a constant therapeutic environment. A resident will be able to take in the pleasant atmosphere surrounding the home from room to room, in the hallways, and outdoors.
Whether it is the lack of beeping lights and fewer staff meandering the halls, or a well-placed photo or fountain, these promote a healthful, quiet and peaceful environment. Even though a person is getting older and living in a care facility, doesn’t mean he or she suddenly has no need for beautiful views or the sensations of a gentle breeze or glistening sun on the porch. Even though this is all possible at a large facility, it’s definitely an intentional opportunity at a home facility.
It’s home.
Whenever we talk about care for a person, institutions are seen as statistically less efficient, no matter what we’re talking about. Even if a nursing home is run efficiently and wonderfully, a home can do better. We’ve always valued home to care for our kids, to care for our families in every stage. So, now, if living in our own home is not an option anymore, it makes sense to transition to a home care facility rather than a large facility. Not only will it be efficient, it will feel like that home environment we always valued and hoped to nurture in others. Now as we are in our last years, let home take care of us!