Can I add to what HeavenlyOne shared with you? I'm talking from another side of the coin you understand. Walt had to spend that time in the rehab nursing home after his aneurysm.
Start doing your research NOW. Check out the facilities very, very thoroughly. Go at different times of the day and different days of the week. Just observe. Check out things like: if they have a calendar up with activities scheduled on it, check to make sure that those activities are actually taking place and that they are being offered to anyone who can participate; how often do the residents get to take a shower; if they want to sleep in, is that allowed; if they are night-owls and want to stay up to the middle of the night, is there a place that they can do that without disturbing roommates; if your mom is not incontinent, will she still have to be disturbed in the middle of the night when they check on her roommate; pay the extra to eat a few meals there to what the food is like; how often does a doctor come; when someone rings the call bell, how long before it is answered - this is extremely important!! The last day Walt was at Heartland, they brought him back from PT, put him in his room. He said he felt sick, so they handed him a basin and walked out. He started feeling worse and worse, so put his call light on. When I walked in, it was still going off. As soon as I walked past the nurses station, someone got up to run to his room, but he told me it had been several minutes already. They got there and he was ashen colored, clammy and sweating. They had to call 911 and get him into a hospital immediately!! That's why I say how important it is that they check immediately when a call light goes off.
Don't wait until your mom is ready for a nursing home before you start checking tho because you will under tremendous pressure at that point. Start looking now.
That's just my take on things from my perspective. Best wishes and lotsa prayers, brothers. Both of you
Thanks, Margie! We are starting to investigate nursing homes. She needs to decide where she wants to live though. Does she want to stay in the Nashville area where she's close to me and one of my brothers, or does she want to move to Jackson, TN where my older sister lives? As of today, she can't make up her mind!
I visit her regularly every Wednesday night after I get off work. I buy all of her needed supplies, and I got her a cellphone on a lanyard so she can make all of the long distance calls she pleases! We talk on the phone almost every day.
__________________ Words: For when an emoticon just isn't enough.
Can I add to what HeavenlyOne shared with you? I'm talking from another side of the coin you understand. Walt had to spend that time in the rehab nursing home after his aneurysm.
Start doing your research NOW. Check out the facilities very, very thoroughly. Go at different times of the day and different days of the week. Just observe. Check out things like: if they have a calendar up with activities scheduled on it, check to make sure that those activities are actually taking place and that they are being offered to anyone who can participate; how often do the residents get to take a shower; if they want to sleep in, is that allowed; if they are night-owls and want to stay up to the middle of the night, is there a place that they can do that without disturbing roommates; if your mom is not incontinent, will she still have to be disturbed in the middle of the night when they check on her roommate; pay the extra to eat a few meals there to what the food is like; how often does a doctor come; when someone rings the call bell, how long before it is answered - this is extremely important!! The last day Walt was at Heartland, they brought him back from PT, put him in his room. He said he felt sick, so they handed him a basin and walked out. He started feeling worse and worse, so put his call light on. When I walked in, it was still going off. As soon as I walked past the nurses station, someone got up to run to his room, but he told me it had been several minutes already. They got there and he was ashen colored, clammy and sweating. They had to call 911 and get him into a hospital immediately!! That's why I say how important it is that they check immediately when a call light goes off.
Don't wait until your mom is ready for a nursing home before you start checking tho because you will under tremendous pressure at that point. Start looking now.
That's just my take on things from my perspective. Best wishes and lotsa prayers, brothers. Both of you
Excellent advice. Also, in the lobby, often there are people there visiting their families and even just residents gathered for an activity of their own or socializing. Ask them how they feel about the place, especially the visitors. Sometimes you can talk to an old woman and she may seem all there but really isn't....LOL!
Good luck, PM.
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