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A Smile and Wishes: Life in Care Facilities
- 1. Imagine…
- 5. “ You put a smile on their faces…”
- 13. “… I find myself wishing she could go peacefully in her sleep before I have to do this.”
- 14. “… .I think my mother is actually happier here than she was at home with me.”
Editor's Notes
- Imagine your grandfather just passes away, your grandmother now has to live at home, caring for herself. One day she falls and breaks her hip. Your family is now having to choose between sending her to a nursing home or having an at home nurse come ever so often to help. Your family decides that home care would be better for your grandmother because they’ve heard a lot about nursing home abuse recently.
- She now sits at home by herself, waiting for company, or just a simple phone call from someone. Was this what your family had intended? Your loved one sitting at home by herself?
- Now imagine you went the opposite route, your family decided to send your grandmother to a nursing home. She is constantly surrounded by men and women her age, and all different types of doctors. She is finally happy.
- Growing up my grandmother and grandfather would take me to Saint Joseph’s Villa, a nursing home, at least three times a week. I think this is where I began to fall in love with the elderly. We would visit the people we knew, and then would make friends with new faces.
- This summer, two friends and I decided to volunteer at a nursing home. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. We spent countless days there, whether it was helping do the laundry or painting the resident’s nails. One day, a nun came up to us and said: “You know, this is a great thing you guys are doing. You put a smile on their faces just by showing up.”
- Towards the end of the summer, one of my favorite residents was passing away as I was volunteering. It put an emotional toll on me, and I didn’t think I would ever want to volunteer again. After remembering what that nun had told us, I knew I couldn’t stop. One thing that I realized after Sister Mary Thomas passed away was that, I wouldn’t mind dying in a place like this. For as she was dying, she had a line of residents and staff members out her door, all praying for her and saying their goodbyes.
- State thesis: Due to the disappearance of the extended family in modern society, nursing homes have become an essential social institution to aid the elderly by providing constant care, a healthy diet, and an active lifestyle. Out of 30,453 men and women ages 75 years and older, only 21% live alone. A doctor also the following statistic- Elderly persons without family used hospital emergency rooms 7 to 30 times…
- By placing an elder in a nursing home, allows them to still lead productive lives but be under watchful eyes by a selected amount of doctors. Registered nurses, doctors, and specialists such as occupational therapist and physical therapists also work with the residents one on one.
- Mealtimes are one of the most important activities of each day and provide an important opportunity for social gathering and sharing. Due to their social and nutritional significance meals are a major concern for most nursing home residents.
- When you think of activities within a nursing home, I bet a lot of you think: “bingo.” Well you’re actually right. Elderly LOVE bingo. But there are different activities too. Specific nurses or coordinators are in charge of coming up with activities for the residents. Activities can range from Pet Therapy, sing-a-longs, different holiday celebrations and trivia.
- Like I discussed earlier in my presentation, choosing to send someone you love to a nursing home is hard. In a book I read called “An Aging Population” a woman talks about the hardship she had to go through when sending her mom to a nursing home.
- After choosing the best fit nursing home for her mother, Hartney visited her twice a day. She found that the staff was even kinder and more cheerful then she expected, her mom had even made a best friend. Hartney then decreased her visits to once a week. Her final thought about sending her mom to a nursing home was the following: “I have come to the decision which surprises me: I think my mother is actually happier here than she was at home with me.”
- For my hands on project, I continued to volunteer at Saint Joseph’s Villa in Flourtown. Instead of just raising money for a specific nursing home, I thought volunteering was just as beneficial.
- While volunteering, I handed out food trays, collected them, gave out water, distributed the laundry and simply just kept the residents company.
- While volunteering during the summer, I didn’t think about how the system really ran. This time volunteering I paid close attention to what I mentioned in my thesis: a healthy diet, constant care and an active lifestyle.
- Conclusion on healthy diet here.
- Conclusion on constant care here.
- Conclusion on active lifestyle here.
- Conclude on everything.