Today, there was a story in our local paper about a nursing home in trouble for being on the list of the worst long-term-care facilities in the country. Now, this particular long-term-care facility is in danger of losing its Medicare funding . . . what the newspaper says is "a rare move that often results in closing or a change in management." The facility's lawyers are on the case.
My sister and I took care of our aging parents in their home. We cooked, cleaned house when needed, washed clothes, changed linen, bathed and kept them clean and up-to-date on doctors' appointments, medication, shots and much more. When daddy became unable to walk, we had no choice but to place him in a nursing home. The same fate befell our mother and we placed her in the same facility.
I am still mad at this facility because they charged us approximately $4,000 per month and the staff wouldn't feed the woman before she was whisked away to dialysis at 5:30 a.m. three days a week. The ambulance transportation staff often fed mama before taking her to dialysis. Absolutely unforgivable! I remember one time, mama was scheduled for surgery on her neck. We left the hospital and doctor's strict instructions with the nursing staff, and then followed up the day before, to ensure that mama was not fed breakfast on the day of the surgery. Do you know that after all that preparation and precaution, mama's neck surgery had to be postponed, because the nursing staff fed her on the day of the procedure. More needless suffering followed.
I won't go into all of the horror stories that my family went through at these so-called long-term-care facilities. If you know like I know, you'd be better off applying for long-term care insurance, because you cannot rely on your family, nor can you rely on the medical professionals at these facilities to take care of you . . . even if you can pay. At least with a good long-term care insurance policy, you may be able to qualify for personal care so that you can stay in your own home a little longer.
Perhaps the publicity surrounding the facility in the newspaper today will help in some way.
During our trials and tribulations in taking care of our parents, my sister used to say, "Lord, just let me drop dead and not have to go through all this." I used to tell her that that was an awful thing to say. You should want to live a long life . . . a long life that God gives you is a blessing. I couldn't see where she was coming from until the year after mama passed away. We were so beat up and tired.
Heed my words . . . long-term-care facilities will be the death of you or a loved-one. Remember, it's not just old people who end up in these places. A serious accident has landed many a young person in a long-term-care facility. If you have a loved-one in one of these facilities, be ever vigilant. Check in on them often. Make sure the bed has been changed and that they are eating properly. Make sure their medication is in order. Afterall, you have to pay for these services. Do not leave the care of your loved-one to the professionals only in a long-term-care facility.
I know that these facilities are very much needed. I'm just saying that they need a major overhaul. So if you ever have to place a loved-one in a long-term-care facility . . . Stay on them. Be sure things get done. Take care of your loved-one. If you don't . . . nobody else will.
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