Things to Consider when Finding a Nursing Home. When it comes time to find a nursing home for parents or other loved ones, here are a few concerns keep to mind: Quality Equipment and Aid : Private homes simply don't have the types of medical equipment and supplies needed to help seniors stay healthy. Many nursing homes are almost as advanced as hospitals in their ability to provide sophisticated care for patients on a 24-hour basis. Finding a nursing home can be a difficult endeavor while there are many options out there, it is a difficult decision to make. Being informed can help, one such resource for information is a free nursing home finder that searches out homes in your area and sorts them according to your loved ones income and needs. To try this free resource for yourself simply visit this link.. Find a Home for Mom. Â Long-Term Care you can trust : Due to modern medicine, seniors now live longer than ever. While we're thankful for this, longer life-spans often come with longer periods of late-life illness and disability. Caring for a senior relative at home is often a long-term commitment of many years, sometimes requiring intensive care. Â Around the clock Monitoring and Emergency Care: Nursing homes are equipped to deal with emergencies and other sudden incidents. Internal call systems allow residents to contact staff at any time should something arise. These systems are monitored 24 hours, and experienced staff is always on hand to respond. Â Lessen the emotional toll on the family: When an elderly relative being cared for at home experiences suffering, a sudden emergency, or a decline in health, family members are liable to feel guilt and to wonder if they could have done more. Putting the elderly relative in the hands of professionals makes this issue nonexistent. Â Carry on living you life while feeling secure about theirs: While we want to help our relatives as much as possible, we also must think of ourselves, our spouses, and our children. Caring for an elderly relative at home can be a time-consuming process for everyone involved, which may take time and energy away from careers, school, hobbies, family bonding, travel, and other important personal matters. If our elderly relative can be just as happy and healthy, if not more so, in a home, why not take the burden off of ourselves? Emotionally it can be devastating to have to have a loved one put into a home for their own good, there is a burden put upon a caregiver that some may not understand. The split between what is right for them and what makes them happy is not an easy divide to cross, let us help by showing you that there is a choice. Please visit... Find a Home for Mom. Â A Chance for friends again : Socially, seniors need more than just family. At nursing homes, seniors are out in the world interacting with a variety of people. Other residents provide a chance to form new friendships with others in the same age group. Meanwhile, strong, personal relationships may also be developed with staff members. ÂThings to do.. : Nursing homes routinely provide the types of activities and, in some cases, outings that are specifically tailored to seniors, and which may not be available in private homes. Nursing homes usually provide movies, reading material, games, activities, and other types of events. In addition, they often have private gardens where residents can go for strolls, get fresh air, and even do some gardening. Some things are better off not left to chance, you have options.. come see... Find a Home for Mom

Start at another level besides the top. What I'd do is start with the nursing supervisor and express your concerns. And make a list to cover all that's on your mind. The Celebrex would be low down on my concerns, actually, but the change in her behavior on Sunday is IMHO a bigger deal. Lines of communication go both ways, up and down, and you are the one to keep the lines open from your side. But don't even worry about talking to the doctor right now. You need to talk to all the hands-on people and express your concerns. And yes, ask if Celebrex is the appropriate medication, and if they think that there is a greater risk for this particular patient. Remember that not all patients have the same reactions to drugs, and also that in ALL medications there is a risk-assessment process. Anything, from Aspirin to Zinc, has side effects or potential interactions, but we look at each patient and whether this drug makes a difference that helps and at what cost of side effects. When I was taking care of Mother, a number of times, I'd just ask the nurse who did medications questions and when I pointed out my Mother's reactions to something, the staff took action to make changes. But don't worry about the Dr. at this point. You need to start your comnmunications lines at a lot lower level. If you just go to the top, you might make the staff, who are indeed skilled, feel like you are complaining about them, and also ignoring their potential to take care of the problem on another level. My Mother was in the NH for 6 weeks, and I guess we only saw the doctor twice, and the rest of the time, we dealt with changes in meds or concerns about reactions with the immediate staff.

I didn't meant to sound harsh and in re-reading my post and I can see where I did...so I'm sorry. In my nursing home..yes...we all accommodate tours at all times...pop-ins and all...but I also can't tell you how many times people have dropped in and demanded a tour right away...sometimes this does a dis-service to the tour-ee. In other words, if a member of the admissions department or social work department aren't available they are accommodated by members of different departments who often aren't able to answer the questions they may have nor give them any advice. They can end up walking away with incomplete information which can be quite frustrating. It is a fact of life, however, and we (meanng Nursing Home staff) are used to it but it can be a bit frustrating for us sometimes. In a perfect world everyone would make an appointment...but it certainly isn't a perfect world so that's ok. As for the discharge planner giving you that advice...it's common practice. And again, that's ok, too...it says to do that in all of the literature on "how to pick a nursing home", etc. but it's still, in my opinion, not necessarily the best way to go. And although you raise very good points, Fairegold I still strongly disagree about having individuals tour independently without escort. It's a HIPPA issue...a security issue...and a dignity issue. If your loved one was living in a nursing home would you want some crazy person wandering around un-escorted? You never know who can wander in looking around. And although I agree residents LOVE visitors it is the nursing home's responsibility to maintain their safety, privacy, and dignity. A tour can say hello and even stop and chat all they want...they just better have a staff member with them! I stand firm on that issue. Adrienne

Not a frequent poster but I've certainly enjoyed following your home posts Bodica. You are in an intense phase of grief. "Did I inconvenience.." that is blaming the victim; don't do it. Remember that even though it was not installed, your mother knew that you were advocating for her right up to the end. Institutions can cause so much pain. I don't have experience with nursing homes yet, but the pain the hospital caused me and my daughter at her birth and in the following days took years for me to recover from. I wish I had spoken to a counselor or therapist bc it was very hard on my husband and I. What eventually healed me was the natural process of how dendrons/memories change in the brain (softens the memory; it's been documented), and also looking at how happy/free from hurt my daughter is now. Your mother is free from the pain now, I hope that is a comfort to you. Unfortunately many of us have gone through these nightmare experiences of intense pain; loss of loved ones, injustice. Some say call a lawyer, in certain cases I might, but also I just try to be more loving to the ones I've got left. That is what heals me and honors those who are gone. Best of luck, and fwiw, I'm sure this thread will help countless others. I'd never given a washlet a second thought before, but now it's high on my list for older loved ones and someday me.