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A HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Every son or daughter wants to find the perfect place for his or her mom and dad. It's not an easy thing. In fact it's a tremendous task to find your parents a home away from home. But sooner or later, it happens to all of us. There comes a time when an old aged home seems like it's the only solution in the world. A lot of questions are running through your mind right now. After all It's an important decision to make. In this article, we'll help clarify the answers to some of those questions. What you need to know about sending your parents to an old aged home Question #1: How do I find a good nursing or retirement home? It should be noted that a nursing home (or old aged home) similar to but not entirely the same with a retirement home—a nursing home is intended the for those who require strict medical supervision on a daily basis. Medical supervision are of course still present in nursing homes, but at a minimum degree. Seeing things for yourself is still the best way to figure out which retirement or nursing home is best suited for your parents. A website or a piece of ad might have lots of good things to say about a retirement home. But until you see the place for yourself, it isn't worth sending your parents over. Process to your local senior information center and ask for recommendations. If no such centers are in your area, you can look it up on the Yellow Pages or on the Internet. Question #2: What questions should I ask? Some things you need to know about the facility and its services: are your parents guaranteed an independent lifestyle?; is parking available?; is it okay to bring friends and relatives together to visit my parents?; am I allowed to sleep over from time to time?; etc. These are important issues because they deal with your parent's lifestyle in the home as well as your freedom to visit them anytime you want. Question #3: What are the living conditions like? What about healthcare? The first question you can answer by checking out the facility yourself. Are the corridors clean? Are there enough personnel to talk care of your mom and dad? You can just walk around and be able to tell the kind of place it is by looking at the faces of the elderly residents. A bright happy smile is a satisfied smile. Depending on your set up with the retirement home, your parent's healthcare benefits might be affected. Discuss this with a home representative before you agree to anything. Question #4: What about meals? Entertainment? Most retirement homes provide meals and entertainment to its residents – this is included in the service fee. For entertainment, it might include a television set, a lawn for recreational games, table games such as chess, etc. So that's one thing less off your mind. Perhaps you could ask if your parents are entitled to late-night meals if they're hungry, etc. We hope our answers helped clear your doubts that a retirement home, or nursing home, might just be the best solution to your parent troubles. |