Nursing homes

 

November 17, 2017



Nursing homes: the third piece in the continuum of care that this community takes pride in offering.

Pressure to make a decision, combined with feelings of guilt, real or imagined, means few are ready emotionally or financially to relocate a loved one to what may be the final stage of their life.

Long-term care insurance is a comfort, but often covers less than the median shared room cost of $235 per day in this country.

According to statistics in AARP Bulletin, there are roughly 1.4 million receiving nursing home care; serving America’s most frail citizenry, employment for another 1.64 million.

While Medicaid pays 62 percent of the nursing home bills, Medicare provides coverage in the first few months with private pay and insurance covering the rest. Other statistics of interest show that 68 percent of the facilities are for-profit corporations; others are government-owned; but family owned, like Beadles in Alva, are among the oldest.

If the Advantage Program, which offers at-home care, suffers a reduction in funding, the nursing homes will be hard-pressed to provide the beds. While independent and assisted living centers increase in number, it means that more people are arriving at nursing homes in poorer health. The average stay is 22 months, meaning that some are there for only days while others have been there since their youth. Specialized nursing homes, those catering to Alzheimer or ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), are beginning to appear.

Growing old is a privilege, planning for it a burden, and living it a miracle.

 

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