Nursing homes provide around-the-clock care for senior citizens.
Nursing homes typically serve as full-time residential care facilities for elderly adults who can no longer take care of themselves in their own homes. Family members might choose a nursing home for their aging relative when they cannot perform the duties of safe, proper elder care themselves. A quality, reputable nursing home can make an elderly person's life less stressful and give him or her a sense of security and community with others.
Daily Task Services
Daily tasks, which might be considered regular chores in a household, can be daunting or even impossible for an elderly person in need of nursing home care. Nursing home attendants and staff can perform duties like laundry, making the bed and changing bedding, cleaning, emptying the trash, and providing clean towels and other essentials. These are all tasks that elderly nursing home residents cannot safely complete on their own because of physical or mental infirmities.
Food Service
Nursing homes provide meals appropriate for their elderly residents. If the resident cannot leave his or her room, staff will bring food to the room. Other residents may choose to eat together in a dining room setting. Easy-to-chew and easy-to-digest food is served at least three times a day, and staff makes sure residents remember to eat. Some elderly people with physical or mental health issues do not eat regularly or get proper nutrition when they live on their own or are not monitored by family.
Living Assistance
Daily assistance with bathing, dressing, eating and going to the bathroom are what make caring for an elderly person a full-time job. Many family members simply cannot perform these duties because they have careers and/or children to care for. A nursing home provides nurses and attendants with professional training to help elderly residents with these daily living tasks 24 hours a day. Depending on the facility, daily living assistance can range from the most basic needs to quality of life activities like outdoor walks and crafts.
Health Care
Nursing homes provide professional health care services to their elderly residents. Even if a doctor is not in the facility around the clock, trained nurses will always be on hand to monitor health situations. Many elderly residents require medication, and a team of doctors and nurses make sure each person is taking proper medications in proper doses. They can also observe any changes in health and consult with family members to implement changes in care. Most medical services can be performed at the nursing home, decreasing the need for hospital and doctor's office visits.
Community
Living alone is an extremely isolated and lonely existence for an elderly person with physical or mental limitations. A nursing home provides a community of people of similar age and circumstance. Many nursing homes facilitate group activities like games, movie nights, day trips and crafts. This community should not take the place of family visits and regular contact, but it helps residents feel connected with others on a daily basis.
Tags: nursing home, elderly person, elderly residents, Nursing homes, homes provide, Nursing homes provide
