If your elderly parent, grandparent or other relative lived with a friend, partner or sibling, how would you feel about separating them if your loved one needed to move to a care facility? Would you seek out an option that allowed them remain as close as possible, or would you move your loved one without a second thought?
This is one of those elderly concerns that bugs me. Especially after having witnessed what it can do to a person's physical and emotional well being.
Sure, there are assisted living facilities willing to take in married couples, as long as they are deemed worthy and don't have a big difference between their care needs. But married couples are the only type of couple out there that have a bond and depend on each other for emotional support. Best friends, siblings, (especially twins), cousins, and domestic partners are also important.
I addressed this topic recently in this article:
No Home For Elderly Friends and Siblings
For Assisted Living Directory.
If you have an elderly loved one that may need an advanced level of care soon, I recommend you read the article. It details an account I witnessed personally, and one that forever changed my outlook (and hopefully yours too) on traditional methods of Long Term Care.
I think that if we are going to be aware of the elderly on a new level, then we need to be aware of their needs on ALL levels. And maybe it is time for some changes. If caregivers produce a loud enough voice, perhaps in the future assisted living facilities as well as other LTC facilities will allow and encourage more than just married couples to share quarters and reap the benefits.
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