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The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

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Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#11

Post by Teknoman117 »

My grandfather died in one of these facilities earlier this year from COVID. My great grandmother (his mother-in-law) died of a kidney infection in one about 15 years ago.

He had a heart attack in 2019 that crippled him, so he was in a physical rehabilitation facility because he could barely move on his own. He was making progress right up until the pandemic started. No visitation, and then the staff neglected him, which resulted in him developing pneumonia from laying in bed so much. He recovered somewhat, but then the pandemic hit the facility. He died a few weeks later.

I'll miss the time that stubborn man and I spent together. Rest in peace Pépère.

Hopefully by the time my parents are unable to care for themselves I'll be financially well enough off to make sure they never end up somewhere like this unless I truly can't provide the care they need.

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#12

Post by foo_barrio »

redis_mlc wrote: post #8
geocrasher wrote: post #3

When my wife (46) and I found out that she was terminally ill, I promised her that I'd never let her end up in a Nursing/Hospice home. She'll get care at home. When the time comes, she'll die at home, too. Myself, our adult daughter, and close friends have all banded together to make sure that she never ends up in a home. We reaffirmed this after Covid hit. If she goes into a hospice care facility, I'll never see her…

I have some experience with this through family and friends. It's easy to make moral proclamations before spending literally decades attending to somebody with dementia/vegetation, or other chronic conditions. Wasting your own life on somebody who isn't all there is not a great trade-off if there's other options. (My friend inherited a $2 million house for taking care of his gravely ill elderly relative, but that cos…

Unfortunately that incentive exists at home too. I, with my mom, were the primary caretakers of my father with dementia. Without any kind of sedation he was actually more mentally aware but also prone to violence, yelling, sprinting (if in the house easy to trip). On the sedative he was more manageable but also clumsier and more prone to slipping and falling. Overall I'd rather deal with that than having to be a referee between him and my mom!

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#13

Post by crispyambulance »

geocrasher wrote: post #3

When my wife (46) and I found out that she was terminally ill, I promised her that I'd never let her end up in a Nursing/Hospice home. She'll get care at home. When the time comes, she'll die at home, too. Myself, our adult daughter, and close friends have all banded together to make sure that she never ends up in a home. We reaffirmed this after Covid hit. If she goes into a hospice care facility, I'll never see her…

> also seen healthy but less able older folks put in homes so that their kids could collect their inheritances and sell off everything else...

Not sure what you mean by this, but putting someone in a skilled nursing facility costs about 10,000/month nominally. The "Deficit Reduction Act" of 2005 (thanks Bush), requires a 5 year look-back period for transactions to family members. Meaning that if a resident spends down all their money and needs to go on medical assistance, the family members are on the hook to pay the equivalent of whatever property or money they received from the parent going back to 5 years before the application of medical assistance (yes, they look at taxes and all bank account records). This stuff is effectively a financial trap for middle class families that has caused immeasurable grief and hardship. Consulting with an lawyer who specializes in elder law is super important.

As for nursing homes, they are sometimes the only option left. It's heartbreaking to put someone in a nursing home. I have done it but it was absolutely the right thing to do for my family. Everyone's situation is different, every nursing home is different. While I am sure that there is no shortage of greedy people, it's unfair to suggest that every person is equipped to give up their employment and take on 24/7/365 nursing care for a loved one and that not doing so is somehow "greedy".

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#14

Post by DoreenMichele »

On the upside, modern tech is a potential antidote to this. Some elderly are able to keep their freedom and the dignity and quality of life that go with it by using tech to stay connected, provide reminders and alarms and so forth to mitigate some of the issues that cause us to think they would be better off with supervision in a nursing home.

If this concerns you and you are a programmer or similar, you may be able to contribute to such solutions.

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#15

Post by crispyambulance »

throwaway-sf wrote: post #7

I'm probably in the minority here but I often think about preventative care like exercise and eating healthy now as insurance against a future where I'd be stuck in a nursing home in my final years.

> exercise and eating healthy now as insurance against a future where I'd be stuck in a nursing home in my final years.

We would all like to think that "the end" would come at a ripe old age with a peaceful death in one's sleep. Sadly that's not usually the case. People who live a long time can expect a cascade of long-lasting chronic health problems leading to their death.

If you're going to focus on diet and exercise do it for your quality of life NOW and not for the distant, unpredictable future.

There's something to be said for dropping dead at around 80 of a massive heart attack.

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#16

Post by eppp »

crispyambulance wrote: post #13
geocrasher wrote: post #3

When my wife (46) and I found out that she was terminally ill, I promised her that I'd never let her end up in a Nursing/Hospice home. She'll get care at home. When the time comes, she'll die at home, too. Myself, our adult daughter, and close friends have all banded together to make sure that she never ends up in a home. We reaffirmed this after Covid hit. If she goes into a hospice care facility, I'll never see her…

> also seen healthy but less able older folks put in homes so that their kids could collect their inheritances and sell off everything else... Not sure what you mean by this, but putting someone in a skilled nursing facility costs about 10,000/month nominally. The "Deficit Reduction Act" of 2005 (thanks Bush), requires a 5 year look-back period for transactions to family members. Meaning that if a resident spends dow…

We hired a great person to help take care of a loved one during the day but it was complete luck that that person was available. It was still awful and if he had become any harder to take care of, we would have had to put him in a nursing home. Its a no win option.

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#17

Post by chrisseaton »

crispyambulance wrote: post #13
geocrasher wrote: post #3

When my wife (46) and I found out that she was terminally ill, I promised her that I'd never let her end up in a Nursing/Hospice home. She'll get care at home. When the time comes, she'll die at home, too. Myself, our adult daughter, and close friends have all banded together to make sure that she never ends up in a home. We reaffirmed this after Covid hit. If she goes into a hospice care facility, I'll never see her…

> also seen healthy but less able older folks put in homes so that their kids could collect their inheritances and sell off everything else... Not sure what you mean by this, but putting someone in a skilled nursing facility costs about 10,000/month nominally. The "Deficit Reduction Act" of 2005 (thanks Bush), requires a 5 year look-back period for transactions to family members. Meaning that if a resident spends dow…

> putting someone in a skilled nursing facility costs about 10,000/month nominally

Who on earth is able to afford this?

Everywhere I look there are nursing homes full of ordinary people. I can't believe more than 0.1% of these people are literally able to afford $10,000/month. People live in those places for 20 years sometimes. That's $24,000,000. It just doesn't add up, dude.

I think the actual cost is way, way, way less.

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#18

Post by TimTheTinker »

There are some good communities/homes for the elderly. Here's a great example (note these are pretty expensive): https://www.humangood.org/

I'm super grateful my grandmother was able to move to one of these communities while she was still on her feet and doing well. She started in a standalone house that she lived in by herself for about 10 years. With each subsequent step of her eventual decline, there was a smooth transition to a setup that was comfortable to her, and they took excellent care of her until she passed away.

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#19

Post by harryh »

chrisseaton wrote: post #17
crispyambulance wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> also seen healthy but less able older folks put in homes so that their kids could collect their inheritances and sell off everything else... Not sure what you mean by this, but putting someone in a skilled nursing facility costs about 10,000/month nominally. The "Deficit Reduction Act" of 2005 (thanks Bush), requires a 5 year look-back period for transactions to family members. Meaning that if a resident spends dow…

> putting someone in a skilled nursing facility costs about 10,000/month nominally Who on earth is able to afford this? Everywhere I look there are nursing homes full of ordinary people. I can't believe more than 0.1% of these people are literally able to afford $10,000/month. People live in those places for 20 years sometimes. That's $24,000,000. It just doesn't add up, dude. I think the actual cost is way, way, way…

Medicaid

Re: The Corporatization of Nursing Homes

#20

Post by watersb »

foo_barrio wrote: post #10
geocrasher wrote: post #3

When my wife (46) and I found out that she was terminally ill, I promised her that I'd never let her end up in a Nursing/Hospice home. She'll get care at home. When the time comes, she'll die at home, too. Myself, our adult daughter, and close friends have all banded together to make sure that she never ends up in a home. We reaffirmed this after Covid hit. If she goes into a hospice care facility, I'll never see her…

Sorry about your wife. It sucks to go through with that. Let me give you the other side of the story. My father is slowly succumbing due to frontal-temporal dementia. In the span of 10 years he's gone from a social, independent man to a an extremely mentally challenged man with cognitive capacity of a 1 year old child. He is prone to ever increasing psychotic fits of violence and actual epileptic fits. Medication hel…

Totally believe you. You are doing far more than most anyone would be able to do.
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