Caring for loved ones in a nursing facility

Placing loved ones in a nursing facility can be a painful decision to make. There are a million and one thoughts that might go through your head; will they be properly cared for, will the nurses make the right call and keep accurate logs, will their belongings be safe, will they be lonely, and so on and so on.

The truth is, as, with everything in life, we can’t truly answer those questions right away. However, we can do things to make sure that uncertainties are lessened. Some of those uncertainties I will try to help lessen, within this post, the others come down to sheer intuition.

Let’s start with one of the easier questions; will their belongings be safe? We all know that it can happen and that unfortunately not all people are honest, and there have been times when items are stolen from rooms in nursing and retirement facilities. One way to mitigate that is by marking your loved one’s belongings in a way that is unremovable. One such way to do this is by having items that can be, engraved. https://lasermarktech.com/applications is a company that has the equipment that does just that.

When your loved one’s items are clearly marked, it makes it much harder to steal, because one of the main reasons people steal, is to make a quick buck…if the item is marked, it isn’t pawnable without proof of ownership!

Question 2; will nurses make the right call, and keep accurate logs. I want to start this question off with a quick tale about a friend of mine. His grandmother was in a nursing facility, and after a few months, they started getting reports that her weight was dropping drastically. When they would visit, his grandmother looked as healthy as ever, but her charts said otherwise. As it turned out, she wasn’t dropping weight, the scale itself hadn’t been calibrated correctly after it was moved, and was completely off. Thankfully, his grandma is still in good health and great spirits, but it definitely raises a question; how many charts are messed up?

If you are placing a loved one in a nursing facility, and you start to notice a change in weight, specifically on their chart, and you feel like something is off, then speak up. Ask if the scale is calibrated correctly and if it isn’t Atlantic Scale scale calibration weights might be a good way for that facility to get things back in order. Knowing that the charts are accurate, can bring peace of mind.

Lastly, and one of the biggest issues that people think about, is whether or not their loved one will be lonely. Being able to visit daily isn’t always feasible, but having visitors is HUGE for morale. Whether it is just to play cards or talk, or even just someone to share a cup of coffee or tea with, people like to have visitors; especially people that are no longer living in the comfort of their own homes.

To help with finding visitors, when you can’t make it there yourself, I would highly suggest checking out https://spectrumhealthcare.com/services/seniors-for-seniors/drop-in-companions/. The fantastic thing about this company is that they aren’t just available for nursing facilities; if you need someone to help out at home, or with personal care, they will be there!