There is no other way to describe the smell of death than to liken it to a nursing home. They smell of unwashed bodies, cleaning supplies, and urine/feces. I hate walking into them, and I feel terribly sorry for those who must live there.
Why do we relegate our elderly citizens to spend their last years in nursing homes? Shouldn't they be with their families as they grow closer to death? Aren't families responsible for caring for their elderly members? Not necessarily. While I pity those who must live in nursing homes, there is an unfortunate need for them. As we live longer, we have more medical needs than in years past. Families often make the difficult decision to place parents and/or grandparents in nursing homes because, for one reason or another, they cannot take care of them. However, I take issue with the quality of life, the quality of care provided in nursing homes.
An element to nursing homes that bothers me are some of the employees. Clothes are stolen, jewelry, snack foods, lotion...nothing seems off limits to them. When my grandmothers were living, if that's what it's called, in nursing homes, my mother would write my grandmothers' names in permanent marker with large letters across all their clothes to make sure they didn't 'lose' them. Some employees were rude to the residents, or treated them abusively. Much like any job dealing with the public, nursing homes don't seem to pay well, but that isn't the faults of the residents, some of whom are paying (or their families are paying) 9000.00 or more a month to have them there. Yet it seems that many employees feel no guilt by stealing from residents or by treating them abominably. Many residents don't know their own names and have reverted to childish behaviors, which should be something nursing home employees consider. And just because "Granny" sleeps 14 hours a day doesn't give an employee the right to help him or herself to "Granny's" snacks, jewelry, lotion, or clothes.
Walking into nursing homes depresses me. Ironically, most nursing homes have cheery decorations, flowers, and other welcoming aspects, but watching once-vibrant and active people deteriorate is difficult to see. Occuptational therapists, for example, take advantage of whomever is footing the bill for the home. When my grandmother was in a nursing home, the OT was working to help her get back to living independently. Seriously? My grandmother was having mini-strokes regularly and would never be able to live independently again, which the OT would have known had she/he taken the time to read her chart. My grandmother wasn't an isolated incident. Not only that but we never knew how long the OT was going to stay at that home. My grandmother would make a little progress, the OT would leave, another would come in and begin a new treatment program. It was ridiculous!
Nursing homes are businesses, yes, but it's unfortunate that we have a need for them.
