Introduction

Some nursing homes are in more critical condition than people may think. This is bad for the patients and workers, because the workers cannot do their best to help the patients, therefore the residents can’t be taken care of properly. Some nursing home facilitators are trying to help this, but not many are aware that nursing homes need help. I saw some examples of this, while volunteering.

Homes and Facilities

Many elderly homes are severely distressed. These conditions are hard to work with because facilitators can’t fill the needs of the residents living there. Therefore the residents may have a shorter lifespan because they don’t have the right living conditions. Many of the homes are also structurally unsound. Homes that are located in bad neighborhoods and have many troubled people. Other homes have improper structures that cause the structures to break down easily and be weak, possibly letting in extreme weather conditions and diseases that may harm people. Other structures may be broken-down; either causing the same results, or in serious situation, cause the building to collapse.

There are also many elderly residents that live alone, causing even more problems. One of the resulting problems of living alone is that people won’t get constant help from their spouse or friend. Another problem that occurs when an elderly person is living alone is that, if the person has some sort of memory loss problem or disease, this person might not recognize symptoms of health problem or be able to adequately care for themselves. Also, most people want a familiar face to be around and to communicate with. If the person has some sort of memory loss problem they will only remember certain people, causing the person to be frustrated over not seeing anyone they remember. This is why it is beneficial to live in a nursing or assisted living facility, so that these people will have help to cope with these problems and have more consistent care. Without recognizing people some people might go into depression. Depression can be very serious, sometimes causing people to take drastic measures. Some deaths have been caused by depression, either hurting the person so much they die of illness, or the depression overwhelms their minds so that thoughts of suicide occur.

Neighborhoods

Some retirement, or nursing homes are located in bad neighborhoods. There could be questionable people in the neighborhoods, such as gangs, criminals, and there may even be a jail located in, or near that neighborhood. If the building is in a severely distressed neighborhood these things are somewhat likely to occur. If retirement/nursing homes are located in this kind of neighborhood, it puts the residents at risk. The residents could be harmed, or influenced by these people, which could put others at risk also.

A result of gangs in neighborhoods of the elderly is that many things the people in the gangs could harm the residents in the nursing/retirement facility. Some of the possible outcomes of the residents being influenced are suicide, thoughts of unhappiness or disturbance, or maybe even depression.

If buildings are located in a severely distressed neighborhood it is likely that there are homes around them that are severely distressed. Some of the buildings could contain graffiti or unhappy images that could disturb the residents greatly. This could make homes harder to live in.


Proper Living Conditions

Most proper facilities would include adequate accommodations; such as wheel chair ramps, wide hallways, easily accessible rooms, lots of space, and many other things. Some people need lots of space so they can have the ability to move around freely without being cramped or “trapped” in their room. Some facilities host three to four people to a room, this does not give people any room at all, especially when people are in wheel chairs. In a wheel chair it is hard to turn without having a lot of space.

Other people need environments that are emotionally healthy. It would be hard to live in a nursing home where people were always sad and negative. It is very possible that this negative outlook would cause some people to start thinking more negatively or to fall into depression. All people need a happy environment with happy, positive, friendly people. This is more likely to lift some people out of depression and help to keep people out of depression and sadness. This might also help people reduce grief over the loss of loved ones. If elderly people get to know the staff and volunteers well, the elderly who have lost all their loved ones might feel like they have someone who cares about them. This would help them to feel better and not as bad about having no one left.

Some elderly people need an environment that is personal to them. Some might need photos, special furniture, books, etcetera to feel happier. Some people don’t want to leave their homes that they have lived in, because the house might have great sentimental value. The house may have been passed down for generations, many special memories may have taken place there, or there may be other personal reasons. To help these people, facilitators to make many options possible, whether it be providing more space or allowing them to own personal items in their apartments.


Caretakers

In nursing facilities, you have to be surrounded by the proper people to make the experience and the living conditions meet the highest standards. The directors of the facilities must be helpful and open. This will help the resident’s families to feel more welcome and secure about putting their loved one into the facility. Directors must also know what to do in personal situations and be able to cope with these situations. This skill will also help with the coping of other problems, like disabilities or financial problems. Volunteers need to have similar skills to the directors, but not as much authority. The nurses or assistants to the residents must be helpful, this will make things easier to cope with in situations or issues. Being helpful will help the resident get what they need without a lot of stress. Nurses also need to be willing to help and assist the resident in their need and have the ability to do so. Without this ability some residents might not have their medical or personal standards met. Assistants have to be cheery because if they are not this could cause the residents to become somewhat depressed and hasten their death.

Quality Of Life

Many studies conducted in colleges and research facilities have shown that depression in addition to a variety of other diseases, severe medical history, or low social levels may cause sooner death or a shorter life span in the elderly. Some of the diseases include cardiovascular problems, anxiety, mortality, loneliness, HIV, suicide, heart disease and many others. Depression is also known to be exacerbated by a medical problem or condition that they had been previously hospitalized for. After they are released from the hospital they go into depression causing their medical conditions to become worse, causing them to return to the hospital. Not many facilities have taken action toward to solving of this problem. Some have taken very small measures and none have succeeded in totally eliminating this problem.



How You Can Help

You can help in many ways that seem very small. You can donate an hour of your time, anytime you are available. Whenever you are bored don’t sit around and do nothing, you could be making a difference. You could help support the nursing facilities by helping to arrange or bring in entertainment. You could also make a donation of money to help make the facility reach it’s fullest potential and meet the needs of the residents.

Conclusion

I have helped my community by volunteering at Living Care Retirement Community. Caring for the elderly is a different experience. Volunteering has showed me a whole different world about many things. Elderly people need attention and caring. This experience has showed me what kinds of problems take place in our community every day. I want to help the elderly in our community, because everyone is eventually going to be at that stage in life.

Depression and loneliness have not been a huge issue in our community, but possibly a small portion is showing up. The fact that residents don’t have a lot to do and do not participate in a lot of activities puts them at a higher risk for depression. Essentially, we need more volunteers in our community.

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