Please help! Your future is on the line

I'm not there myself yet either, but I have visited relatives in nursing homes and its always struck me how cold they are:

1) Sure nursing homes need to built for accessibility and cleanability, but do they have to be so industrial? Those awful linolium tiles -- couldn't they be repoaced by wood laminate or something warmer -- and ditto with the white, usually cinderblock walls.

2) .. and the lighting... UGH! Usually flourescent ceiling lights -- just the worst, coldest lighting possible. Would it be so awful to put in nicer lighting, with adjustable spots or table lamps for elders who might need more light to see.

3) Industrial furniture. These places always look like institutions with tacky, bland institutional furniture. The furniture definitely needs to be fixed.

The other feeling I always get in nursing homes is how cut off from the rest of the world they feel -- again, very institutional. Most try and bring the world in with activities and musial acts, but I usually find these things really insulting (treating people who've lived long, complex lives like children), especially when the're presented in a characterless community room (which is usually also a cafeteria).

I heard about a UK nursing home that addressed this by putting in a real working pub! They found that not only did it cheer the residents, but that their families visited more frequently and stayed longer. Additionally profits made in the pub went right back into the operating costs of the nursing home.

M

If my parents elect to go that route then I would like them to be able to live in an environment that seems as much like their current home as possible. They have spent a lifetime gathering possessions with each one having a story and meaning that is important to them. When I walk into a nursing home I feel like I am in a hospital or a hotel, not a home. I absolutely agree with the writer above. Who has linolium in their homes? (Well, maybe some do and sorry if I offended any that do but you get the idea).

As noted by the commenter above, they seen unnecessarily industrial. I don't see nearly enough pictures on the walls. I think there should be pictures everywhere. Why put all of their photos in storage when they could be used to adorn their living space. It gives them something to look at and something to talk to others about.

As far as activities, things that are challenging and not demeaning. My dad can read a book in one sitting. It would be offensive to him if the most challenging thing for him was bingo night. Professors (or grad students) should come in and give talks on history, literature, the arts.

These are just a few thoughts. Good luck on doing something to improve their dreary reputation. (Senior living that is not my parents!)

Wesley Hein Wesley [at] lifetwo [dot] com Sign up for the LifeTwo Newsletter!

I wrote about your post here: http://goinglikesixty.com/2007/09/15/do-you-really-care-what-the-home-lo...

Hope it's not too late to respond, but I wanted to add a thought or two. I completely agree with the other posters and like Wes' idea above regarding the idea of extra pictures on the walls and in the hallway. They could even canvas the residents for family photos (themselves as kids or younger in B&W or today's grandchildren in color) which could then be rotated with new pics or throughout the hallways every few months or so.

Color, color. To add warmth and a sense of home rather than a nursing home. User friendy kitchens for those able and willing to cook or assist in food preparation. A garden for those wishing to putter or an area for potting plants. These they can even sell and earn proceeds for themelves or the home.

Just some thoughts.

There is an article titled Satisfying Settings on the ALFA website that finds a direct link between communities’ outdoor environments and resident happiness. As far as interior amenities and surrounding, ALFA has another article titled Design Innovations for a New Generation that may be of some help!

Personal possessions in nursing homes get stolen. There ought to be familiar objects that are not very valuable. My grampa's barbering things were ripped off.

My grandma broke her hip and couldn't get a replacement and she fell out of bed. So they have her sleeping on a mattress on the floor. It's not nice. Also she doesn't have personal possessions because they will be laundered and put in the wrong room or something.

I like the idea of putting in a place where people could go get a nice drink, even if it's not alcoholic. They could roll up to the bar in their wheelchair and order something that tastes like an adult beverage.

I'm thinking about the day when I get old. I'm not going to be like my Gramma N. who would never consider going into a nursing home. That was major trouble for the rest of the family. I'm going to move myself into a place someday. And I'll still want to use my mind. I'll want a music library and books onscreen and stuff like that.