Elder care is both a responsibility and a privilege. As the person responsible for your elderly loved ones’ well-being, you may choose to register them in a trusted care facility so you can earn time back for other life responsibilities. However, living in a care facility might not always be the best decision for every elderly person, given the unique challenges they may face there. To ensure your elderly parents enjoy a great experience in a care facility, you need to first understand the potential challenges and how to overcome them.
Abuse or Mistreatment
Elders may experience targeted or unintended abuse or mistreatment from caregivers or other workers and elders in the period of their stay at a facility. More often, elder abuse may not always look like abuse at first sight, making it difficult for an elderly loved one to raise concern when the incidents first occur.
The abuse can be physical, financial, or emotional, occurring on different occasions, but consistently enough to cause psychological or physical harm. As the one responsible for your loved one’s well-being, you should look out for the following major signs of abuse anytime you visit or talk to them:
- Poor hygiene and persistent ailments
- Timidity or fear around specific caregivers
- Depression or withdrawal
- Unhealthy financial behaviors they didn’t have before
- Serious injuries that are unexplained
Talk to the relevant persons in charge immediately you notice these signs and ensure action and care are administered. In serious cases, you may need an attorney’s help to file for compensation for injuries and health complications your loved one suffered.
Safety Risks
Apart from safety risks due to abuse or mistreatment, elderly individuals can also face risks that arise from environmental conditions and the level of care they receive. Some facilities may be understaffed or may have underqualified staff, exposing the elderly to limited care and sometimes neglect.
If your loved one has conditions like osteoporosis or arthritis, they may be more susceptible to falls and injuries. The best way to improve your loved one’s safety is to transfer them to a less crowded facility or hire a private caregiver for a much more dedicated care.
Social and Emotional Support Challenges
In old age, many elderly individuals are already facing the difficulty of losing peers with whom they shared most of their lives and built a support system. Sending them to a care facility may just widen the gap between them and the people they love and cherish who still live in their neighborhood. This may cause them to suffer social neglect and emotional support challenges even when surrounded by other people in the care centers.
You should strive to keep them near a trusted family member or let them live in the family home and bring in a private caregiver to take care of them. Leaving them in a neighborhood they know well, and in the house they’ve lived most of their lives in, can be very beneficial in enhancing emotional support. Make an effort to visit them regularly and spend time reminiscing about the good moments you’ve spent together to keep the family bond alive.
While care facilities can be the only practical solution available for administering care to elderly loved ones, you should ensure they offer the best services before signing up. Read reviews and investigate if the above challenges are commonly reported in the facility. If possible, let your loved ones spend their old age with family for their overall well-being.