When I think of the term Long Term Care, I think about providing care for a person who cannot care for themselves due to some type of disability, ailment, or age. When older adults become sick and can no longer care for themselves, this is an option for them to receive the proper help that they cannot give themselves. If they have no care taker or someone to assist them in their home, choosing long term care in a facility would be a great option. Many people may believe that long term care is only for older adults. This is not true. Long term care can be provided for someone of youth and even a child who is affected with an illness that is terminal or life threatening. If their parents or guardian cannot provide the best type of care, a long term care facility would be taken into consideration.
I have not yet been personally affected with someone that I know being placed into a long term care facility. But I do believe if it is necessary for my loved one or close friend, I would go for it. Right now I have a grandmother who is living with dementia in South Carolina. She lives with my elderly grandfather who has diabetes. Besides his diabetes, he is in well health. He does his best to take care of her and himself. Due to the medicine that my grandmother takes for other health issues, she has no appetite. My grandfather has a hard time making her eat and she has been losing weight. She has a nurse and a therapist come to their home to check on her 3 times a week. They have been telling my mother and her sister that if this behavior continues, they will recommend her to be in a Long Term Care Facility. My mother and her sister do not want this so they talk to my grandparents everyday about the importance of my grandmother eating and taking her medicine. My mother feels helpless because she is all the way in Florida and she feels as if she has no control over the situation.
I agree with the nurse and the therapist. I would rather my grandmother have the attention that she needs and best a quality care. My mother and my aunt have the idea that long term health care facilities are not good. They believe that they all abuse the patients, make their conditions worst, and neglect them. But this is not true for many. I feel that they should investigate different facilities and find out for themselves the true benefits. Long term care does not have to be painted so negatively. There is a bright side and people who really care about helping those who cannot help themselves.
