

Building Better Nursing Homes - srs0001
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/a-better-nursing-home-exists/390936/?single_page=true

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meric
In the beginning the elderly among us lived in homes, taken care of by family
members, and often, offering wisdom in return to their grandchildren.

Then, in the name of economic growth and labor specialization, we push the
elderly among us into nursing "homes", to let people who are more "efficient"
take care of them.

Finally we realize efficiency can mean inhumane treatment, and in a bid to
restore "dignity", put them back in homes. Without us living with them, of
course.

Oh, the irony.

~~~
galfarragem
Playing devil's advocate:

\- we have nowadays a life expectancy of 85+. 50 years ago was much less -
meaning that we depended on family much less time;

\- lower classes don't have a significative better purchasing power than back
in the day - meaning that affording to stay at home is not always even a
choice;

\- elders caring was backed by staying at home women - roles and families have
changed;

\- elders have less and less children - meaning more work 'per child'.
Nowadays, in the globalised world, if there are more than one child is
improbable that all live nearby or even in the same country/state.

Reciting poetry is not an efficient way of solving problems. And hard ones by
the way..

~~~
galfarragem
Disclaimer: my mum is the only child, a compulsory staying at home woman,
taking care of her father and mother in law (88 and 89) with my help for
already 15 years. I'm also the only child, already in mid 30's and without
children yet. That's why I know that this is a big problem nowadays and a
capital one in the future specially among the lower income classes.

------
Fastidious
Plenty of money is needed to create a better nursing home. Then finding the
staff with "the call" to perform the very difficult job of caring and serving
others.

Once that better nursing home is built, very few will be able to afford it. I
know I will not. Yet, I do not lose hope.

~~~
galfarragem
IMO nursing homes problem will be solved as other expensive activities have
been solved (or patched): relocation and offshoring.

How much does cost a low-end nursing home in the US? In South Europe $2k can
get you a mid-end nursing home.

~~~
afarrell
I can't quite tell if you are being satirical, but some folks wouldn't be okay
with having their parents live in Ecuador and never seeing them.

~~~
tomjen3
But okay with them in Utah or some other state far away? You can just got to
Columbia once a year as you fly once a year to Utah. Plus the whether is
better.

~~~
afarrell
I didn't see any mention in the article of putting family in far-away states.
My family (who'd moved south of Boston) put my great-grandmother in a home in
Connecticut, near where she had lived.

Is it common practice to do this?

