Retirement Homes: a Good or Bad Choice

There is a saying that states “old is gold.” Well if old is gold then why does one put old in a retirement home? That is the question that goes through many people’s mind. In the year 2000, 45% of elderly parents were put in a retirement home. Many of whom needed medical assistance and other personal assistance as well. On June 24th 2009, there was a case at Sunny Side Retirement Home, Dallas TX, where an elderly woman was left inside a janitor’s closet for more than 48 hours by a nurse. There was another case on May 13th 2009 at Baltimore MD, where an elderly man was brutally beat because he urinated on himself. The nurse felt the “necessary to teach him not to do so.” That is a direct quote from the nurse’s questionnaire. Elderly parents should never be left in a retirement home because of their child’s unwillingness to take care of them. Every man has a duty to fulfill. Just like our parents have a duty to take care of us and to make sure our safety isn’t compromised, so do we to them once they turn old.

45% of elderly parents are put in a retirement home. Many of them need medical assistance. Who knows what kind of treatment the elderly get there. Many people believe it is always better to put your parents into an elderly home, but the truth is no one knows your parents better than you yourself. There are many needs that an elderly has to be tended to. The ratio of and elderly person to a nurse is ten to one, in most cases, whereas in home the ratio is one to one. You can provide better attention to issues and if necessary, hire a nurse to take care of your parents at home.

There are many cases of neglect in retirement homes. On June 24th 2009, there was a case at Sunny Side Retirement Home, Dallas TX, where an elderly woman was left inside a janitor’s closet for more than 48 hours by a nurse. The nurse, apparently, trying to move the elderly person to the side, because of a trolley that was approaching, decided to put him in the janitor’s closet so there was more space. The wheel chair did take much space but the nurse should not have forgotten about the elderly man. He sat there for 48 hours in his own feces, thirsty, and cold.

Every man has a duty to fulfill. Just as your parents took good care of you, you must do the same in taking care of them. Many studies show that if your child sees you leaving his grandfather or grandmother in a retirement home, the idea becomes mutual between you and your child. One may be surprised when his own son or daughter would leave him in a retirement home, but if that is the same you did with your parents, the child see no wrong in that. You are, after all, the role model of your home.

Again, “old id gold.” You never throw away something that is dear and valuable to you, unless that something is not valuable to you any longer. If your unwillingness to take care of your elder parents is so abundant that you neglect them, then by all means they belong in a retirement home. At most hire them a nurse at home. If you are not able to do that even, then resort to the retirement home. Again, everyman has a duty to fulfill. It just depends on how you fulfill it.