A price worth paying.

No nursing home provides adequate care for dementia-riddled residents. Of course, that’s my opinion. And I could be wrong. Because I haven’t been in every nursing home.  I’m basing my judgment on what I’ve seen. Directly. In several nursing homes. Over the years. That includes spending 8 to 10 hours a day in the nursing home where my dear sweet wife Jeanne spent the last 38 months of her life. I didn’t miss a single day. Yes, a presence every day. To provide Jeanne with much-needed supplemental care.  She would have lacked adequate care. If I had not been there. To supplement.  To be her advocate and protector. As for anyone abandoned in a nursing home. Even in the best of the best. Good luck. You’ll need it. No doubt,  my opinion is biased. No nursing home that I’ve been in meets my high standards. They all fail. Some miserably.   Of course, some nursing home operators accuse me of having ideal and unrealistic standards. Impossible to achieve.  But I disagree. If a reasonably good nursing home hired the likes of me. To focus on a handful of patients.  With individualized, one-on-one good vibes care, for eight hours a day.  There would be dramatic improvement in the outcomes. The residents would get the same treatment that Jeanne received. Such as  showers. Every  night. Hand-fed lunch and supper. In the quiet privacy of their rooms. Daily treks outdoors. For fresh air and mental and physical stimulation. In a wheelchair, if necessary. Even in wintertime. In Minnesota. Tucked in thermal sleeping bags.  So many, many ways to provide direct, individualized care. Face to face.  Yes, true caring. In loving ways. Not mere warehousing. Where residents are often medicated. To zombie status. And rarely visited by loved ones. Indeed, I’ve seen it. Even in the most plush and expensive nursing homes. Where my Alzheimer-riddled friend Ron spent much of the past year.  Where the monthly fee was $10,600-a-month. Think about it. Channel $5,000 a month to the hiring of the equivalent of me. To provide Ron with good vibes supplemental care.  Of course, that would cut into the nursing home’s profit. But here’s my guess. The nursing home would still reap a reasonable profit. Not an exorbitant one. Maybe that’s a price worth paying.  At least it might salve a  few consciences in the nursing home industry. –Jim Broede