that would depend on the nursing home I have seen very good and very bad ones.

Unfortunately, there have been cases of abuse and neglect reported in the national press. In general, I feel that most patients are treated with respect and good care from my own observations of the care that my older relatives are receiving in nursing homes. There are a few excellent nursing homes in my area.

It ranges from very bad to very good. Your best bet Jenna is to visit the home and get to know the staff, not the higher administrative types, but the kitchen and the maintenance and the nursing staff. These are the people who will be having the most contact with your parent(s), and these people are the ones who need to be checked out. Also, if they have a high staff turnover, be wary because it could be a sign of people not sticking around after they realize how things are done. Also, try to talk to some of the patients or family of patients at the facility.

I've worked in several nursing homes, as part of housekeeping staff. From what I've seen - I know I don't ever want to be in one. The Residents are treated like penned animals. Wake up at this time, get dressed, vitals, meds, herd everyone into the kitchen for breakfast, herd everyone to therapy, back to rooms until lunch. Vitals, meds, lunch, bingo. Back to rooms. No wandering around. Vitals, meds, dinner, bed. 90% of their days are spent staring at a television set and waiting for someone to answer their damned light already, while the CNAs finish their Sudoku puzzles or take the less-restricted residents out for ANOTHER smoke break.

Anything from very wonderful, nice treatment, to treatment that would make your skin crawl. Be sure to do a lot of research before chosing a facility.

Well to be honest, i worked in one and i left because of the way the residents were treated. This was about 15 years ago and i took a nightshift job as my son was only 2 at the time. It was winter, the residents had one sheet on their bed, if they wet it we had to use a curtain in place of the sheet, or something similar, there was one commode to be used between two floors of people (about 40 althgether) so inevitably by the time you got the commode to the person, it was too late. One evening i made toast and tea for them before bed time, and the next night the woman in charge gave me hell as i had 'no right to use the toaster', these elderly people had a hot meal at 1pm, sandwiches at 5pm and that was it until the next morning!!! I was furious!!! There were other issues, i can honestly say nobody was hurt of mistreated by the staff, but what i saw was still abuse in my book. I was there three months and left.

Every place has its good and bad apples. Think of any normal job that anyone has. There are lots of good ppl and then there are some so lazy you cant understand why they still have a job. Unfortunatly the consequences are deeper at a nurseing home. Like someone who needs to be fed, eats to slow, and the CNA gives up, leaveing half of the food in the plate. Or the CNA that finds it difficult to change a resident, and waits until the end of the shift to do so, leaveing the res in piss and poop for 6 hrs +. Or how about when they get tired of someone being on a call light, so they leave them out of reach of the resident. That is why I always tell people to be involved with their loved ones care. I have seen every one of the items above happen more times than I can count, but I can also tell you that those same people hate dealing with family. They would give better care just so they dont have to deal with them. I love when families ask questions, it gives them better care when they have the slackers

every place is different. i did an internship at a high end one in san diego, ca and they were awesome with their patients. i would consider putting a family member there of course if i had that kind of money. it was 10k a month!

i heard sometimes abuse can go on, which i find terrible.

I'm being serious...I have no idea. I've never been in a nursing home

My mother worked in one for eighteen years, there's good and bad in every place on earth including nursing homes.

I believe they are far more regulated then they once were. Probably still somewhat not quite good enough. But better than years ago. My Grandmother worked in Willowbrook years ago. The place that Geraldo Rivera had helped close down. She used to cry at night from the things that went on there. She would NEVER tell us what.Then it closed down and we knew. She never participated, bbut was afraid herslef on many many occasions of those who did

You don't want to know, mostly it's all about the money nothing new there I sometimes think we would be better off without so many Negligent and incompetent doctors and lawyers and insurance companies better to ytake of your own than someone else who will probably abuse them .. ~Nemo~

I have done volunteer work off and on for many years in nursing homes. It depends on how good their management is. I have never seen any abuse or mistreatment of any kind. When my Grandfather was in a nursing home in Colorado, he was completely helpless, couldn't eat or do anything by himself. When Mom moved him to a home in California the nurses worked with him, and rehabilitated him to the point where he was feeding himself and walking to the bathroom and even out in the garden. One thing to look for when choosing a home is do they let you visit any time, day or night. If the answer is no - don't choose that one.

Jennie, I just found your question. My Mother was in a "rehab center" i.e. nursing home for a time after her hospitalization. She went in at 116 pounds and came out a couple months later with an unreported broken hip requiring hip replacement surgery and weighing 73 pounds. I was in hospital in another state and calling in daily to inquire about her care, obviously to no avail. I reported them to the state licensing board and an investigation was conducted. They received numerous federal and state violations, but were not shut down. One of the chronic problems is slow call-light response time. They take an hour or more to answer and by then the person has urinated or defacated in the bed or fallen out trying to get to the washroom. The patient is yelled at for making a mess. Very abusive. You probably heard about the very prominent lady in Illinois - it was on national news. She wandered out at night while all the staff were watching Dog the Bounty Hunter on TV. They found her a few hours later frozen to death in a snow bank. They carried her back in bed and tried to thaw her out with an electric blanket and then called 911 and never reported she went outside. They are facing criminal charges. Currently several nursing homes here are under investigation for patients being assaulted, beaten, and raped by other patients. It is due to a law that allows mentally disturbed drug addicts and others to live in the same facility as the elderly and infirm. My advice now is that if you have to put a loved one in a nursing home for any period of time, you will have to be with them or find or hire and pay someone you trust to sit with them day and night and watch over them, help them to the bathroom, etc. You may have to have several people to cover 24 hour shifts. Do the best you can and don't hesitate to file formal complaints at the first sign of abuse. Depending upon the severity of their condition and the intensity of medical care they need, you may be able to get a hospital type bed in your home, hire a general caregiver to sit with her every minute and an RN to come daily to dispense meds and provide any IV treatments, etc. Good Luck and my best wishes to you and your loved ones!! +5