After watching two elderly family members suffer from a serious heart attack and a stroke, I realized the frailty of life and the realities of aging. Fortunately, they were both okay but it was a reminder to me about how aging is inevitable. Although they both are able to live in their own homes currently, it made it clear that eventually they will require some form of assisted living. After discussing different forms of long-term care in class, I see how varied in quality their experience could be. In our class on Health Policy, we are reading a book by Atul Gawande called Being Mortal. In this book, Gawande explores the past, present and future of long-term care in America. Many of the problems in long-term care facilities stem from viewing aging as solely a medical problem to fix with medical interventions. Gawande stresses how important it is to give those who are aging reason to live and help them retain their dignity. Although I am not sure if I will work in any sort of long-term care facility or not, reading this book has been an eye-opening experience. If I am a leader in a place like a nursing home or assisted living facility, I hope to bring the lessons I have learned about how to make the experience of aging better. Gawande mentions how successful organizations have used techniques like bringing in animals, plants, and children. Giving the residents as much freedom as possible is another way that quality of life can be improved. The opportunity to retain as much autonomy as possible is another vital component to helping people age with higher quality of life.
Today in our Management class we discussed how the burden is on society to help take care of aging and other needy populations. Gawande’s book touches on this also and how the culture of that society is often reflected in their long-term care. Often times, Americans view the elderly population as a burden. They either have to be taken care of by younger family members or put into a long-term care facility. What happens after the drop off isn’t always considered. Once an elderly person moves into one of these facilities, their life does not have to be over. If we focus on giving our elderly population as much of their former life as possible, maybe aging won’t be viewed so negatively. As a society, and as healthcare professionals, we have a responsibility to continue to move our long-term care industry towards a culture that does not view aging as a problem to be treated solely with medical intervention. I hope that we continue moving towards a culture of compassion that focuses on letting our elderly population retain as much autonomy as possible!
Gawande's book: https://www.amazon.com/Being-Mortal-Illness-Medicine-Matters/dp/1250081246
Great timely topic, especially considering how the ratio of workers to retirees is expected to decline. There will be fewer workers paying into Social Security to fund the current retired beneficiaries as the Baby Boomers continue to reach retirement eligibility in increasing numbers. Taking the head-in-the-sand towards planning one's retirement needs while still in the prime adult years is NOT the way to go, as unpleasant as those conversations might be.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, we're counseled in Ecclesiastes 12:1. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”—
Very true! It is easy to push off the difficult conversations because they seem so far away..but as you have pointed out, there are real issues to address here!
Delete*head-in-the-sand approach*
ReplyDeleteIf you like the chapter by Gawande about LTC, I recommend Bill Thomas's book, A Life Worht Living https://www.amazon.com/Life-Worth-Living-Someone-Alternative/dp/0964108968/
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