I tried a nursing home and then a home care agency for my mom - huge difference

My mom fell and broke her hip last March. We put her in a nursing home near Dallas for two months and it was a mess. Staff was slow to respond to call lights and she felt stuck in her room. Switched to a home care agency that sent someone 8 hours a day and she's way happier getting meals cooked for her and going on walks. Has anyone else made a similar switch and seen big changes?

3 comments

3 Comments

stellat462d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, absolutely! We had my dad in a place near Houston for a few months and it was the same thing - he just felt like a number, waiting forever for help. Switching to in-home care was night and day, he got his own schedule and could actually sit on his porch when he wanted (which made him way less grumpy). It's crazy how much better they do when they're in their own space with one-on-one attention.

betty_perry242d ago

@stellat46, you mentioned your dad felt like a number. That phrase really stuck with me. After our nursing home experience with my mom, I started wondering if those places are just set up to manage people rather than care for them. Was your dad able to keep doing the little things he loved after switching to home care, like his porch time?

wren2302d ago

Honestly, is there anything more soul-crushing than waiting 45 minutes to use the bathroom when you're 80? My granddad was in a place where they scheduled his coffee time like a military operation. Once we got him home care, he could sip his coffee on the porch at 4 AM if he wanted, which he did, because apparently old people have weird wake-up times. It's like these places forget that dignity comes with being able to choose when you stare at the birds.