10 Signs It’s Time for Nursing Home Placement

Have you been wondering if it’s time to place someone you love in a nursing home placement?

These types of facilities give help and support when primary care teams can no longer manage the needs of their clients. A nursing home can be the last resort when home care isn’t a choice anymore. However, this option goes along with many sacrifices and impending changes.

To separate fact from fiction, we put together this guide detailing when you should consider placing someone into a nursing home. Not sure where to start? Let’s begin. 

1. Forgetfulness

Memory loss is a very difficult thing to face and can lead to confusion, frustration, and fatigue. Oftentimes, forgetfulness if left unchecked can lead to serious risks such as not being able to remember to take medication or remember to do activities such as shopping or personal care.

This can become very dangerous for elderly loved ones and can lead to falls, burns, or other health issues. It is important for families to recognize when it is time for nursing home placement.

Forgetfulness, if left unchecked, can even lead to Alzheimer’s or dementia. If a family begins to recognize any signs of forgetfulness, it is important that they get a proper assessment to determine if the nursing home placement is the best solution for their loved one.

2. Confusion

When a person is unable to understand the world around them due to cognitive decline, confusion is an indicator that it is no longer safe for them to live independently. A nursing home provides the supervision and assistance necessary for a person with these kinds of issues.

Nursing homes provide activities and therapies that can help teach basic life skills and lessen confusion. They also provide access to skilled medical and nursing staff who are trained to help those with confusion.

Staff can also provide companionship and moral support, which can help to alleviate confusion. Nursing home placement can provide an environment where a person can have their basic needs met, while also receiving the care, treatment, and support they require.

3. Difficulty With Physical Movement

When a person finds difficulty with physical movement, it can be a sign that it is time to consider a move to a nursing home. Difficulty with physical movement can be caused by age, physical deterioration, and an overall decline in health.

A nursing home is a residential facility that provides a supervised environment where older people can receive health care and assistance with daily living activities. A nursing home offers round-the-clock care, access to social activities, and health services that may improve the resident’s quality of life.

It not only offers individualized and specialized care tailored to each resident’s specific needs but also provides valuable socialization opportunities for residents to interact with other people. 

4. Changes in Behavior

If an elderly individual starts to become more aggressive or confused, this could indicate that they need special care and attention. Significant changes in an elderly person’s activities, such as failing to meet basic needs, like showering and grooming, difficulty sleeping, or neglecting to take their medications.

Additionally, if an elderly person is showing signs of forgetfulness, agitation, and confusion in their day-to-day activities, this could be an indication that it is time to look for a nursing home. 

5. Reliance on Another to Manage Medications

This could include the inability to remember when to take the right doses of the right medications, or needing assistance to open the containers and take the right contents.

Reliance on others to manage medications can indicate that someone is unable to maintain independence in regards to their health. Nursing homes provide a type of long-term care or supervision to help individuals continue to meet and manage their daily needs and care.

Individuals living in nursing homes are typically provided with and monitored for all their necessary medical treatments and medications.

Reliance on others for managing medications is definitely a key indicator of when it is time for nursing home placement.

6. Increased Exhaustion

Increased exhaustion can be an alarming sign for elderly patients, their family and friends, and closer professional medical staff alike. This manifested level of exhaustion often points to an underlying medical condition or the eventual need for a more permanent residential care solution.

Nursing home placement should be considered for those who experience a longer-lasting and more severe level of exhaustion. In this placement, the elderly person can receive around-the-clock medical care and attention.

As well as access to better nutrition, hygiene, and medicines to help treat the underlying conditions. Depending on the severity of the life-altering exhaustion that cannot be remedied with rest at home, nursing home placement may be the best solution.

Often, it is the ideal choice to advocate for the health of both the elderly and those who care for them.

7. Falls or Loss of Weight or Strength

Falls or loss of weight or strength is an important signs that it is time to consider nursing home placement for an elderly individual. As people age, this particular medical problem can become very concerning and is a warning sign that something is wrong.

This can be because of several medical conditions that can cause severe falls or a severe decrease in muscle strength. A sudden loss in weight can also be a sign that the elderly individual needs more care than what their family can offer them at home.

It provides a safe and secure environment, as well as a support system that helps monitor and manage problems in order to keep the elderly individual healthy and safe. It also provides necessary medical care and social interaction that can make difficult situations easier on the family and the elderly individual.

8. Social Isolation

Social isolation is a risk factor for poor physical, mental, and emotional health, particularly in elderly individuals. Oftentimes, it is a result of the inability to perform regular tasks and care for oneself.

Nursing home placement can help elderly individuals in social isolation by providing much-needed social interaction and companionship, while also ensuring that they are receiving the necessary care they need.

Furthermore, individual activities, events, and community gatherings held at nursing homes can reduce the symptoms associated with social isolation.

9. Inability to Connect With Family or Friends

When social interaction becomes difficult, a nursing home can give a better environment to allow the senior to continue connecting with others through communal spaces, discussion groups, and social activities that can help stave off loneliness.

With the right attention and support, a skilled nursing home can give an optimal environment that facilitates meaningful connections to prevent a senior’s isolation. With the right staff and resources, nursing homes can become an invaluable part of a senior’s life, creating relationships and lifelong friendships that many seniors lack when they are living on their own.

10. Increase in Anxiety and Depression

An increase in a person’s anxiety or depression level can be a sign that long-term care, such as nursing home care, may be necessary. For example, when a loved one begins to show significantly more anxiety, fear, or depression and is unable to cope with daily life. They may need to move out of the home and into a long-term care facility.

Nursing home care will provide a secure, nurturing environment with 24-hour nursing staff and activities tailored to their physical and mental health. Many nursing homes even have specialized care for those suffering from mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. 

Nursing home placement is a great benefit for elderly people and their families. Want to learn more? Check out this 5 star CMS nursing facility.

Types of Nursing Home Placement

The different types of nursing home placements vary depending on the level of care needed by an individual. Skilled nursing facilities are considered to have the highest level of care and are designed for individuals who require a greater level of medical attention.

Intermediate care settings provide short-term and long-term nursing care services and assistance with activities of daily living. Assisted living facilities offer a middle ground between independent living and skilled nursing facilities; they offer assistance with activities of daily living and provide residents with more independence than skilled nursing facilities.

Memory care facilities are designed to provide a safe environment for individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other forms of memory loss. These facilities provide a secure environment to ensure the safety of their residents.

Last but not least, long-term care facilities are a great option for those who are in need of long-term medical care, in addition to assistance with daily activities and comprehensive monitoring. 

Learn More About Nursing Home Placement Today

Nursing home placement is an important decision to make, but it can be difficult. Careful observation and evaluation of a senior’s needs can help decide if it’s time to make the move.

It is important to reach out for help and support in making this decision for the health and safety of your loved one. If you think it’s time for nursing home placement, contact a professional today for advice.

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