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I had a cousin, same age as me, didn't smoke but was morbidly obese. Had blood clots in her lungs, couldn't walk, after the last time she fell, her family put her in a nursing home. She was 55. Died at 61.
Both my grandmothers died in the same nursing home, 26 years apart. One was 83 when she died. I don't remember how long she was there. A year or two? The other went in at 92 when she needed more care than my then-71-year-old mother could do. She was there for 2 and a half years. It was five minutes from home, and family visited both grandmothers frequently. Nearly daily. Both grandmothers lived with my parents for a few years before they got to the point of requiring nursing-home level care.
My grandfathers both died at home, as did both my own parents.
Not everyone who enters nursing homes is old/near death anyway. We have such poor community supports in this country that many now go into homes simply because they don't have options in the community. For instance we had a long term resident who was living in a section 8 apartment, but it had 13 steps to get up to. He was a double amputee and after the second amputation he couldn't manage the stairs. But to get a first floor section 8 he'd have to wait. So he called and asked if he could move in here, which he did (on Medicaid). He's in his 50's, he might live decades. We have a 61 year old now in the subacute unit who had a severe stroke, paralyzed totally on one side, his arm, leg and half his face. If he can't manage alone in his apartment, he could end up in long term care for decades, too. It's not all 90-somethings today.
IMO, not really. I’d even argue that a healthier life increases the odds that you eventually end up in a home, because you can outkick your body’s coverage. If you did at 80 it’s more likely you were still physically able to dress yourself, drive, have your mental faculties…at 90 that’s less likely. It’s only anecdotal but in my family and my wife’s family this plays out.
I would also argue that we are far from healthier than previous generations. Previous generations did not eat the processed, sugary things we do now. And I am convinced they will one day find a link to diseases that are increasing (Alzheimers, Parkinson's, Autism, etc) to modern-day environmental factors, whether it's using microwaves, BPA in plastics that none of us knew about until a few years ago, pesticides, etc.
She passed in July 2021, so 2019 or so till then. The last few months though she was on hospice there, and the hospice agency was doing a lot of her care. Not that it changed the rent amount, though.
This brought back a memory of my friend's mother, who went into assisted living when it became apparent she was in the early stages of dementia. She was 90 when she went in, 92 when she died, and her dementia never advanced so far that she did not know her daughters. But she was also mobile and quite spry until near the end, and she would look at other residents of her ALF lined up in their wheelchairs and say, "Look at all those deadbeats. I'm supposed to hang around with them?"
Not something she would have said in her younger days!
That's funny. We have a subacute patient who called his wife from the therapy room to tell her were his room was because she was coming to visit. He said to her "Be warned though, there's an old man in the room with me". He is himself 83, lol.
Not everyone who enters nursing homes is old/near death anyway. We have such poor community supports in this country that many now go into homes simply because they don't have options in the community. For instance we had a long term resident who was living in a section 8 apartment, but it had 13 steps to get up to. He was a double amputee and after the second amputation he couldn't manage the stairs. But to get a first floor section 8 he'd have to wait. So he called and asked if he could move in here, which he did (on Medicaid). He's in his 50's, he might live decades. We have a 61 year old now in the subacute unit who had a severe stroke, paralyzed totally on one side, his arm, leg and half his face. If he can't manage alone in his apartment, he could end up in long term care for decades, too. It's not all 90-somethings today.
Why not send the 50 year old amputee to a first floor apartment when one becomes available?
Or is that the plan? I have literally seen elderly amputees living in senior Independent Living doing just fine for themselves.
How did she qualify to go into assisted living if she was capable of living independently? What grounds did you use to qualify her to move into that facility?
There are no grounds to move into assisted living. You don't have to qualify, it's a private business. But for Medicaid purposes (3 years later) inability to do IADLs (cleaning, laundry, etc) and inability to remain safely in the home without modifications is enough. She would have had to practically build a new house to stay where she was. But my mom needed help with her dressings for her legs and to monitor them too (she had chronic lymphedema for 2 decades by then, no known cause) and was in the hospital the last time with maggots in her wounds. She was more than qualified. You don't need to meet a nursing home level of care for Medicaid to pay for assisted living. Plus they had the discharges from the rehab that stated she could not return home alone.
Why not send the 50 year old amputee to a first floor apartment when one becomes available?
Or is that the plan? I have literally seen elderly amputees living in senior Independent Living doing just fine for themselves.
I'm sure they will, but that could be years. Section 8 has a long waiting list. He wouldn't be able to pay for anything on how own, and wasn't a senior. He was maybe 52 or 53. And he is a double amputee, he could not do stairs at all. He needed an elevated building or first floor without any steps to enter. He is not here anymore, he got kicked out of here for behavioral reasons (smoking pot in his room and driving his scooter like a maniac among other things lol) and went to another home, so I don't know if he got his apartment yet or not.
I would also argue that we are far from healthier than previous generations. Previous generations did not eat the processed, sugary things we do now. And I am convinced they will one day find a link to diseases that are increasing (Alzheimers, Parkinson's, Autism, etc) to modern-day environmental factors, whether it's using microwaves, BPA in plastics that none of us knew about until a few years ago, pesticides, etc.
Yes and no. I'm not defending our diets today, but its worth pointing out that huge amounts of foods that were staples "in the day" were chosen for long shelf life without our refrigeration or supply chain capabilities. That meant heaps of salt, sugar or both for many staples.
As to Alzheimers, I think that's largely genetic and increases are a result of more people living to find out they have that genetic predisposition.
Yes and no. I'm not defending our diets today, but its worth pointing out that huge amounts of foods that were staples "in the day" were chosen for long shelf life without our refrigeration or supply chain capabilities. That meant heaps of salt, sugar or both for many staples.
As to Alzheimers, I think that's largely genetic and increases are a result of more people living to find out they have that genetic predisposition.
I don't think it is. People we see are getting it as the first ones in their family to get it, and they are getting it younger and younger. We have several women in our dementia unit in their early 60's and too far gone to live at home anymore. That was not the case in the 90's when I started, you just didn't see people that young. There is something causing it and I don't think it's genetics.
In terms of diet, I wasn't really talking about the 1800s, but more my grandparents and parents generation.
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Whether they know or not, too many people try to use averages to answer the wrong questions. Which sort of suggests the latter....
