Old Age Homes

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OLD AGE HOMES

A booklet, published by the Elders Helpline is available free of cost, listing details of several homes and the facilities they offer, the charges etc. Take a look.
Visit the place you have in mind, check out the credentials, and talk to the inmates. If you are not allowed access, for discussions, be wary because there might be something to hide that the people in charge do not wish to make known.
Not only the families which are thinking of admitting their elderly members but also senior citizens too should educate themselves - about medical ailments connected with old age, coping strategies, for example - and exercise their right to information and right to choice.

Check the location of the home, the availability of hospital or clinical facilities nearby in an energency, the nursing services offered or promised, the type of food given, facilities for pastimes, security arrangements, facilities for accompanying the elderly if they need to go to the bank or post office etc. Get details in writing, rather than mere oral assurances.

A toll free elders' helpline 1090 is available, 8 AM to 8 PM that offers counselling and legal advice. The services offered include police intervention in serious cases, and medical referrals.

And finally, a piece of advice from an inmate of a home for the aged - “How happy and contented you are, in an old age home, depends partly also on your own attitude,” she says. “Cultivate interests to keep yourself occupied, develop serenity, think positive, and grumble less. If there are issues to be addressed, do it without feeling that you are being victimised. Also, if you are healthy and mobile, reach out to the other inmates who may be less fortunate.”

That would be good advice for anyone, not merely for the aged. To that, another elderly inmate adds some advice for the children too - “If admitting your parent in a home for the aged is unavoidable , do not think that your duties end with paying the money. Make the effort to keep in touch, even if you are a NRI, visit as often as possible, and provide inputs that help fight the sense of abandonment that is often inescapable in an institution of this kind.

Pinch of salt

You might think that buying an expensive multinational brand guarantees quality. Not necessarily, however, as one customer realised after paying Rs 400 for a watch strap at Safina Plaza , and seeing it fray within three weeks. The shop not only refused to accept a complaint from her but was even abusive, declaring that she “did not know how to wear a watch sufficiently loose.” For that price she could have bought a decent watch, not just a strap. Check regarding guarantees offered,in writing, if you are paying for something expensive.

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