Long term Care is not created Equal!!!

You really think it does not matter where your loved one stays at the end of their life? Where they spend their last years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds? Where they are when they take their last breath, the environment that there in? Do you think the mission statement of the facility really matters? When you have a loved one, who is vulnerable either because of a cognitive disease or a physical disability, you as the decision maker must do your due diligence to make sure your loved one is going to be well taken care of. One of the first questions people asks when they are seeking a place for their loved one is, the cost. This is not where you want to start the conversation. Do not allow this to be your major focus. Trust me, there are places where you will pay less, but you will be getting a lot less. Start with the mission statement of the facility. Do you agree with it? Are there some beliefs or ideas about vulnerable people that concern you? Do the mission statement and what you see and feel when you enter the facility agree? Unfortunately our society does not value elderly individuals who have progressive disorders such as dementia, diabetes, CHF, kidney disease, COPD, etc. Remember assisted living/ long term care facilities are an extension of our society. So don't take it for granted that places you think would value are loved ones do, because in reality a lot of them don't. This is a problem because these diseases are not going to go away anytime soon. Does an individual lose their value as a human being, because they have a chronic progressive disease which makes them vulnerable? How do you think your loved one should be treated, the last years of their life? Do you think it matters? All assisted living / long-term care facility are not the same.