At age 72 (or 39+ if you ask him), my father is preparing to have hip replacement surgery.
It’s his first operation ever, and it’s taken a lot for him to come to terms with the fact that his arthritic hip is a problem and that surgery is the answer. But after a year of putting it off, he’s accepted that a better life (and hopefully a better golf game) will come from what’s now a routine procedure.
One thing he couldn’t come to terms with, however, was going from the hospital into a skilled nursing facility. He wants to go home and have nurse care and rehabilitation delivered there for the first few weeks before starting regular physical therapy sessions at a nearby doctor’s office.
No amount of family pleas or discussions about how far healthcare has come would change his mind. He didn’t even take a tour. And I think that’s where the problem starts.
The facility where my father would have been transferred to is one that I can remember visiting in grade school when my school would sing songs during Christmas. It was dated even then and had dark rooms and strange smells.
I know my dad wouldn’t spend one night there if given the choice. In his mind, that place is the same as it was 20 years ago.
But our industry knows a lot has changed in the world of skilled nursing and assisted living since then. We talk and write about these places every month—communities and facilities that marry skilled care with environments that are rich in amenities, home-like comforts, and gourmet food, to name just a few.
However, it may not be enough to transform these environments—we’ve also got to change the perception of what’s available and that’s not always an easy task.
What can we do better to spread the word? Share your ideas here or email me at [email protected].
