Moving a family member into a nursing home is often a stressful transition. It can be difficult on everybody involved.
Nursing home abuse and neglect are very real problems that affect thousands of seniors across the United States. However, as a caregiver, it is important to discern whether or not your loved ones complaints are abuse or adjustment issues. According to the AARP, you should investigate any complaints thoroughly before taking them to the nursing home administration.
Food complaints
Of course, if the food is inadequate that is a major issue. But often, it is simply that the food the nursing home serves is not up to your mother’s high standards. This is particularly a problem if your mother likes certain ethnic cuisines or is a very particular eater.
A good way to investigate is to visit the nursing home yourself and enjoy a meal. Not only will this help you ascertain if there are any real issues with the quality of the food or not, but it may be that your loved one simply misses your presence.
Roommate issues
It may be possible that due to budget constraints, your loved one will need to share a room with another resident at the facility. For many people, this is a huge adjustment. If the nursing home is reputable, they will certainly try to initiate roommate swaps if at all possible.
However, the issue may be more that your loved one simply is not used to sharing private space and no quality of roommate will fix this. If this is the case, you may want to look into private rooms if you can afford them.