Many years ago, my late mother became a resident of a long-term care facility. While it was hours away from where I lived, over three years I still spent dozens of hours visiting her.
More recently, my wife's parents have also been, let's say, voluntarily relegated to a similar long-term care facility. This time, it's quite near where I live, and in a short time I've already spent many hours there.
These care facility visits have made me, in my own mind, enough of an expert to know a few things that work and don't work -- not for the residents, but for the loved ones who visit them.
First, we want to have enough caretakers there to help. Finding employees to work at these facilities wasn't easy before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's even harder now. But figure it out -- no resident should have to wait too long for help the basic activities of daily living.
Next, we want everyone to show kindness. Of course, there will be days that workers there are stressed, and short of time, and basically don't want to be there. Let's just keep that to a minimum, and be as pleasant as possible to those who have no choice but to be there.
Finally, an overlooked on one for a financial-focused person like me -- let's have staff that understands the health care provider / insurance administrative labyrinth. By this I mean a staff that can understand and explain it, and doesn't allow it (or them) to make obscene profits off of the elderly.
I have more knowledge about how medical providers and insurers operate than most, and I still struggle to understand the rules and costs. The residents of care facilities are already losing their independence, let's not let them unnecessarily lose their money.
