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Northwind I hope you follow on that. This is what many fear being caught in a place where the resident feels trapped in a prison like setting.
Many in Ontario are looking to other kinds of care for their later years, and staying home.

Our air quality has been compromised in the near north Ontario. But not like yours in Alberta and BC. Lots of fires across the country burning.
So sad. My old stomping grounds is the Okanagan Valley ... Naramata and Penticton. I keep watching for news where those fires are.

God keep safe those fighting fires and those serving their needs.
And Creator bless those running from them, and those who have lost homes, peace of mind, and
be tenderly with families & children from Aboriginal lands
may they find welcoming communities where they have fled for safety.
Bless all those keeping them fed, clothed and housed.
Amen. All my Relations.

Peace & grace...

SW7
 
Spirit Wind 7 said:
Many in Ontario are looking to other kinds of care for their later years, and staying home.
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What happens, though, is that all these plans fall apart once a person can not bear their own weight. See, after Mom's stroke, we kept her at home for 3 years, but her ability to weight bear got gradually less and less, so that all the grab bars, and transfer poles, etc., became useless. It occurs to me after the fact that we might have managed a bit longer if we'd gotten a mechanical lift in the house, but it's a small house with small rooms; we had to do some hinge replacements so that her wheelchair could get in every room, and lifts are sorta bulky pieces of equipment.
 
Also, amounts of home care available vary widely across the country, and the cost of subsidizing this with other staff gets prohibitive, especially for someone on a pension. I have a very elderly godfather who is managing to stay in his home with the help of live in staff, but he only manages because he has two pensions (career army then a full-length teaching position) and a survivor's pension (teaching position), so he has resources.
 
BetteTheRed said:
Also, amounts of home care available vary widely across the country, and the cost of subsidizing this with other staff gets prohibitive, especially for someone on a pension. I have a very elderly godfather who is managing to stay in his home with the help of live in staff, but he only manages because he has two pensions (career army then a full-length teaching position) and a survivor's pension (teaching position), so he has resources.
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Yeah, 24/7 care at home is only for the rich. And it is still exploiting the employees who are working long hours or are on call at all times of the day. Because, with regular hours and appropriate wages, the client’s income would have to pay for three full time employees taking turns. So, if in a society, you want all people to have that home setting and no more group homes or institutions/ nursing homes, for one, it would take a large amount of professional staff ( which likely would have to be foreign workers) and paying proper wages and benefits, it does not seem to be affordable.
 
No, my godfather doesn't need that much care. He has a lovely lady from the Phillipines, I think the third to have "graduated" from him. He provides a very lovely, very private suite, in the basement, but not basement-y, if you know what I mean. He needs a bit of help with lunch and supper, some help with bathing, a little routine cleaning (he has a regular cleaning person) and sometimes minimal wound management (which would be assisted by homecare). He's provided opportunities for a couple of Moms with kids, to bring a child up here with them, get them into school, etc. But he couldn't do this on a regular pension.

Some people could stay in a home/apartment for a lot longer with not much more care. In the U.K., they have built-in "friendly visitors" service to groups at risk, like seniors who live alone. I think it might cost family members a few bob, but it's NHS subsidized. My auntie, who lives alone, with lots of family nearby, has a visitor who comes 5 days a week, keeps a log for the family, makes her a solid little meal at lunch, so she can just have a sandwich or tea and toast or soup for supper, does any dishes around, does a little light housecleaning, and spends solid time with Tina, yacking and encouraging reminiscing, perhaps taking her with her walker for a little tour out the back yard, or down the street a few houses on a pleasant day.
 
I was more thinking of people like your mom- wheelchair, lift ( needs two people even with a ceiling lift), or with dementia. Kind of the argument kimmio used to advocate for- everybody who wanted could stay at home with as much help as needed.
My mother used to have a live in caregiver, who was mostly a housekeeper, but she also needed
personal care. She had savings, but it was also only possible because the caregivers came from Poland, they made twice as much as a middle class job in Poland, but less than what one would have to pay a German care giver. When she ended up needing help at night, as well as the Covid situation making the switch over complicated because of closed borders at times, she had to go to the nursing home. Since then, there was a court case started by one of those workers, requesting that all hours be paid to the German equivalent wages and also hours “ on call” be paid. That would have been a situation my mother would not have been able to afford.
Not sure what that judgement did to all those people being cared for at home.
 
We need to trend towards the U.K. solution, but that's also strongly predicated on close families who don't live far from each other. My godfather's adopted daughter lives as close as she can to her Dad (depends on her work, and her partner's work). And in the U.K., my auntie has two of her four children living with a few minute drive of her, that being more common than not over there. I have a cousin, who filled in some 3/4 of various branches of our family tree, from one Liverpool Parish's records.
 
The situation with my Grandma was even that in hospital she needed someone there to help nearly 24/7 after surgery and that ended up being my mom. The hospital staff wasn't enough.
 
I remember hearing that the average time nurses stay on their jobs is 3-5 years. Probably has to do with having kids then and the difficulties to raise kids while on shift work. We are facing a nursing/ caregiver staff shortage already. Immigration could be a solution, but I don’t feel it’s being pushed for.
 
Good morn, all! Wow, lots of issues and concerns raised about the care of the elderly. Maybe we should start a letter and e-mail writing campaign to the respective Ministers of Health, of Long Term Care, and maybe the Premier. In the meantime the coffee cart is up and running. Come in, breathem relax, converse.

C(_)/ c(_) c\_/ c[_]
 
Mrs.Anteater said:
I remember hearing that the average time nurses stay on their jobs is 3-5 years. Probably has to do with having kids then and the difficulties to raise kids while on shift work.
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One of my team is married to a hospital nurse and with their kids on home schooling due to COVID he has had odd schedules during weeks when she's working.

More worrisome, I saw a story in, I think, the Globe suggesting we are looking at a wave of nurses leaving hospitals for home care and other less demanding roles as a result of burnout and overwork during COVID.
 
Mendalla said:
More worrisome, I saw a story in, I think, the Globe suggesting we are looking at a wave of nurses leaving hospitals for home care and other less demanding roles as a result of burnout and overwork during COVID.
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I personally would not call working in home care less demanding than a hospital. I experienced both types of employment during my career as an occupational therapist. The home care role has some advantages (flexibility, tax breaks) but it was harder work for the money I earned. Not sure it would be any different in the nursing profession.
 
Is it possible to find an acceptable, final and mutual solution to ancient enigmas ... like old things?

It appears not due to the human flaw! Avarice and the need for control from all aspects ... when the aspects are in a state of uproar ...

Such is collective expansive desire ... leads to loss of serendipity! Disruptions in the hole of the cosmos!
 
Good morning! Happy Thursday! It's time for tea, coffee, etc. So gather round the coffee cart, for mutual care and moral support.

C(_)/ c(_) c\_/ c[_]
 
Good morning. Today is a break from the apartment. It would make sense to just go in and finish the last bit but we need a break. We did a lot over the last few days. The furniture was removed by two nice young movers yesterday. I vacuumed the empty rooms and we took a truck load to Value Village. There's just a few things left and it shouldn't take much to clear the place completely. We are selling his scooter so if you know anyone in the area who wants a nice mobility scooter let me know. I did mention it to someone in the complex and I think his phone message said he or someone else wants to look at it. He's one of those guys who doesn't do phone well.

So today we'll be going to a favourite yarn store to get yarn for a baby blanket and for a chemo hat for a friend's sister. Costco is also on the agenda.
 
*sigh* Finally saw the dermatologist after my emergency room visit.
Back to the place where I was with the dermatologist I hated and who wouldn't listen while being clueless about my other conditions. This dermatologist works with me instead of just telling me what to do. He didn't even suggest prednisone. Methotrexate was brought up, and quickly dropped. I now have a prescription for ciclosporin, not sure it will be used but it's at the starting place for that.
 
It is starting to cool down now - only 33C. That is good news. The bad news is a forecast including probable storms, wind, rain, hail, maybe tornado formation.
 
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