How to get people to visit relatives in a nursing home

[Dingfod]

Put a pub in them. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051114/hl_nm/nursinghome_pub_dc;_ylt=Alzvl79U22JzuxX0s6XJZLfVJRIF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--) Actually, it is being promoted as being healthy for the elderly patients to have a pint now and then. Could be a double benefit, increasing the likelyhood of the elderly's family members of dropping by more often.

[Plant Woman]

:chin: Not a bad idea. But I think that telling the relatives you won the 30 million dollar lotto and someone from the family will inherit it, would be sure to get a whole lot of them visiting, running errands and falling all over themselves to give you attention.

[Dingfod]

That's a good idea. I actually think the pub in the nursing home is an excellent idea all the way around. What could be more therapeutic than some music and beer and some good companionship?

[livius drusus]

It's the darts I'm worried about.

[Dingfod]

They could use velcro darts. Of course, if they drop one, it could get stuck to the velcro straps on their shoes.

[godfry n. glad]

:chin: Not a bad idea. But I think that telling the relatives you won the 30 million dollar lotto and someone from the family will inherit it, would be sure to get a whole lot of them visiting, running errands and falling all over themselves to give you attention.


Um... If it's not true, I wouldn't tell 'em is was 30 million. There's very little way they wouldn't know that for sure. Instead, just intimate that it was a "tidy sum". Keep 'em guessing.

I like the pub idea, myself. Even though I'm not much of a beer drinker. Or wine, either, for that matter. Now, if it was a cocktail bar, I'd go an hang out more frequently, for sure.

[TomJoe]

Could be a double benefit, increasing the likelyhood of the elderly's family members of dropping by more often.

Unless they're Southern Baptists. :P

[ms_ann_thrope]

I would go visit total strangers in a nursing home if there was some sort of organized 'knowledge transfer' in it for me. Like, "Learn to Knit With Mrs. Winkle" or "Hear Stories About WWII From Veterans Who Were There." Then, I bet I'd become friends with those people and come visit them even when something wasn't scheduled. I'd just need that first taste/introduction...

[xyza]

I would go visit total strangers in a nursing home if there was some sort of organized 'knowledge transfer' in it for me. Like, "Learn to Knit With Mrs. Winkle" or "Hear Stories About WWII From Veterans Who Were There." Then, I bet I'd become friends with those people and come visit them even when something wasn't scheduled. I'd just need that first taste/introduction...
Why?
You should be able to fiind some elderly charity group that runs some sort of programme for arranged visits or whatever.

[godfry n. glad]

Could be a double benefit, increasing the likelyhood of the elderly's family members of dropping by more often.

Unless they're Southern Baptists. :P

Southern Baptists can drink, can't they? They're just not supposed to dance.

It's the Morons...uh, Mormons, who aren't supposed to drink. And the Methodists.

[ms_ann_thrope]

Why?
You should be able to fiind some elderly charity group that runs some sort of programme for arranged visits or whatever.Well, I'd like to learn how to knit... so I'm trying to kill 2 birds with one stone. :D Good idea though -- I am going to try to find what might be available in my community. :yup:

[ms_ann_thrope]

oops double post

[Godwhacker]

While I certainly agree with the concept behind putting a pub into a nursing home (in fact, the one I work in is considering a similar concept of a '50's style diner), there is one limitation that I think may be getting missed. Namely, that alcohol is one of the top five causes of dementia (after Alzheimer's, Vascular, Parkinson's/Lewy Body). Alcohol can kill brain cells, specifically those in the midbrain area (around the hippocampus, and the cerebellum). Older adult livers and kidneys don't get rid of alcohol as fast, and couple that with poor apetite/nutrition, and you have a recipe for bad things. I have seen too many older adults demented by alcohol. Its not pretty.

There is also another condition possible with heavy binge drinking with poor nutrition. Thats Wernecke-Korsakoff's Syndrome, in which the alcohol "sucks" the B12 out of the brain. The person's sense of time and memory is completely disrupted. Its also fatal about half the time.

There are other movements in nursing homes that have the same spirit, but don't grab the headlines. The Eden Alternative and Greenhouses are two that are changing thousands of nursing homes in the US. Eden Alternative
puts kids, plants, pets and a more home like environment, as well as increased staff "buy in" and community connection (having various groups interact with the home). The Greenhouse concept puts older adults in a regular house with a few other elders, along with a nurse. Both concepts are gaining popularity fast.