Question
8: Do you want to be put into a nursing home?
If
so, for how long, under what conditions,
and
for what purposes?
If you lose the ability to take care of yourself,
the
question of nursing-home placement will be raised.
While
you are still in good health, you might think
that
living in a nursing home would be a fate worse than death.
But
before you declare you never want to live in a nursing home,
you
should explore the question as deeply as you can.
You might be rejecting nursing homes because of misconceptions.
How
much actual information and experience
do
you have with nursing homes and other forms of assisted living?
If
you have a solid basis for your views,
this
is the place to explain the background
of
your decisions about nursing-home placement.
If
your rejection of such institutions is based in reality,
then
your decisions are more likely to be respected.
Is there any middle ground between death and nursing home?
One
rational thing you could do is visit various nursing homes
that
could be possible places for you to live if the need arose.
Also
you should consider the possibility of a temporary placement
in
a nursing home, while you recover from a problem
that
usually does have a predictable period of convalescence.
A
nursing home can provide a needed break
for
those who have been caring for you at home.
But because some of these 'temporary' relocations
stretch
into placements that become permanent,
it
might be wise for you to project some limits on nursing-home care.
For
example, if you do not recover your health
well
enough to return home within two years,
and
if you have also affirmed your right to die at the best time,
perhaps
it is now appropriate to begin your end-of-life planning.
How
long would you approve living in a nursing home?
The nursing-home decision often takes place on the cusp between
being
mentally able to conduct your own life and losing that capacity.
Thus
the best thinking you can provide
while
you are still clearly able to conduct your own life
will
help those who must decide for you if you lose mental capacity.
While
you still have all your mental faculties,
you
probably do not want
to live in a nursing home.
106
YOUR LAST YEAR: CREATING YOUR ADVANCE DIRECTIVE FOR MEDICAL CARE
The selection above is the beginning of Question 8 from the book:
Your
Last
Year: Creating Your Own Advance Directive for Medical Care.
If you click
this title, you will see
the complete table of contents.
This discussion of nursing home placement takes up 6 pages.
If you
would like to see one person's Answer to this Question,
go to James
Park's Advance Directive for Medical Care.
Scroll down to Answer 8.
Go to
the beginning of this website
James
Leonard Park—Free
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