Choosing a Closet for Your “Old Toys”

Choosing a Closet for Your “Old Toys”

Three elderly single women living in are retirement home are sitting by the pool one sunny afternoon, when a gentleman in his late seventies appears and jumps in. One of the women looks at him and asks, in a loud voice”Are you new here? We haven’t seen you before……”

He responds in the affirmative. One of the other women then asks: “where did you come from?”

He responds by saying “I was in prison for 25 years for killing my wife.”

The third women exclaims with great joy: “So you are single!!!!!”

On the day that my Great Granddaughter Caroline was born my granddaughter posted Caroline’s picture on Face Book and I exclaimed “Our family has a new Toy.” Later that day I was visiting a patient in s Skilled Nursing facility and as I sat in the waiting room I looked down the hallway and saw rows f wheel chairs with elderly persons all slumped over I ‘exclaimed “this is what happens as new Toys come to the later years of life—they become “Old Toys”.

One of the most difficult, but important decisions that needs to be made as we advance in age is that of recognizing when we, or are loved ones accept reality and determine that it is time to give up our independence and determine that for our own welfare we need to either hire a home healthcare giver, or move into an assisted living facility.

When I was a young boy growing up in Detroit, Michigan, when our grandparents were unable to take care of themselves, they moved into our home and we cared for them. Today for many reasons, including the fact that families live great distances from each other and/or we work long hours as well as the availability of government and private insurance programs the option of moving into quality facilities exists. So how do you choose such a home away for home?   

In order to choose the facility that is right for your needs, the following are some of the issues that you need to consider:

1.      Is it conveniently located so that the loved ones or a close relative who can act as your advocate in case of a medical emergence, or just to be able to visit you.

2.      Is it a medically certified facility, or close to a hospital (most such facilities are not medically certified), but are close enough to one to make getting to a hospital easy.

3.      Who are the other residents and are you compatible with them?  If you are reasonably physically and mentally active and the facility has a majority of physically and mentally dependent residents it is not going to be a place for you.

4.      Do the have certified caregivers on premises?   

5.      What kind of activities do they have, both on premises as well as ones they transport their residents to?

6.      Do they have religious services that address your needs?

7.      Are their personal services on premises, such as hair care, physical therapy etc., as well as personal services to help with your laundry, dressing and other needs?

8.      Are there medically licensed personnel on staff to deal with emergency needs, and does your doctor go the facility?

9.      How is the food? Keep in mind that the food served in these facilities is not equal to what you cooked at home, or that found in restaurants. Nevertheless it must at least meet your minimal requirements.

10.    Do they have transportation available to get you to doctor’s appointments and meet your shopping needs?

11.   Finally be sure to spend some tome visiting the facility, meeting residents and staff and determining that you can adjust your life to a standard of living that is different to what you are use to.

Bernard S. Otis is the author of the new best selling book (Amazon & Barnes and Noble) “How to Prepare for Old Age—-Without Taking the Fun out of Life” He can be reached at Seymour.Otis@gmail.com