Tuesday, February 05, 2008

New Vernacular

I went with a good friend of mine to check out a place for her elderly mom to stay while she takes a short vacation with her husband. I am of the era that we called them nursing homes, facilities or home for the aged....and maybe other names I can't remember!
Imagine my surprise when we were told the "F" word (facility)is an ugly word and not to be used! New vernacular ......we call them communities....we start with Independent living, Independent living with some care, assisted living, Memory unit(for Alzheimer's patients.) There is also skilled care nursing for rehabilitation from strokes or surgery. And what a community. For respite care....it is kind of a trial to see if all parties are happy and the client is placed in the correct community--minimum 2 week stay... Lovely place. Not that expensive.....considering....and so many activities to do.
When I need a community, I sure hope I can find one as clean and beautiful and well thought as this one was.

10 comments:

Jan said...

Sometimes I think name changes are all for the good. We called them old folks homes and they were pretty grim. My grandmother swore she would rather die than go to one, but when we finally got her to look at a modern facility, she changed her mind.

Sharon said...

Hadn't heard this. hummmmmm....
It may sound different but I don't think the facilities will actually be any different.

david mcmahon said...

I hear you loud and clear on this. We went through the same situation with my Mum.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Jan - sometimes name changes are for the good. Improving elderly care was much needed, and if it takes a name change to make that happen, great. At the same time, it seems with a new name come a higher price tag. It's similar to coffee. For years it was just coffee: some tasting good, some bad. And then along came the latte. Yummy but expensive. Now there are tons of wonderful coffees that are less expensive than lattes but taste great. Hopefully, that is where we are heading in elderly care. Lots of great options for all levels of affordability.

Shammickite said...

We all have to be politically correct these days. No longer are you "short", you are "height challenged". No longer do we have a "Purchasing Department", now it's "Materials Managemant". And it's the same with Nursing Homes. Fancy modern names for everything. But I still call them Nursing Homes.

Kat said...

My dad has Alzheimer's and we will probably need to get him into one of these facilities soon. Informative post. Thank you!

And thank you so much for visiting my blog. I appreciate your comment.

Ginnie Hart said...

I worked on senior staff for 2 years at one such community, Neva. They have their "issues" but they're wonderful and so much better than the alternative. Glad to hear such a positive report!

Front Porch Society said...

Screw the whole "politically correct" way of saying things these days! I just speak my mind and call things as they are. And sometimes people just look at me...ah well...they will get over it!

VP said...

This struck a big chord with me as my mother in law has just gone into a home. It's a really difficult thing to do isn't it. Hubby and his brother are still agonising whether they've done the right thing, is it the right home etc etc

travel lightly inside, tread gently on our planet said...

Mom you don't even need to worry! When I move to a commune and you need a community, you're coming with me where I can take care of you! I love my mother!