This semester, I’m taking a philosophy class about death. When I first registered, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be depressing or interesting to think about my own mortality and aging. Turns out, it’s a little bit of both.
We’ve been comparing Eastern and Western societies and how they treat those that are aging. Members of Eastern societies tend to adopt their elders into their homes and take care of them directly until they pass away. In Western society, especially in America, it seems that many view elders as an inconvenience when they’re too old to take care of themselves, and the first instinct is to put them into nursing homes for the rest of their lives.
I recently read a novel for the class called “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” by Atul Gawande that really opened my eyes to this issue. Gawande is a doctor, and in his novel, he critiques the challenges of treating elderly people in the medical profession and the way in which they are treated. He conducted many interviews with elderly people and their families about what works in geriatric care and what doesn’t. Elderly people that need the extra care are cared for, but the circumstances surrounding that care aren’t ideal.
Many nursing homes, including ones that I’ve seen elderly people that I know in, look like hospitals. The walls are whitewashed, the floors are tiled and squeaky, and it typically smells strongly of hand sanitizer and medicine. The elderly people who are housed there are on a strict schedule: wake up, take their medication, eat and participate in activities all at meticulously picked times. They can only participate in activities or eat food that the home provides for them.
Many of them aren’t allowed to be left alone for too long. Most elderly people don’t want to leave their houses and are unhappy about having to live in the nursing home. Many people lose a sense of purpose, they miss their own free time and activities and they become depressed.
People spend the last years of their lives in hospital-like conditions, isolated from their families and friends, who can only come at very specific visiting hours. If they’re unmarried or widowed, this can be especially difficult. This stereotypical nursing home housing makes people feel like they’re losing control, because they really don’t have anything. These places are set up like institutions, and they’re designed for the workers as opposed to the residents. By putting the residents on a tight schedule, it makes it easy for the workers to do their job while stifling the residents.
Growing older is difficult to begin with without taking away the things that make people happy. There are definitely ways to create homes for elderly people that are more welcoming and can help the residents feel good while getting the help they need.
People view elderly people as fragile people that need to be watched over and cared for all the time, but that’s not necessarily the case. Making the rooms of nursing homes apartment-style could change the lives of many who need to go into assisted living. By giving them the freedom to have their own kitchens or pets and do activities on their own time, these homes have the opportunity to make someone’s experiences monumentally better. Asking residents what makes them happy and letting them have the freedom that they desire can and will make this difficult part of their lives better, even if just a little bit.
My favorite story and one that stood out to me in Gawande’s book was a story of a nursing home that brought in 100 birds, two dogs and four cats. Many were skeptical of this, thinking that these animals would harm the residence and those living there. However, what happened was the complete opposite. The whole atmosphere of the place changed. The residents got excited about the animals, offered to help take care of them and found happiness in their jobs with the animals. They felt that they had a purpose in the nursing home, and it put many people at ease.
Obviously, people need extra care in their lives as they get older and are unable to do some everyday activities on their own. If someone is losing their senses or developing a disease such as Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s, they definitely are unable to live alone or take care of themselves without some help.
However, just because one is getting older doesn’t mean they need to sacrifice everything they enjoy in order to get proper care. There needs to be a revolution for nursing homes. Letting elderly people choose how they live, with some help, won’t cause any major catastrophes. People should be treated and looked after, but they should also be able to enjoy the last part of their lives without feeling like they’re trapped.
