Nursing homes have a negative reputation. When it comes to care for your loved one, understanding the history of nursing homes, and alternatives to the historical model of nursing homes, can make a huge difference in their experience. Residents of nursing homes with a historical model have at times felt like they were trapped in something similar to a hospital, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

A nursing home is a setting that provides the highest level of care available.

A person may be severely disabled or frail and elderly and cannot live at home.

These residents are not able to care for themselves and need 24 hour care and supervision for all activities of daily living.

What Does A Nursing Home Do For Residents?

Nursing homes offer the most extensive care a person can get outside a hospital.

Nursing homes offer help with custodial care — like bathing, getting dressed, and eating — as well as skilled care.

Skilled nursing care is provided by a registered nurse and includes medical monitoring and treatments.

Why Do Nursing Homes Have A Negative Reputation?

Families often make promises to their elder family members about never moving them to a nursing home.

Typically, these promises are based on fears stemming from memories of nursing homes that were just like hospitals, but gloomier.

Many people have visited these old facilities and experienced bad odors, people slumped in wheelchairs and other negative scenarios.

Early History Of Nursing Homes

Although care facilities for the elderly and orphans goes back to the 17th century, what we think of as nursing homes today came about in the late 1950’s and 60’s.

When Seniors began to receive regular Social Security checks and Medicare insurance became available, they had sustainable incomes. The Federal Government along with hospitals partnered to build residential care facilities or what we call nursing homes.

It is no surprise that those facilities were built just like hospitals with long hallways, rooms with hospital beds, curtains to divide space, cafeterias, nurses’ stations and separate bathing rooms.

There was no resemblance to the home the Elders may have lived in all their lives.

Much has changed in nursing home appearance, but the medical model still prevails.

Many of the newest communities may be beautiful in design and décor, but the old clinical model prevails, created to put the staff first so that their work is more efficient and job descriptions are well defined.

There are alternatives to traditional nursing homes across the nation and there is one Nursing Home in Kansas City that is uniquely designed to offer a real home for residents.

The Physician Directed Household Model

No long hallways, nurses’ stations, single rooms with divider curtains, med carts or cafeterias are found at The Piper.

The Physician Directed Household model is a far superior design and philosophy that puts the individual in control of their life with all the support they need.

Seeing is believing and we invite you to call for a tour.