When the nursing home originally opened there were three different types of living accomodations. The first was you could buy one of the cottages and live there for 10 years. After 10 years you were charged rent. The attractive selling point in purchasing the cottages was that the owner would not have to pay school taxes. There was a heated discussion over that and I forget what the end result was. Knowing our taxpayer squandering PA legislators, the owners most likely had to pay school taxes. The second type of accomodation was assisted living and the third was the actual nursing home. I know a widower who used all three types of accomodations until his death. I never heard him complain about the facilities or care. He would have preferred to live at his old farmstead but due to age and his wife’s illness he thought the village would be the best solution. Sadly his wife passed away 5 months after living in the cottage.
A friend of ours had to place his father in the nursing home. One day last year we decided to pay the father a short visit. I was very upset over the strong smell of urine that hit me as soon as I reached the door of the nursing home. I noticed several patients out in the hallway. I guess they were there waiting for family and friends to arrive to visit them.
When we arrived at the man’s room the same strong smell hit me. When leaving I stopped by the nurse’s station to inform them that the man needed tended to and that I would be back. I knew the man’s son was going to stop by within a half hour. I was told they would take care of it. I can only assume they did tend to the man.
If there is one thing I cannot stand idly by and witness without saying a word in a nursing home is a resident smelling of urine. Every resident has the right to die with dignity and smelling of urine somehow doesn’t meet that criteria in my opinion.
I’m not saying that the village is a bad place, I’m just sharing with you what we witnessed last year.
