What Does Long Term Care Mean to Me?

Long term care is just that...care for a lengthy period of time for a person with a terminal illness, or perhaps a person that can no longer care for themselves. Long term care encompasses a variety of different types of health care. Including subacute care, assisted living facilities, nursing homes, hospice, or even home health care for a person that can no longer maintain themselves independently. Although long term care may be defined by all of the above mentioned, I have had my own experience of long term care.
Last year I was fortunate enough to have an experience with a resident in an assisted living facility. My assignment was to spend one week with her, taking vitals, getting to know her as person, as well as evaluating her psychosocial needs. In doing this, I was able to develop my own definition and opinion of long term care.
We would sit in her warm, humid room for a couple of hours each day. She told me stories about how she grew up and what her family was like. She seemed like a very content person at one time, however, her admittance into the ALF defined a very negative turning point in her life. She felt as though it signified the beginning of an end soon to come. She spoke of how she never left her room. All of the other residents (more independent than she) were off seeing the sights that downtown Orlando had to offer, while she stayed in her clammy room observing from her window. Soon after being admitted into the facility she became wheelchair bound, not for any particular reason, simply because she was lacking the motivation necessary to get her up and walking around each day. As we spoke, she opened up about how she felt inferior to the other residents. None of the activities seemed to appeal to her. She was a very quiet, and timid woman. The majority of the activities planned for the residents were group activities, and she felt pressured to speak to nearly everyone in the group, even though she did not enjoy this. After speaking with her and evaluating her sense of happiness, I began to create my own estimation of how life must seem for an introverted person in a place like that.
Even though the facility encompassed the needs of many of its residents, it did not encompass the needs of at least one. Long term care facilities can be the saving grace for many families in distress about how to care for a loved one who can no longer do so for themselves. These facilities can also very closely mock the amenities of one's own home. However, these health care structures may lack the privacy of the home their residents once knew, as well as the ability to include the needs of all of their residents. Long term care facilities were developed to provide care, whether medical or personal to those that can no longer do so for themselves, and although in many cases these facilities uphold their standards, sometimes they fail.
Long term care has largely been defined by the structures that house their residents. But for many of the residents, long term care is a whole new way of life. In my opinion, long term care is an experience. For some it will be their new domicile, for others, just a place to rest before their lives come to an end. Whether the person is a long term resident or a patient knocking on death's door, they are all still experiencing this concept of health care for a period in their lives, and I feel that long term care could be improved in many ways.