"Promises to Keep," written by Katherine Karr offers encouragement and advice to families who have to put loved ones in nursing homes. Few are prepared for the shock of the placement into the institution, and families are not aware of the emotional effort needed to put forth so that that elderly feel comforted and maintain dignity throughout this vital change. Katherine explains the process through first hand experience with her grandmother. .
These care facilities provide the duty of looking after elderly persons who can no longer take of themselves or by their family. The role of families in nursing homes should be to "oversee and share equitability in the nursing home experience" by working cooperatively with staff. Yes, this staff is genuinely nice but they are paid to be like that, nothing can replace love between family members. The family must find the right nursing home by determining the amount of financial resources available, which will determine the status of the nursing home. The five methods of financing nursing homes are personal financial resources, private insurance, veteran's benefits, Medicare, and Medicaid. Guidebooks usually help a family determine this. From here on you must place the elderly person's needs above your own to ensure them dignity and care. Karr's grandmothers life was dedicated to family caring until it came time for the family to care for her. The last years spent in a nursing home were unexpectant to her grandmother but accepted due to her age and family devotion to comforting her. Nursing homes receive a lot of bad press, but efficiency and care should be an obligation. What Karr learned from this was that " the special emphasis on the emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual needs of a fragile population need to be addressed and she hopes this book will help future people faced with the challenges of nursing homelife.".
Deterioration of the elderly physical and mental needs such as bathing, feeding, dressing, medications, and agility require a level of nursing way past family care, but families must remember to contribute often and with great passion.