Retirement home

A nursing home, also home for the elderly, Feierabendheim, Feierabend house, retirement home or seniors residence is a residential facility for the care and care for the elderly. Due to the often high proportion of long-term care nursing home residents, the word is increasingly used as a synonym for the word nursing home.

Explanation of terms

General Linguistically nursing home is used as a generic term for any form of stationary foreign supply in old age.

In technical terms, the nursing home, however, is the central link between the Old homes and old people's homes in a differentiated according to the severity of the aid and nursing care of the residents of Long Term Care Facilities tripartism:

• Home for the Elderly - The assisted living here has the greatest weight - other services are offered only to a limited extent.
• Nursing Home - This is a (still) lower long-term care, outweighing self-determined life. Services such as cleaning and tidying the room, food supply are regularly taken to complete. It is run no separate budget.
• Nursing home - pronounced Inpatient care is dependent persons in these facilities around the clock in the foreground.

Situation in Germany

In Germany there are under the umbrella term " elderly or nursing home " usually a three-tier supply: retirement home, nursing home and nursing home. Most common are the nursing homes. The number of nursing homes, the most important home form has increased in Germany from 2003 to 2005 by seven percent to 10,424 homes. They offer in-patient care time.

In Germany determines the care insurance law ( SGB XI) and Social Welfare Law (SGB XII) the conditions for the recognition and funding of institutions for nursing homes. On the basis of close payers and home support frame agreements, in which even minimum quality standards are defined. The Home Mindestbauverordnung ( HeimMindBauVO ) or the building regulations of the countries are building code requirements and the state law regulated venue normalizes the operating conditions and the co-determination and consumer rights of the residents. Nursing homes are subject to the home supervision ( often located in the city or county social services, but also from health authorities ). These ensure, inter alia, that the minimum legal requirements are adhered to staffing. On behalf of the care funds of the Medical Service of the Health Insurance (MDK ) performs quality inspections of homes.

Many facilities complain that they could employ and pay not enough staff or insufficiently qualified personnel due to stricter performance reward schemes. After an admittedly controversial report of the Social Union of Germany ( SoVD ) at least 10,000 people died in 2004 in German nursing homes for lack of care. According to the secretary for health and social care policy at SoVD, Gabriele Hesseken, the situation in many of the 8,440 elderly institutions with a total of 717,000 places ( as of 2006) is dramatic: " it [ is ] is the largest social and human disaster since the Second World War ".

In some facilities for the elderly or outdated organizational and management structures. Cost and performance management and IT to be used in small scale. This leads eventually to an unnecessary binding of human resources. The competent authority for the elderly Federal Minister of Social Affairs Renate Schmidt ( SPD) complained in the fall of 2004 publicly that a tested old nurse spend on average one third of working with superfluous organizational and documentation work. This time should be better spent on the maintenance and care of residents.

Distinction by carriers

Institutionally, retirement homes are often used by state bodies (usually community or circle), non-profit ( religious or charitable and social organizations) or private operators with different business objectives entertained. Their share is in Germany, based on the placement figures, about

( 1) In the " non-profit organizations ", there are large regional differences. Further explanation under non-profit organization.

Winner of the State or non-profit elderly get when they build a retirement living and nursing home, some low-interest loans and grants from public funds. Private and commercial operators with almost no promotion. The cost of funding for all facilities for the elderly in Germany, Austria and Switzerland is regulated differently. Here, a rate of remuneration per day and residents shall be fixed by an official body that includes housing costs ( accommodation, hotel costs ), the care and board and care in the form of per diems separately. The resident paid his pension benefits, and by making use of public or private body.

Criticism of the institution

The term home for the elderly is often associated with " pushing ". Therefore, some nursing homes prefer euphemisms like " senior residence ". In addition, the term implies that only old people live here. It is not rare that younger people who - after an accident or a serious illness (stroke) - require constant care, to live permanently in a nursing home.

The " assisted living " as an alternative

Many elderly people prefer to possible self-determined to spend her last years, for example, in an assisted living facility. Ideally, it involves building or settlements with senior housing in old equitable barrier- free construction. The term "assisted living " is not standardized or protected, therefore, such devices have large differences. The older and partially chronically ill residents of appropriate residential facilities are outpatient services regularly or on-call care (for easier nursing care, temporary illness ). These services can be carried out by private or non-profit home care services or social centers and invoiced individually or as a fixed price package. Also the support of the elderly and nursing homes often operate at the same time assisted living facilities and to use common resources. In the best case, the principle of living is offered to end of life, which allows the residents not to move out of his usual own sphere of life even with heavy care needs and the need to move to a nursing facility.

As a relatively new development in this area outpatient assisted living communities and in particular the so-called dementia living communities are emphasized. Physically care seniors are treated as outpatients in senior living communities. Usually pull together the seniors when they are still agile, not to have to live alone. If a roommate in need of care, provided by a nursing care. A qualified " service instance" is critical to the success of a senior living community. Another alternative of assisted living is the multigenerational WG. Young families live there along with seniors in need of care, nurses from the outside takes on the professional care. Thus the healthy residents can take care of the weak, but do not have it. Even if seniors choose this type of residential community with so far unknown often forced because a Living at home alone is impossible, the Community helps against loneliness. The residents share joy and sorrow, mourn together deaths and births are happy about.

A special form in Switzerland is the servants' home Oeschberg ( Koppigen ). There are years male and female servants, who have been in the retirement age, accompanied in their familiar surroundings into old age. These old people continue to perform work in the stable, household or forest, as they are accustomed and adapted to their abilities in circumference. This " retirement home " becomes less and less in demand because there is in Switzerland fewer former servants and maids. It allows these people to her simple life that consists of work, continue to the end of her.

Organizational

The cost of inpatient care services are divided into Germany in care costs ( per diem ), costs for room and board, investment costs and fees for optional services. These costs are the basis for the design of the home fee. There are also funding opportunities for training costs. Paid is the residents who normally has in Germany are entitled to care insurance benefits, which takes a share of the care-related costs. The other share on the payment must be applied from the private income and / or capital, or maintenance payments of dependent relatives obliged. If these funds are not sufficient, is in Germany are entitled to assistance for nursing care as social assistance benefit.

In the past, nursing homes often were running surpluses in relation to the investment effort and risk. However, payers refuse now in the care rate negotiations called to recognize tariff requirements in the personnel cost calculation. The result is that non-profit or municipal nursing homes that continue to usually pay union wages, now often suffered substantial losses that can reach up to the shortfall. Private institutions have these problems, however, usually not because they are not bound tariff in the pay of their employees generally or have negotiated collective agreements house.

The construction and operation of homes for the elderly is regulated in all these countries.

Special nursing homes

• The "Casa Verdi" in Milan is founded by Giuseppe Verdi retirement home for about 60 musicians and opera singers.