Elder Care: Elderly Thrive in Denmark

from Spotlight on Elder Abuse: 

WHAT THE DANES REALLY WANT: The Danes do all they can to enable elders to stay in their own homes. And for those who are too frail, the country's nursing homes are small, homey and delightful.

IN TERMS OF services that elderly people actually want, Denmark – and neighbouring Sweden – are the best places in the world to grow old. Both have strong, cradle-to-grave social programs, and compete with each other – and with their Scandinavian cousins Norway and Finland – to give their citizens the best comprehensive elder care.

Danish and Swedish policies are designed to help people stay at home as long as possible through a variety of home-care services and regular house calls by doctors. In Denmark, regular monitoring of an elderly person's needs begin with a visit by a nurse when an individual turns 75. "That visit has a huge impact," MacAdam observes. "It reassures the individual and also educates the individual."

I am struck by the attitude of proud independence I encounter in many of the seniors I meet in the two countries, how they persist in doing the chores they are able to do. The system supports them where needed, but doesn't take over – not even in nursing homes, where they have kitchenettes so they can make their own toast and tea. "The philosophy is that, no matter how frail, you have a right to be in charge of your life," MacAdam says.

Norman DeLisle, MDRC
"With Liberty and Access for All!"
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Great post!

I transitioned my mom to assisted living after she had a stroke in 2005. At the time, I was 33 years old and found very few resources to help families understand the benefits of assisted living, evaluate communities and transition their loved one to them. So I decided to create them!

To help families with this issue, I created Inside Assisted Living (http://www.insideassistedliving.com) – a blog focused on helping families evaluate and transition a loved one to assisted living.

I was also curious about what other families were concerned with, so we decided to ask them. We surveyed 195 families about their concerns and preparedness and put them into a free report.
Anybody can download it off the Inside Assisted Living blog. All are free.

I hope this helps your readers. We’re all kind of connected in this strange way, so we have to look out for each other!

All the best,

Ryan Malone
— Ryan Malone