As a charge nurse at a nursing home here are my thoughts.
1. Yes, some residents appear to be sent to a nursing home to be out of sight out of mind. Sad to see.
2. Some residents have family members who are irritatingly involved and present all the time. To the point where they interfere with our ability to care for the resident.
3. Some residents (the best case scenario) have family memebers that come often but are basically hands off when it comes to the care they are there to recieve.
It is what you make it. Nursing Homes can be a great place (usually always a necessity) for a resident. There is no rule that says you cannot stop in to visit your loved ones as often as you like. We attempt to live by the idea that while this is our place of work, the nursing home is the resident’s HOME. And we treat it as such.
There are other options as well. Assissted living, Home care, etc.