Nursing home ➦ when care at home is no longer possible

For many, moving into a nursing home is the unwanted end of life. If one has worked hard in one’s younger years and provided for one’s family, one’s life is then to end in a nursing home. Deported and far away from family, friends and acquaintances.

Nevertheless, a move to a home cannot always be avoided. What can relatives do to make it easier for the senior to stay in a nursing home?? What are the benefits of a good nursing home for my loved one?? Are there reasonable alternatives?

Definition of a nursing home

The nursing home is a Fully inpatient type of accommodation for people in need of care. The home residents are cared for and supported by the home staff according to their needs and receive comprehensive care and support.

As a rule, these are seniors who live in a nursing home. In the meantime, however, there is also a greater awareness of the need to offer an age-appropriate form of care specifically for young people. Young and middle-aged people in need of care do not find social contact especially with the elderly nursing home residents.

Nursing homes are part of the so-called geriatric care facilities.

When does it make sense to move to a nursing home?

I would like to give you a short overview of the nursing home occupancy here.

In 2019, approx. 4.130.000 people in need of care, of which only 820 were.000 people were placed in nursing homes, while the rest of those in need of care were cared for at home by relatives alone or together with a care service.

As a rule, very few people like to go to a nursing home. The own four walls are nevertheless still best. So for many, the move to a nursing home is more of a major psychological burden.

But when does a nursing home come into question? A move to a nursing home should be considered for the following individuals:

• Care at home is no longer possible. And it’s not just food and shopping that’s relevant here, because Meals on Wheels has become a good alternative to cooking for yourself. Here the whole everyday life belongs to it. Often, single people without family support also experience neglect.
• People who live alone and are at risk of falling. In many cases, seniors are at high risk of falling. A home emergency call can be life-saving in the event of many falls. However, if the person is unconscious (for example, due to a fall or hypoglycemia in diabetics, etc.), the nursing home is not the right choice.) he can no longer make the life-saving emergency call.
• People who live alone and suffer from dementia. People with dementia who live alone at home are exposed to great risk. Depending on the severity of the illness, they leave their home unsupervised and wander around frightened. Or they forget to turn off the stove, etc.
• People without care from family or friends. Not all people in need of care have relatives or friends who can provide care at home. Sometimes the children live much too far away or they cannot take over care for professional reasons.
• Caregiver reaches her limits. But the physical and psychological strain on caregivers must also be taken into account. If the caring relative is no longer able to take over the care due to health reasons, often the only option is to move to a nursing home.
• When intensive care is necessary. Intensive care, which in some cases requires 24-hour care, is often no longer feasible in the home environment. In the meantime, there are nursing services that offer out-of-home care. Here, it must be weighed up which is the better solution for the patient and the relatives.
• For people in the final phase of life. Here, too, it must be well considered whether palliative care can be provided at home or whether a nursing home or a hospice for the dying is the better option. Many relatives simply cannot cope with the fact that their parent or partner will die.
• No barrier-free apartment. If the dwelling cannot be rebuilt or adapted suitable for handicapped persons.

What should be considered when moving to the home?

Moving to a foster home is a big step that needs to be well thought out and planned for. If possible, you should not rush. On the other hand it becomes meanwhile ever more heavily a nursing home place to find.

Therefore it is good to be put on a waiting list in one or two homes. This has the advantage that you can get a place in a home more quickly if an emergency arises. Read also our checklist Moving nursing home – what to do. Checklist: Moving to a nursing home – what to do.

What to do if the person in need of care does not want to go to a nursing home

What can I do if care at home is no longer possible, but the relative does not want to go to a home? Can I request a forced admission?

We feel obliged to take care of the relatives at home, if this is possible. That’s a good thing, too, and it’s certainly the best way for relatives to be cared for, because nowhere is nicer than at home. But what if care at home is no longer possible at all, but the person in need of care does not consent to it? We would like to go here simply times on it, which is possible and which not.

Admission to the nursing home without good reason: No one can be forced to do anything, not even to move to a nursing home. If one were to carry out a forced confinement against the will of a person and without good reason, this would be a custodial measure (or also called custodial placement) according to § 1906 para. 1, BGB. Measures that deprive a person of his or her liberty are punishable if they have not been approved by a guardianship court.

In plain language this means:
If you send a person to a nursing home against their will,
makes himself liable to prosecution.

A valid reason is also not that the person is at risk of falling or even of becoming neglected. Even in the foster home the person can fall and get injured.

Forced confinement with good cause: As mostly, there is also with the freedom-depriving measures an exception. This is the case if the person concerned is a danger to himself or others. After a judicial decision can then take place via the Mental Illness Act a forced incarceration.

However, the forced admission is then not to a nursing home, but to a psychiatric hospital.

Prerequisites for a custodial placement:

• The accommodation takes place for the well-being of the cared for person, because this is a danger for itself or third parties. This includes z.B. mental illness or. mental or intellectual disabilities and there is a risk that he or she would kill himself or herself or cause significant damage to his or her health.
• Or the affected person must be medically treated to avert an imminent significant harm and must therefore be placed in accommodation. More info about this in § 1906 Abs. 1.
• The accommodation can take place only with permission of the guardianship court.
• Falling o.g. Requirements away, the caregiver must notify the court of the termination of the accommodation.

Incapacitation instead of forced confinement: incapacitations no longer exist. Until the year 1992 an incapacitation was still possible. If the persons concerned were found to be incapacitated, they were incapacitated and given a guardian. Today people are no longer incapacitated, but get a legal guardian. Those affected should receive help and no longer be patronized.

So what can be done then?

In any case, the conversation with the person in need of care should be held, perhaps the fears and concerns can be dispelled.

It is important to approach the matter with understanding, respect and patience at an early stage. So there is perhaps the possibility that such a situation does not arise later at all.

Get help: since the relative probably won’t let himself be told anything by his own family and probably not by his own child anyway, it sometimes already helps if the doctor, neurologist, nursing service, social service, etc. can help. Talking to the "nursing home refusenik. Often it happens that an outsider can convince better and is listened to more than a close person.

Reasons why older people do not want to go into a home?

Even if it is only short-term care, i.e. the person in need of care returns home after a certain time, many people in need of care are afraid that they will never come home again.

Common reasons why people in need of care do not want to go to a nursing home are:

• You have to leave your familiar surroundings, friends, acquaintances and family.
• It is basically a foreign environment, here the question arises "do I feel comfortable there"??
• It also certainly resonates with the fear of being "forgotten". "Once I’m in a home, you won’t come and visit me anyway".
• The feeling that one is unwanted and simply shunted off
• Some of those affected may not like the company in a home either. "Here it has only old people. I am not old, I am only 85!"
• Or simply out of spite or. Also out of traditional thinking, true to the motto "why did I bring children into the world, if you now want to send me to a home, in the past you still looked after and cared for your parents at home?!"

Here could be certainly still quite a few points. However, it may not always be clear which reason is behind this in individual cases, because the person in need of care does not want to express it or simply does not want to deal with the issue. This makes it all the more difficult to convince the person to move into a nursing home with the right arguments.

But if the relative in need of care expresses himself in the direction of "deporting," "unwanted," "generational obligation," etc., then it’s not a good idea. which arguments one wants to bring then? It is nevertheless rather in such a way that one brings it then already almost no more "over the heart".

If all the good coaxing is of no avail, the patient may be forced into a nursing home?

. Finally getting in and out of the tub safely. . With care degree up to 4.000 Euro allowance . With fall sensor | person tracking etc. . Adaptable to any change in the care situation

How can you make it easier for the person in need of care to stay in the home??

Settling into a nursing home can take several months, maybe longer. Some people will never feel comfortable at all, because they feel pushed away and simply cannot understand that they should spend the rest of their life in a home. As a relative, you can try to make the settling-in phase easier.

• In the beginning, show everything several times and walk all the important routes with the person in need of care. This includes the entire living area, but also the way to the kiosk, the garden, the common room, etc. It gives a sense of security.
• Regular visits make it easier for the elderly senior to settle in. Bringing children and grandchildren to the visits.
• Make excursions with the relative, so that he can get out.
• Go out to eat once in a while. That makes fun, if it is not always the same meal from the home catering.
• Putting up pictures and making the room as homey as possible
• Together with the relative to address other residents and make contacts.
• Giving the feeling of not being alone.
• Set up a telephone so that contact can always be made with the relatives.
• Asking whether something is still missing or unclear.

Can one change the nursing home?

Of course you can change nursing homes. However, a change should be well considered.

• It takes some time to get used to a nursing home. Older people in particular find this difficult. Therefore, it should only be changed if it is absolutely necessary.
• You have entered into a home contract with the retirement home, i.e. the home operator. You must comply with this. This refers to the notice periods, etc.
• If nursing home costs are borne in part or in full by the social welfare office, the nursing home can only be changed after consultation with the social welfare office.
• The move must be organized and planned.

How to find the right nursing home

There is no such thing as the ONE right nursing home. Every person has different needs, ideas about life and wishes. In addition, financing is often a point that must be taken into account when choosing a retirement home.

To give you some help, I have written a checklist for you How to recognize a good nursing home. Here you will find many approaches that you can take into your considerations.

And if you are not at all sure whether the home you have chosen is really the right one, many home operators offer a trial stay in the nursing home.

Advantages and disadvantages of a nursing home

It is naturally beautiful, if one does not have to go into the nursing home. But even at home, all that glitters is not always gold. The PRO and CONTRA for nursing home placement is something everyone must decide for themselves. I would like to show you here some advantages and disadvantages, which may make the decision easier for you.

Advantages of residential care

• Qualified specialist care and nursing during the day and night.
• The relatives no longer have to care for you around the clock. You can be more involved in your job again and take more care of yourself.
• Elderly people often lack social contact with their fellow human beings. Loneliness can be counteracted in the nursing home.
• Common undertakings under professional company of the home personnel.
• A nursing home is handicapped accessible
• In a well-managed nursing home, value is placed on a Balanced and healthy diet This can counteract malnutrition.
• Shared meals instead of eating alone.
• Structured daily routine
• In an emergency, for example in the event of an acute medical problem or a fall, help is on hand. Persons living alone are often found too late when an emergency occurs.
• Time, physical and psychological relief of the caring relatives.
• Financial burden on the caregiver is alleviated. If all or part of the job has been given up because of care, this is a major financial loss.
• The certainty that the person in need of care is well looked after. This is especially true if he or she was previously living alone and relatives did not live nearby.
• There are nursing homes that are specifically designed for people with dementia. People with dementia are often better and safer accommodated in such a facility than if they were living alone at home. A good alternative are also so-called dementia shared flats.

Disadvantages of a home

• Lack of time of the nursing staff. The nursing care suffers, but also the personal attention and care for the individual.
• Constantly changing staff. The person in need of care must constantly adjust and adapt to another person. It is also necessary to accept people who are not so close to one’s heart.
• Moving to a nursing home brings stress Even if most things are organized by the relatives, it is a big change when the familiar environment, which has often lasted for decades, has to be left behind. Everything is strange and unfamiliar.
• The social environment changes. Proximity to friends, acquaintances and family will be missing.
• There is a different daily rhythm in the retirement home. Habits still have to be changed at an advanced age.
• The knowledge Last move, the final station can be very oppressive. Especially by moving into a retirement home, the finiteness of life is constantly kept before the eyes of those affected. The situation that someone from the immediate nursing home environment constantly dies can become very stressful.
• People with dementia can be completely disoriented and unable to find their way around.
• entertainment is not always patient-oriented. Agile people then feel underchallenged or not taken seriously.
• The feeling can quickly arise that they have given up their freedom, independence and flexibility at the front door of the nursing home.
• When older people no longer have any tasks, memory often deteriorates more quickly. They also become more disinterested.
• The home accommodation is usually with high costs.
• Unfortunately, there are also less good nursing homes and overworked nursing staff. The caregiver is then not protected from violence.
• Unfortunately, there are also homes that give sedatives to restless or agitated people Here, changes in the person in need of care should be well observed.

The accommodation in a nursing home is NOT a deportation

Many relatives have a guilty conscience and reproach themselves for placing their mother, father or even partner in a home. Placing a relative in a nursing home, however, is not pushing them away or "trying to avoid work". Often there is simply no other way.

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There will always be two hearts beating in one chest: On the one hand, you have a guilty conscience about "pushing off" the relative. On the other hand, you know that you are no longer able to cope with the health and/or financial burden of caregiving. The whole situation will crush you. The emotional level is heavily burdened.

When care becomes a burden, neither the person in need of care nor the caregiver is served.

I would also like to draw attention to the phenomenon of the sandwich generation, which is often not perceived by family caregivers.

Women are by far the largest percentage of home caregivers. Especially when it comes to caring for parents, today’s women have a completely different position than in the past. They are usually between 40 and 60 years old and then belong to the classic sandwich generation, i.e. the simultaneity of raising children and caring for parents and working one’s own job:

• Usually women return to work as soon as their children are out of the woods. Nevertheless, they are heavily involved in raising their children. School, music lessons, club activities, leisure activities, housekeeping everything must be organized.
• Often there are already grandchildren, who may also have to be cared for so completely on the side, because their mother goes to work. This does not only affect single parents. In many cases a salary is simply not enough and the woman has to earn additional money.
• On top of the job, the children and grandchildren, there is now the care of the parents.

It is impossible to reconcile all of this without getting under the wheels yourself.

Alternatives to the nursing home

The nursing home is usually the solution least desired by those in need of care. As an alternative to the home there is:

Home care. In home care, the person in need of care is cared for by relatives or friends. To relieve the burden of care, you can take day and night care or preventive care. But the additional involvement of an outpatient care service also makes sense in order to relieve the burden on the caregivers and to provide optimal care for the person in need of care.

Even if at first glance a home does not appear to be handicapped accessible, a few well-planned changes can go a long way toward making it accessible. With a conversion from the classic bathtub to a shower, the biggest hurdle is often already taken. The annoying and also dangerous stair climbing can be completely eliminated with a stair lift.

24-hour caregivers: A good alternative to the old people’s home are 24h-caregivers from Eastern Europe. They help out in the household, but also take on light care activities. This takes into account the desire of many older people to be able to live in their own homes for as long as possible.

The relatives are relieved by the Eastern European caregivers, can also pursue their work, but at the same time know that the person in need of care is cared for and not alone.

Assisted living, nursing shared apartment, demez shared apartment. There are now more and more concepts for living in old age.

Advantages of assisted living:

• Actually, the person in need of care only moves to another apartment and not to the home. Are usually always attached to a nursing home, so that proper care can be provided.
• Various services related to care can be used that the person in need of care cannot perform themselves.
• The apartment can be furnished with one’s own furniture and accessories, giving a feeling of being at home rather than "being shunted off to a nursing home",
• The apartments are barrier-free and age-appropriate.
• The privacy is preserved, because you have "your own 4 walls.
• The move from assisted living to a nursing home is organized more quickly if necessary and the person in need of care may already know the facility and the caregivers.

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How expensive is a nursing home place?

The costs for a nursing home place depend on several factors. These include, for example:

• The cost of land. The property prices vary in Germany very strongly. If a square meter of building land might cost 700 euros in Hamburg, it might only cost 50 euros in Saxony-Anhalt.
• The personnel costs. The more staff is available and the better trained they are, the higher the costs will be.
• The nursing home’s facilities. It goes without saying that a nursing home with a sauna, indoor pool and other bells and whistles is more expensive than a standard nursing home.
• The proportional distribution of the care degrees. Until the end of 2016, the cost of care places depended on the care level. The higher the care level, the higher the nursing home costs. Since 2017 there is the Einrichtungseinheitlichen Eigenanteil. This means that every nursing home resident pays the same amount for the nursing home costs, regardless of the nursing degree. The care costs are apportioned equally among the residents. However, this also means that the higher the proportion of residents with a high degree of care, the higher the care costs that are apportioned.

My TiPPIf you are a taxpayer, you can deduct nursing home costs, which you have to pay yourself, from your taxes as an extraordinary burden. The same also applies if you have to contribute financially to the costs as a relative (parental maintenance).

Is a nursing home allowed to simply raise prices?

If you place a relative in a nursing home, you conclude a care contract with the home. The care contract also contains the monthly fee that you have to pay.

If the nursing facility incurs higher costs, the facility has the option of passing these costs on to you under certain conditions. This means: The fee agreed in the nursing care contract is valid on the day the contract is signed. However, this can also be considerably higher just two months later.

However, the following should be noted:

If the nursing home has a care contract with the nursing care insurance, the price increase must be negotiated with and approved by the nursing care insurance.

In the case of self-payers, the nursing home does not have to negotiate with the nursing insurance company and can increase the fee within reasonable limits.

If the nursing home resident is not in the nursing home for a longer period of time (z.B. due to vacation or hospitalization), the costs for nursing home accommodation are reduced Read more in my article Nursing home costs in the event of absence.

Reasons for a price increase in a nursing home can be:

• Increase in personnel costs.
• Higher investment costs, e.g.B. by converting two-bed rooms into single-bed rooms, purchasing buildings, etc.
• Increased costs for food, electricity, water.

You can find more about this here.

My tipAsk BEFORE signing the contract if you want to have the nursing home closed for a longer period of time. Cost increase in foreseeable time is intended. The nursing home management can estimate this quite well and you will then know what is coming up for you and whether you can still handle this without further ado.

At the beginning of 2018, nursing homes have in some cases announced cost increases of more than 500 euros per nursing place and month. If you too have received a charge that can no longer be financed, you should check whether you are entitled to social benefits in the form of Help for care can make use of.

Is a nursing home allowed to give notice to a home resident?

End of the line nursing home. The last residence. Can the nursing home then simply terminate the resident’s contract, effectively throwing him out the door??

Yes, in exceptional situations and for serious reasons, a nursing home can terminate a home resident’s contract. The termination must be in writing and must also be justified.

Reasons for termination can be:

• Living together is always based on rules and compromises. This is also the case in a nursing home. Of course, it can happen that a nursing home resident is not at all able to get used to the customs of a nursing home and has a hard time accordingly. If there is then unacceptable aggression and violence towards the nursing staff or other nursing home residents, or even sexual assaults, this can constitute grounds for termination.
• If a nursing home resident’s care situation changes in such a way that, from a professional point of view, he or she can no longer be cared for in the nursing home in a manner appropriate to his or her illness. This is the case when a nursing home z.B. professional, technical and nursing care is not adapted to intensive care. The home resident would then simply be inadequately and poorly cared for, which would not be in the patient’s best interest.
• The nursing home is closed, either for good or for a longer period of time, e.g.B. for renovation work.
• Last but not least, poor payment behavior on the part of the nursing home resident is of course also a reason for termination. Here are precise regulations on when it is permissible to terminate due to late payment. This is, on the one hand, the amount of outstanding bills and, on the other hand, exceeding the payment deadlines.

The exact regulations can be found in § 12 WBVG (Wohn- und Betreuungsvertrags-Gesetz)

What can relatives or nursing home residents do against the termination??

The notice must be given in writing to the resident or his or her caregiver. In addition, the notice must contain a reason for the cancellation. This is also good. For now you have the possibility to check the cancellation and even reject it, if it is not a serious reason.

Certainly, many terminations are proper and justified. But of course there are exceptions. If you do not agree with the termination, you should seek advice, because a move to another nursing home is now not really desirable for an elderly person. You can contact a home supervisory authority for this purpose.

Alternatively, you also have the option of receiving detailed advice via our free nursing care consultation service. In an emergency, they can also help you find a new home.

Who bears the costs for a nursing home place?

The following options are available for covering nursing home costs:

• For people in need of care with a care level of 2 to 5, the care insurance fund will pay part of the pure care costs.
• The remaining care costs – not covered by the care insurance – as well as the costs for food and lodging, investment costs and training allowance must be paid by the person in need of care.
• If the person in need of care can no longer cover these costs from his or her income and assets, relatives who are liable to pay maintenance (spouse, children) are primarily called upon to pay the costs of the home place.
• Only if the dependent relatives cannot pay the home costs at all or only partially, the social welfare office takes over the benefits (completely or proportionally).

Note: In North Rhine-Westphalia, financially weak nursing home residents can apply for a nursing home allowance. The nursing home allowance serves to cover the investment costs. Investment costs can be relatively high. There are nursing homes that charge 25 euros a day in investment costs. That is 750 Euro per month.

Mother in a nursing home – What happens to the house??

There are nursing homes, which are quite still affordable, but there are also nursing homes, with which some thousand euro monthly as own load result. Since in most cases the pension is no longer enough. Must now the house of the parents be sold, in order to be able to pay the nursing home costs?

I would like to give you the following hints and tips:

• The social welfare office only pays for the costs of the nursing home if the person concerned or other persons liable to pay maintenance cannot pay for these costs.
• In order to be able to pay for the costs of the nursing home, all assets, money, securities, land, houses, apartments or life insurance policies must be sold, except for an amount of assets that is not subject to tax.
• A single-family house or condominium does not have to be sold if a partner/spouse still lives in the property. Even if the own children still live in the house, it is possible under certain conditions that the house then does not have to be sold. The prerequisite for this, however, is that the property is not unreasonably large. Thus an appropriate home counts to the protection of assets and is usually also protected against seizures by the social welfare office.
• If the social welfare office covers the costs for the time being, it is to be expected that after the death of the parents it will be examined to what extent a part of the costs can be recovered from the children.
• In order not to have to sacrifice the house for the nursing home costs, there are different possibilities to provide accordingly. These include an early gift to the children. It is important to note that the social welfare office can no longer access a transferred house if the transfer was made more than 10 years ago. For this, however, you should definitely contact a lawyer for social law. He can advise you on this comprehensively.

Nursing home: assumption of costs by the social welfare office

On the one hand, the cost of a nursing home place continues to rise, on the other hand, more and more people can no longer pay the costs of the nursing home itself. The proportion of welfare recipients in nursing homes is increasing. In some nursing homes, up to 40% of the nursing home residents are dependent on state support. But who must now pay which costs? And when does the social welfare office take over the costs for the nursing home place??

If you are unable to pay for your nursing home place yourself, the so-called help for nursing care to claim.

In the case of social welfare home residents, the payment of nursing home costs usually proceeds as follows:

• The income (pension, rental income, etc.) of the person in need of assistance go to the social welfare office.
• The social welfare office takes this income to partially finance the nursing home costs.
• The remaining, uncovered nursing home costs, then takes over the social welfare office.

Please note the following:

• The social welfare takes over the nursing home costs only if all other possibilities are exhausted.
• You can receive social assistance only from the day on which you have notified the social welfare office of the need. So if a home admission is imminent, and you know that the available assets or. the income is not sufficient, you should also go to the social welfare office at the same time. For more information, see here: My reading tip: Help for care – When does the social welfare office take over the costs of care?

Pocket money for welfare home residents

Who cannot pay the nursing home completely by himself, is supported by the social welfare office. This means that the home resident has to contribute virtually all of his income himself. The still missing amount for the nursing home costs is carried with welfare assistance receivers then by the welfare office.

But all people – and also people in care facilities – still have personal wishes and demands. Those with sufficient equity can finance these wishes themselves.

Social welfare recipients, on the other hand, are not allowed to have any assets of their own (except for a few euros). Social welfare home residents therefore receive a cash amount (the so-called pocket money) from the social welfare office for free disposal. This pocket money can then be used to pay for the hairdresser or toothpaste, or special drinks, etc. The amount of the cash amount is legally regulated in § 27b SGB XII.

My advice: There are also always costs for clothing. For this you can make a separate request for Clothing Aid pose. This means that these costs do not have to be paid from the cash amount / pocket money.

Every social welfare home resident can use the Cash amount to be paid out for free disposal and can thus buy what he wants for this amount. For people who have a caregiver, the caregiver may be assigned to manage the cash amount. This usually affects people who are no longer able to manage the cash amount themselves. However, it is quite common that the care facility also takes over the administration of the cash amount.

Please note: The nursing facility may not charge any money for the administration of the cash amount!

Are welfare recipients allowed to choose their nursing home?

Moving to a nursing home is already a very difficult decision for most people. For welfare recipients, this step is usually somewhat more difficult. Because they are afraid of just being put in any home. A home that does not suit them and in which they do not feel comfortable. Or a facility that is much too far away from the relatives. Do welfare recipients now have to accept the nursing home that is assigned to them by the social welfare office??

Even welfare recipients in need of care have a Desire right. This means: According to § 9 SGB XII (Social Code), the wishes of the social welfare recipient should be taken into account, as long as they are reasonable. The social welfare agency does not have to agree to disproportionate additional costs. Unfortunately, it will always remain a point of contention here, what is proportionate and what is not. What is of course clear: The costs for an expensive senior residence with all the bells and whistles will of course not be covered by the social welfare office.

If the social welfare office refuses you the selected old people’s home, the office must justify this decision in writing. Based on this written decision, you can then file an appeal. You can also find more detailed information here.

Do children have to pay their parents’ nursing home expenses?

Who pays the old people’s home, if the pension is not sufficient? If the parents can not pay for the accommodation in the nursing home themselves, there is a possibility that then the children have to pay for the costs. One speaks here of the Parental support.

Whether the children will be taken over the uncovered home costs and in which amount, will be checked and calculated by the social welfare office. You will then receive a corresponding notice, the so-called Transition announcement.

It is important that you check later whether the amount to be paid by the social welfare office is correct. Because you have a Schonvermogen, which is more or less individual with everyone. Read also my contribution: Children must not necessarily pay for nursing home costs of the parents.

Nursing home abroad

The German nursing homes are often no longer affordable for many people. This is also a reason why many relatives take over the care themselves and do not give the person in need of care to a nursing home. Another argument is that the nursing staff in German nursing homes have less and less time for nursing and there is hardly any time left for a private conversation with the home residents.

More and more often one hears from Nursing homes abroad, the home should be affordable and the home residents should be lovingly cared for. Meanwhile there are quite exotic alternatives like a nursing place in Thailand.

In general, however, nursing homes in Eastern European countries such as Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, etc. are meant here. Our Eastern European neighbors have even started to build nursing homes very close to the border with Germany.

What is the quality of care in foreign nursing homes like??

Personally, I have never looked at a foreign nursing home. That is why I cannot make any judgement about it. Fact is however: There are everywhere good and better homes, but also completely bad ones. This is how it will be for you abroad.

In addition, everyone has different ideas, demands and wishes. If you play with the idea of giving your relative in a foreign retirement home, then you simply have to compare and look at the homes well. But this also applies to German homes.

My TiPP: Check the checklist nursing home, which foreign nursing home is suitable for you. Pay attention to the fact that the communication in German language is ensured.

For whom is a foreign nursing home suitable?

The move to a nursing home in itself is already a great burden. Then, however, a move to another country, this must be well considered and everyone must decide for himself whether he wants this and whether this is a good alternative for him.

For expellees or Aussiedler with Eastern European roots it is certainly easier to go back to the homeland again. They know the culture and are much more familiar with the country and its customs.

An important aspect for an Eastern European nursing home is of course for many that it usually costs much less than a German nursing home.

What does a nursing home place cost in a foreign home?

If you are interested in placing a relative in an Eastern European nursing home, you need to compare prices. But it’s not just the price of care alone that matters, but also special services. Apparently more special services are included in the price of foreign nursing homes than in Germany.

Which care services are paid by the care insurance abroad?

In EU-wide foreign countries you will only receive nursing allowance from the statutory nursing insurance, but NO nursing benefits in kind and also no benefits for the nursing home. In the case of private supplementary nursing insurance, it depends on the contract whether the supplementary nursing insurance covers costs for foreign nursing homes.

Within the EU you are also covered by health insurance, but according to the foreign health insurance law.

Nursing home contract

Anyone moving into a nursing home must sign a housing and care contract, also called a nursing home contract. In this contract all costs and services are listed and agreed upon. Among other things belong in a nursing home contract:

• Day of admission
• Type of room (single or double room)
• Nursing home fee
• What is included in the room costs like z.B. Water, electricity, cleaning of the room, washing of the laundry etc.
• Catering (food and drinks)
• Additional services, which have to be paid by oneself
• Bank details and payment arrangements
• Liability for damages
• May animals be kept in the home
• Notice
• Arrangement in case of death
• Other arrangements

With many nursing homes it is still necessary that a home necessity certificate is submitted.

The living and care contract should be signed by the person in need of care, if he is still able to do so. This is for the following reasons:

• If you sign as an authorized representative / caring relative, you must make absolutely sure that in the contract as an addition to the signature is: "By proxy" or "as a proxy.". If this addition does not stand in the contract, you are automatically the contracting party. This has the disadvantage that you have to pay for all the costs that the home resident can no longer pay themselves.
• Some home residents like to claim that they have been involuntarily deported to the home If the home resident has signed himself, there is no reason for such a claim.

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What types of care are available in full inpatient care facilities?

Nursing homes not only offer the classic care concept of a retirement home/nursing home as we know it. Depending on the size and design, therefore, full inpatient care facilities also offer:

• Short-term care.Short-term care is used either for a professionally qualified aftercare after a hospital stay. However, short-term care is also suitable if the caregiver takes a vacation from care or is otherwise prevented from providing care. The person in need of care is then cared for in a full inpatient nursing home.
• Preventive care.Preventive care can take place not only at home, but also in the nursing home.
• Day care / Night care. Many nursing homes offer additional outpatient day and night care services. In outpatient day care, people – mostly with dementia – are cared for and kept busy during the day. Night care is ideal for people with dementia who tend to be restless at night. If night care is used, the caregiver can sleep through the night at least a few days a week and is then reinvigorated for the care. Unfortunately, night care is still relatively rarely offered.
• Palliative care – hospice for the dying. Some nursing homes offer special palliative care or even an entire palliative care ward. Here, dying people should be cared for by nursing staff with special additional training. Good palliative care makes it easier for patients to die, but also cares for their relatives at the same time.
• Assisted Living. In assisted living, each resident has a small, separate apartment in which they live alone or with their partner. However, services such as a cleaning service, nursing service or home emergency call, etc. can be provided. can be booked. Assisted living requires that a certain degree of independence still exists.

Complaint about a nursing home / nursing home supervision

All that glitters is not always gold and sometimes there are then also problems. Be it that the food is inedible or the friendliness of the nursing staff leaves much to be desired. The list Grounds of complaint can be indefinite. But what to do when the situation escalates and good words can no longer get you through?? Just grabbing your loved one and moving them to another nursing home is not so easy. Here are some tips on where to complain: