moved

My brother moved today, from the old nursing home to the new one.  My husband and  I took a good chunk of the day off to help him move.  When I got to the old nursing home, they hadn't started any of the paperwork or packed up his stuff, but it only took about an hour.  Part of the problem with this place is that there are a lot of language barriers.  The staff means well but it is difficult to communicate sometimes.  There was not much of a good bye, a few of the staff came by and hugged, but it was not much.

We took my brother out to a Panera that is in a shopping center close to the new nursing home. It was kind of comforting to be somewhere we had been many times before, most specially with our parents.  My brother was a lot calmer than I thought he was going to be.

When we got to the new nursing home, the admissions person was not ready for us.  We sat there for about 10 minutes, and then they told us just to go up to his room and to wait for her.  The new room is a single and much nicer than the old room, but my brother didn't think so.  He felt that the room was smaller (it's not, it's just not a double).  The lighting is much better and he has a window that he can look out of.  There is a chair in his room so I can now sit with him if I want to.  But I think he likes the sociability of having a roommate (even though his old roommate was very sick and they hardly spoke).

Someone came in to take his vitals, and then left.  I was told to unpack his bag and put his stuff on the bed so that it could be inventoried, which I did.  There wasn't much for me to do, so we walked around and explored.  There are a lot more social spaces in this new nursing home, just not a lot of patients.  They have temporarily put him on a rehab floor instead of with permanent residents, which is good and bad.  On the one had, the patients are more together mentally, but on the other hand, there doesn't seem like there is much of a community.  He is supposed to be moved to a different floor when a bed opens up.

It was a beautiful day.  Patients have a lot more freedom to move around in the new nursing home.  I left him sitting outside by the front door.  There were four or five patients just sitting there.  I am hoping that in the long run, he will be able to make friends.

It took me 12 minutes to get home, instead of 45.  That made me smile all over!!