In Russia today there are over 1.5 thousand boarding houses for the elderly. Nursing homes for the elderly seem something terrible to many. Their specificity is fundamentally different from that which was characteristic of these institutions in Soviet times and in the 90s of the last century. First of all, the quality of service delivery has changed.

If earlier aged people In these institutions they simply “lived out” their days, but now many guests who have visited boarding houses call them sanatoriums. This is confirmed by a radical change in the internal appearance of the premises itself, treatment rooms, common rooms, as well as living rooms. All these innovations have led to the fact that over the past few years the average life expectancy in boarding houses has increased significantly. According to statistics, senior citizens living in them live 5-10 years longer than all other residents of our country. If in Russia the average life expectancy is 69 years, then in many nursing homes this figure is 75-79 years.

Meanwhile, society's attitude towards these institutions has not changed. They are still considered old-age homes and are not perceived as progressive institutions. This is probably correct, since the high level of institutions can lead to the risk of an increase in those wishing to join the ranks of residents. From a government point of view, this should not be encouraged, since the family with its traditional values ​​of caring for loved ones should always come first. Meanwhile, data from boarding houses suggests that most of the guests belong to the family category. They have close relatives, children and grandchildren, but their families no longer need them. The reasons why relatives transfer elderly people to the care of boarding houses can be different, and it is difficult to judge them for this.

To an elderly person who, of his own free will or due to some difficult life situation, may end up in this social institution, it is important to understand that this may be the best way out for him. Advantages of living in boarding houses a bunch of. One of the best is the Barvikha boarding house for the elderly. For the majority of elderly people who end up in an institution, this is a great opportunity to start a new life, the beginning of new achievements and even victories.

Pros of nursing homes

For older people It is very important to feel protected. This is a period of exacerbation of various diseases and ailments. Living in such a house, you can be confident in the future. They will definitely feed you, give you shoes, dress you, provide you with the necessary medications, and wash your things. Now many such institutions have received autonomous status, began to provide paid services to residents of nearby territories, and expanded the list of services provided. This has been a plus for residents in the sense that they also have access to all treatment rooms and new services.

2. Possibility of self-expression.

In all institutions of this type, circle work is actively conducted. All kinds of activities, such as singing, dancing, computer training, sewing, are aimed at organizing permanent leisure time for residents. Every year, various competitions of crafts and amateur performances are held between institutions, where citizens who have never done anything like this in their previous lives can express themselves.

Cons of nursing homes

The main thing that a future guest may lose is the loss of some independence and a sense of self-sufficiency. For people of the “old school” this can come as a real shock. In order to smooth out the moment of relocation, professional psychologists work in such institutions who communicate with patients on various topics, helping them resolve their internal conflicts. There are also psychological relief rooms and mutual assistance for residents.

An important point is the fact that accommodation in a boarding house may be temporary, from 2 to 6 months. After this period, you can either return to your previous place of residence or choose a boarding house as your permanent place of residence.

How much does it cost to stay in boarding houses?

These institutions are public and private. Living in private boarding houses is usually paid for by relatives or sponsors, since pensions are not always enough for this. In government institutions, 75% of residents' pensions are written off monthly to pay for maintenance, and the rest is given to the elderly for personal use.

How to register for a nursing home for the elderly

State boarding houses are under the authority of the authorities social protection. Therefore, you can obtain complete information about the activities of these institutions, their number and locations from the local social security authority. Typically, specialists from this department require, in addition to the application, to provide the following package of documents:

• certificate of disability (if any);
• applicant's passport;
• compulsory medical insurance policy;
• pension certificate.

The decision to issue a voucher to a boarding house is made by a specially created commission in social security. All documents are checked, and the factors on the basis of which a pensioner is proposed to be assigned to a boarding house are also subject to in-depth analysis.

Employee charitable foundation“Old age is a joy”, journalist “Miloserdie.ru”

Why don't grandparents live with their relatives?

In our experience, “children betray their parents” is a rare option. I personally haven’t seen many situations where a grandmother lived with her daughter’s or son’s family, babysat her grandchildren, and then she was “surrendered.” Usually family ties break down much earlier than the grandmother ends up in a nursing home. For example, her children left their home village for a larger city, and her grandmother did not want to leave her home, even if she was called. As long as she managed herself, this was not a problem. When she can barely walk, she cannot bring a pack of pasta from the store and wash her clothes - she especially does not want (and cannot) move far.

The Soviet system of distribution and labor conscription played a role: children can live on the other side of the country. If a grandmother is 80 and her daughter is 60, chances are that her grandchildren, who are approaching 40, saw her a couple of times 20–30 years ago. Her children themselves are no longer very energetic and healthy, and she is a stranger to her grandchildren. So she goes to a nursing home in her native region - most often in a district or regional center, because the houses there are large, with 600 people each, and the small ones - closer to her home village - were closed during the optimization process. Although in a house for 30 people with a family atmosphere she would be much better off than in a boarding school for 600. But in general, a nursing home for her is not punishment and prison, but physical salvation: bed linen is changed, food is brought 4 times a day, let not the one that grandma loved. Then it depends on the personality type: someone will live there for another 15 years, someone will die in two months.

There are much less socialized families. Everyone can live close here, but children drink, and often drink away their grandparents’ pensions - grandfathers, however, rarely live to an old age, so we are talking mainly about grandmothers. A drunken son or grandson might hit his grandmother; she eats poorly: the money is drunk and there is no one in the family to cook. In this case, the nursing home is again a physical salvation.

At the same time, grandmothers most often do not blame their relatives; they are very happy about their calls and visits, even if the relatives come once a month to collect the rest of their pension (75% of the pension is transferred to the account of the boarding school, 25% remains for the elderly). They are glad that they can be useful. If we give grandmothers Stuffed Toys, they are happy because they will be able to give this toy to their grandson or great-grandson if they bring him to visit.

There are, of course, grandmothers for whom a nursing home is a prison; they perceive their children as traitors. Here, a very good nursing home, with attentive staff and good material resources, can be perceived as a disaster in life, especially if the grandmother is intelligent (for example, a school teacher or accountant). And a perfect shack can be perceived as a normal house (if the grandmother, for example, was a milkmaid or beet-maker and did not see much comfort in her life). And there are also classic stories when grandmother’s apartment or house was sold, their conditions were improved, the grandmother was first taken in, and then they showed her in every possible way that she was superfluous, and she herself asked to go to a boarding school or was taken straight there. But these stories are ten times fewer than those from the series “it just so happened,” “all my relatives died,” “my son drank and beat me,” or “my daughter is disabled and lives in a neighboring boarding school.”

Who decides where older people will spend their final years?

In a classic Moscow boarding school (for example, this one) there are 500 beds, of which 275 are for bedridden people and 75 for the blind. Nursing homes in Moscow are managed by the Department of Social Protection. But grandparents can end up in psychoneurological boarding schools (PNI) and even in psychiatric hospitals for years. Many graduates of orphanages, especially correctional ones, or graduates with disabilities at the age of 18 end up in a nursing home if the disability is physical. If it’s mental, then go to PNI. And they remain there until their death.

In addition, there is Order 216 of the Ministry of Health on medical contraindications, in the presence of which a person may not be allowed into a nursing home or a nursing home. Therefore, if a person has tuberculosis or epilepsy with frequent seizures, then he will have to live in the system of the Ministry of Health. Hospices also sometimes open even in fairly remote villages: this could be called a real hospice with a license for narcotic painkillers, but then they will most often only take oncology patients, and they will not accept neurological and other patients.

How life works in nursing homes

The situation depends decisively on the personnel. If the director cares about the grandparents, he and the entire staff will motivate, and will invite sponsors, and will call volunteers, and will give money for gasoline so that the residents of the boarding school can go on an excursion somewhere on a government bus, and will allocate a room for a house church.

There are a lot of houses where the staff, led by the director, are very burnt out. Their salaries are low: nannies have 5-8 thousand rubles, and they can have up to 50 bedridden elderly people for two in a shift - and at night she can be alone on her floor. They don’t need anything other than to ensure biological life. That is, somewhere they will spoon-feed a bedridden grandmother, shake her in every possible way - and she will get up after a hip fracture, walk even with a walker and retain her sanity. Somewhere they will say “she’s taken ill” and leave it like that, and when she withdraws into herself, they will say: “She’s unwell, don’t come near her again,” and she will die very soon.

There are no cases of criminal desire to quickly transport grandmothers to the next world in state nursing homes. In extreme cases, per capita funding (if you kill everyone, you'll be left with nothing) and prosecutorial and other checks insure against this. But there are plenty of cases of complete indifference - “they don’t need anything, they’re not themselves” - despite the fact that grandmothers really need communication, comfort, and personal attention.

Fortunately, this burnout is treatable in many cases. It’s easier in small houses, where the troubles were due to poverty. We have seen several cases of turning a stinking barracks into a completely cozy place simply because nurses, instead of bleach, were given normal detergents in decent quantities, diapers for bedridden people, additional bedding, and gloves. And they perked up, because they were so sure that neither they nor their grandmothers were needed by anyone.

It’s more difficult in big houses - there you need a lot of diapers, and detergents, and while you have a heart-to-heart talk with each of the staff (not to teach something, but just to talk like a human being, maybe she has three children at home who are underfed with her salary), a lot of time passes.

Yes, here and there someone steals. We have seen exemplary houses where everything is perfect just because of the budget. We didn’t catch anyone by the hand - we have a different specialization, we don’t investigative committee, we simply compare what happens with a caring director and what happens in other cases. However, funding varies from region to region, and the building could be built in 1905, or maybe built in 1985.

Big houses are good. With attention to the bedridden, with work and creative workshops, with walks. And there are bad ones - both large boarding schools and small ones, where grandmothers are asked for money for help in washing, money for going outside to breathe, where feet stick to the floor, etc.

Why private nursing homes are better than public ones

State nursing homes are not free, as many people think - they take 75% of the pension. I know nursing wards where they take 95%. There are social beds in state nursing wards and boarding schools, where relatives provide additional payment (for example, for some reason, my grandmother does not have the right to a place only for deductions from her pension). In the Moscow region last year, the additional payment was 22–25 thousand rubles per bed per month, that is, 75% of the pension plus these 22–25 thousand rubles. And these are quite ordinary rooms, four people per room and no preferences. It’s relatively good there, our volunteers even pay for such wards for one grandmother, for whom the state only offers others that are worse.

All kinds of boarding houses such as “Kindness”, “Caring”, Senior Group (physically they are in the Moscow region, but are considered Moscow), Boarding house for the elderly - all these are private networks. Senior Group helps us as much as they can: they conducted short trainings for staff of state houses from the regions, took in and raised our bedridden blind grandfather when he was about to die, etc. But the price of living in such a boarding house goes beyond 100 thousand per month, as far as I know. We are not personally familiar with other private networks. But if the cost of living is approximately 30 thousand rubles per month, then this is not guaranteed Better conditions, and the staff, most likely, are not even without education - even without medical books. A shelter in the Vladimir region where dead and half-dead old people were found was in the news; accommodation there cost 22 thousand a month.

A good private house (from Senior Group, for example) corresponds to, say, an Israeli one. That is, there are no bedridden people there as a class: even if a person is in a vegetative state, they wash him in the morning, put him in a stroller, take him to breakfast in the dining room (even pureed food from a spoon, but not in bed through a sippy cup), then take him to all sorts of morning news viewings and discussion, then for a walk.

There is round-the-clock supervision for those who are unconscious, classes in all kinds of art therapy and music, a psychologist, visits from dentists and cardiologists, and so on. In such places, people who are bedridden get up, and relatives are invited to all holidays. In bad private nursing homes, everything is either the same as in bad public nursing homes, or - in criminal cases - it can be much worse.

What it's like to live in a Russian nursing home

Guests of the Pervomaisky house in the Tula region tell their stories

Grandmother Evdokia

Photo: Maria Borodina

We walk here and there, go downstairs three times a day to the dining room for training. Someone is sick, someone can still walk. We also have Masha, Lida, and Zoya on our floor. Zoya is now in the hospital. We came from Belev. At home, of course, it’s better, but at home there’s no one.

Houses - wood heating, hot water no, there is no gas, but the bath and toilet are separate. We have been living in the Tula region for 20 years, and our entire village was without gas, we only heated it with wood. Lately I haven’t even cultivated the garden anymore, I didn’t have the strength.

My birthday is this month - October 28th, and a month ago my great-grandson was born. Weight 4500 - hero, Caesarean section was performed. They called me Ilya. Now I’ll show you my daughter, she was beautiful. She died at 52 and two years old. After her death I wandered around these houses. I often look at photographs - this is how we will survive the winter. Volunteers came from Tula, there was a concert in the dining room, homemade cakes, it was so great. We also have our own accordion player - he plays on Tuesday and Friday at three o'clock, some of them sing. Today my granddaughter came to see me by correspondence, we saw each other for the first time, we have been corresponding since March 29th. At first I thought from the start that this was my youngest daughter. They have two cars, they could come, but they don’t come.

We have a lot of people corresponding with us. A girl, her granddaughter, also visits Bogomolova by correspondence. I gave her a robe and a sleeveless vest; she often visits. They write to Filippova the most, sending photographs and gifts. True, she is now going to Tula to have an eye operation, I am worried about her.

Grandma Zina

Photo: Maria Borodina

I’ve already had my third stroke, and I’m learning to walk again. I've been here for three months. But I almost learned to walk. I was born in Plavsk, I am from Plavsk. I have no one, only my niece, and she comes to me. For lonely people like me, it's good here.

Returning to the main building by New Year is my dream. You just need to heal. Between the recumbent body and the non-recumbent one - big difference. We walk around the territory there. But here it’s not very interesting, there’s little communication. I have a fiance there. Now I’ll learn to get up from the potty, my leg will adapt, and I’ll go back to it.

His name is Alexander, he comes to see me every day, we’ve been talking for two years now, so everything is fine. I like him so much! Do you know what a good character is? Not rude at all. True, he is paralyzed, but he comes to see me every day. He always says hello and goodbye to all my neighbors. He is kind. And in appearance it seems like nothing.

When I only had two strokes, we walked and went to concerts together. They even offered us to live together; they wanted to give us a separate room. But I’m not ready for this yet. Maybe by the First of May, in the spring. I need to recover now, not about family life think. And then, what kind of wife am I? He came to me one time, took off his socks and put them on the table. He wanted me to do the laundry. I ask why put it on the table? I would say: wash it. I washed them, of course, and he put them back on the table, clean, but on the table. I told him: “Sasha, why are socks on the table?” But he is very good and kind.

My niece is a miracle, she comes to me and communicates with me. Her son and daughter are adults, very decent, like her mother herself, they are doctors. I need to be looked after constantly, but they can’t.

I always said that I wouldn’t survive a third stroke, but it turned out - wait for the fourth. They tell me that I’m young, I’m only 66. True, Alexander is still not very pleased with me: I walk around here in a robe, not always combed. I told him you New Year wait, I’ll dress up and get myself in order. And recently she asked: “Aren’t you going to leave me?” He said not yet. And he came recently and said that he definitely wouldn’t quit. Thank you God. Well, on the other hand, who will he find better than me? And you know what women are like here, because a woman needs a man even at 90 years old. I told him that no one needs him but me. But then I regretted it, he’s good.

Grandpa Kolya

Photo: Maria Borodina

Photo: Maria Borodina

Photo: Maria Borodina

I'm from Tula. My son died of a stroke in Moscow, and almost immediately after that my grandson died. As soon as my grandson died, I had a heart attack - my legs gave out, and that’s how I ended up here. I have a special exercise machine for exercise. I really want to walk, I want to get up and go see my house in Tula, what it looks like now. I worked on a collective farm from the age of 13. Life is already ending, but we have only recently begun to live. But I still have a goal - I want to get up on my own, without help.

Grandma Raya

Photo: Maria Borodina

I am Baba Raya. When I was young, I had an accident, I was diagnosed, and I was unable to give birth to children. I do not have anyone.

Grandfather Vitya

Photo: Maria Borodina

It’s my birthday on Wednesday - well, I’m still young, I’m only about seventeen hundred. My family will come to see me, my grandson is 30 years old, he will bring everyone, they will amuse us, the whole ward. He is my captain, his name is Denis.

I was a senior operator at a chemical plant; I worked for 28 years until I was 75 years old. My pension is 25,000, is that okay? Of course it will do. Some get 10-13 thousand. I served in Sevastopol, in the navy, for four and a half years, and the volunteers remembered and brought Crimean photographs and postcards - very nice and beautiful. I look and cry, but these are tears of joy, tears of memories.

In general, I understood: the main thing is family, when you have children, nothing is scary. PI constantly replay in my head memories of my youth, my childhood. I didn’t finish my studies myself, my parents were old, I had to look after and help. Fate is like that, well, nothing. Each person has his own destiny. The daughter is a high school teacher, teaches French, and has now become the head teacher at the gymnasium. Grandson Denis loves me very much. My granddaughter lives in America - Masha, a beauty. When she was a 4th year student in Moscow, she went to America for an internship, she liked it, found a man, fell in love with him, got married and stayed there. My husband's parents are Russian, and he himself was born in America. Masha has been living there for two years, but she talks so well. He told his parents that this was his wife and he would never let her go anywhere. That's how it should be. We love her very much. She hasn’t come to see me yet, but she promises.

Grandfather Gennady

Photo: Maria Borodina

I was born in the village of Shamai, Pizhansky district, Kirov region, I worked there as a signalman. I was here only the first night, my son-in-law brought me here, and he himself went to Moscow. Don't kiss me, I'm unshaven. You can take a photo. My last name is beautiful - Hristolyubov.

Grandfather Valera

Photo: Maria Borodina

Photo: Maria Borodina

I was born in Belarus. Close relatives have died or died. I worked on a collective farm, then they transferred me to a state farm, and they started paying me money. But not enough. The pension is absolutely minimal. Then I came to Tula, we have a three-room apartment here, 9 people live in it - relatives, my sister’s children. They bought me a folding chair, and my niece and her husband slept on the floor. I was very uncomfortable that they were sleeping on the floor, I asked to be brought here so that they would have a place to sleep. They didn’t want to let me go, but I asked for it myself. It's hard for me. Volunteers come to me, they are like granddaughters and grandsons to me. They bring gifts and photographs. In general, I have a great-granddaughter - Mashenka. I've been here for three years now. Every day I pray. This is my life.

Grandma Masha

Photo: Maria Borodina

I am Maria Mikhailovna, but better than Baba Masha, I was born in 1930 on January 14, I am a peasant. Tula region, Kireyevsky district. Although I am deaf, I sing well, I love to sing - and I loved to scream.

I worked in a mine as a coal handler, and in a construction site I worked as a bricklayer. My uncle arranged it for me; they didn’t just let us leave the collective farm. And then I got sick - I have glaucoma. I can’t lift heavy things, and I retired at 50 years old. I wanted to work, but my mother had a heart attack. Mom died, I cried a lot for my mother. My brother lived with me and was afraid that I would go crazy. I buried him and was left completely alone. I was hit by a car, I had a fracture in three places, I spent six months in the district hospital. Then they transferred here.

Soon it will be five years since I have been here. A week later my cousin Galya comes to visit me. She washes everything for me, brings me gifts, takes care of me too, she is 68 years old, she worked as a teacher. But I’m already used to it here. I get up, straighten the bed and do exercises for more than 30 minutes. The girls who work here help us. They support us. Many of us have children, but they don’t come, I’m surprised at the nature of people.

I was married, lived in marriage for five months. The husband drank, God knows what he did. I don’t want to look at men at all. Make no mistake. I don’t believe that you can’t live without them, but you can’t get confused with one or the other either. And if you get married, respect your husband. It would be nice if he didn’t live with his mother, you’ll be nicer.

Whoever wishes me harm, I still don’t wish him to live alone. What if we stayed at home? So why should we do one there at a time? Our beds are always clean here, breakfast and lunch are good. Warm. Health is very important. And we sang well with you today. After all, there are good people in Russia, thank you, don’t scold me for wheezing when I sang.

Grandma Galya

It’s scary to say how old I am: 82 years old. I was born in the village of Butyrka. I worked at the sanitary and epidemiological station, and then at the age of 45 I was given a disability group: diagnosed with polyarthritis. It's incurable. I had an operation twenty years ago, they said I wouldn’t live more than three months, but I still live. My husband cried and cried and buried me, but I stayed.We didn’t have children, I couldn’t give birth, that’s the diagnosis. But we lived well, together, in love. And he kept telling me these three months how I would live without Galka, how I would live without my Galka. And then I buried him. Such is life, dear ones.

Photo: Maria Borodina

Baba Valya I. I have always loved and love our youth. IN kindergarten I worked there at first, got a job there as a nanny, but they hired me as a cook. I cooked food for the children, you know how delicious it was, I cooked it better than anyone else. In prison I worked on the telephone, next to the cells. I was the controller, I looked through the peephole so that there were no fights or conflicts. And if there’s a fight, there’s a phone nearby, you call and they’ll come to sort it out. The doors were locked with two locks, but I have the keys, I don’t open them - it’s not supposed to. In my youth I could assemble and disassemble a pistol, but I couldn’t do a rifle. Then they fired me. Valentina Vasilievna, senior sergeant. It’s written like that, but what’s the point?

And I went to work as a cleaner. They paid little. In the hospital again as a cook, she lived in Skuratovo, went to six o’clock in the morning, served breakfast to everyone. I knew how to do everything. After all, in life, as it is, if you know how, you can live everywhere.

This is only my third year here. I have two daughters - born 69 and 72 years old, they sold the apartment, and I was left with nothing. I’m from Tula in general, I lived next to the Zarya store, on Galkina Street, on the fourth floor. My husband and I lived together for 40 years, but he left before that.I haven’t seen my eldest daughter Galya for 15 years, the youngest came. Life in general is a toss up. I’m embarrassed to take pictures, they’ll ask later where you got this. I’ll put on a scarf and hello, I’m your aunt. I'll go dance, I'm a jack of all trades.

Grandma Anya

Photo: Maria Borodina

I've been here for four years. In my youth I worked at a military factory, as a motor operator, in a mine - I had to suffer everywhere. And my family life is bad, there is always separation and separation. So I sing with you, from separation. I have a great-granddaughter - Dasha, small, beautiful. She gave birth to a granddaughter from an Armenian, he good husband. Dasha dances and sings, they are cheerful people. My granddaughter's husband loves her. What I want to say is, live together, never offend your suitors, otherwise we girls bite too.

Grandma Tamara

Photo: Maria Borodina

Natasha Lavrova writes letters to me, she is a volunteer from Moscow. She is studying now, she cannot come, she has to study a lot. She is my granddaughter by correspondence. I was born not far from here, in Shchekino, in the Tula region, and worked as a cleaner. This winter I will be 77 years old on February 3rd. Children don't come to me. I call them, they have problems there, no luck with work, something else. I'm a stranger to them. On March 13th it will be 4 years since I have been here. It’s good to have both a mother and a father in the family. Children should grow up this way.

Our nurses are good, they are for us. I understand everything, it’s hard with grannies, one doesn’t hear, the other doesn’t walk, the third doesn’t see. I'm Tamara Borisovna Kryuchkova from room 97, it's on the second floor. Write me letters.

This material would not have been possible without the “Old Age in Joy” Foundation, which helps residents 120 nursing homes from the Moscow region to Tatarstan. The foundation collects donations for treatment, pays for additional staff and sends care assistants. Volunteers bring linen, clothes, strollers, and personal care products. They also organize tea parties with sweets and songs. An important part of the foundation's work is regular correspondence with the elderly. You too can start and maintain communication with people who have no one.

All older people, regardless of their profession or marital status, deserve a decent life in old age.

There are 12 nursing homes in the Kyiv region, where about 600 people live under state care. The vast majority of them are abandoned, lonely, sick, they cannot take care of themselves and need constant attention and care.

How do old people live out their last days in such places? These are houses that have not seen repairs for decades, these are shabby walls, these are creaky beds with old mattresses, holey floors and iron utensils.

We went to one of these centers together with the “Gidna Old Age” project, which is reforming the conditions for boarding schools where elderly and lonely people live.

“Coming to such houses, we see that these people eat from iron bowls, drink from iron mugs and sleep on beds that they should not sleep on.” old man. We want and change these conditions. We do cosmetic repairs, replace dishes, beds, and equipment. We would like to install a staff call button and create rest rooms. But changes in such places begin with us and our attitude towards older people,” says Vita Sidorenko, manager-organizer of the project’s off-site events.

All houses are located in rural areas. As a rule, rural people go to work there without having either qualifications or appropriate education.

“Staff training is very important. We want to teach the staff to help these people, work with these people, take care of these people,” continues Vita.

3 stories about how to get into a nursing home

In the nursing home in the village of Gruzka there live 20 old people - 11 grandmothers and 9 grandfathers. 9 residents have disabilities of various social categories.

They end up in such houses different people- there are lonely people who need care and can no longer bear living alone. Such people, as a rule, are looked after by social service workers, and then they write an appeal.

There are those who outlived their children, and those who became orphans with living children.

“There are also stories where elderly parents need care after illness, but a daughter or son is already raising their children alone. And here people are faced with a choice - mother or father to a nursing home or children to an orphanage. There is no money for a nurse, the parent needs attention , but it’s impossible to quit work,” says Vladimir Darmoroz, head of the inpatient department for permanent or temporary stay of single and disabled citizens.

This is how one woman, brought by her niece, ended up in this house. A woman born in 1921, due to her age, she needs specialized care. There were times when she left the house, forgot the way back, and people searched for her for weeks.

“She came to live in Kyiv from Sukhumi, and her relatives remained in Georgia. In Kyiv she has only a niece and great-nephews. If she was left alone, she could mix up her medications, take all the pills, drops, and forget where the toilet is. Here she is under supervision. My niece gave her away with a heavy heart, she was ashamed, but she didn’t have time to care for the old lady,” says Vladimir.

All the residents of the house are very different people with different fates and circumstances.

Olga Kuzminichna is from Chelyabinsk. A former accountant for the space agency, she knows many cosmonauts and was at the Baikonur launch site. Living in noisy Kyiv, closer to old age, I began to be drawn to nature and gradually moved to a dacha near the capital.

She was admitted to the home due to progressive Parkinson's disease. The woman has already developed dementia and has memory problems.

"She remembers stories from her youth, what happened to her once. But she forgets about what happened 5 minutes ago. She can become depressed,
She has a daughter, but she works, she has her own family. She cannot come to her dacha in the region every day. There were also nurses, but not everyone did their job conscientiously,” says Vladimir.

Her neighbor Olga Fedorovna suffered a stroke. She has a son, but it is psychologically difficult for him to care for his mother.

“Olga Fedorovna needs special care - change her diaper, wash her, turn her over. My son has psychological barriers in this regard that are difficult to overcome. His wife could look after her, but the woman is now undergoing chemotherapy - she was diagnosed with oncology,” says about the old lady director.

The woman also has another daughter, but unfortunately, she does not take part in her life.

Older people really appreciate attention

Old people enjoy communication and attention like children. Any help - helping them get up, covering them with a blanket, moving a table, a smile, coming up, holding their hand - is very valuable for each of them.

“It’s great that you came! Angels! What a joy!” one of the residents of the house enthusiastically greets us. Tears appear in the woman's eyes from joy.

Noticing movement in the corridor, Olga Fedorovna called me to her.

“Donyu, aren’t you afraid of me? Adjust the pillow for me so that I can lie down. Cover me with a blanket, birdie. Thank you very much,” a smile appears on the woman’s face.

The woman eats very poorly - there is lunch next to her bed, which is almost untouched. The nurse, taking the plate, grumbles a little: “Olga Fedorovna, will you finish eating? This is pilaf, delicious. With meat, just the way you like it.”

From another ward my grandmother also calls me to her: “Come in, I’ll at least take a look at you. Sit down. Why are you so pale? Maybe you need to be fed? Volodya (calls the director), the girl here is hungry!”

A person, bedridden, left to his own devices, completely deprived of attention and emotional support, sets himself up to “survive”, begins to think about imminent death and feel sad.

He closes himself off from the outside and goes into his inner world, which is more comfortable for himself. Perhaps this is why old people seem grouchy and embittered to us.

But everyone can show a different reality and make the world brighter for an elderly person. You just need a little more patience, time and interest in what is inside them.

For 20 old people - 1 TV

For everyone living in the house there is one small room with a TV, several sofas and a library.

“Men want to watch films about war, football, sports. Women like to watch TV series, concerts. But there is no swearing behind the screen,” the director shares.

Vladimir Nikolaevich and the leisure room. Photo "Let's Help".

The building was formerly a rural hospital; there is not even a separate leisure room.

In the near future, Vladimir has plans to equip a comfortable veranda, protected from the wind and sun, for conversations and communication between old people.

The residents of the house themselves are happy to spend more time outside and not sit within four walls. One grandmother is already looking forward to spring and wants to garden.

“I’m a field farmer myself. Come in the spring, let’s plant flowers and vegetables,” the woman asks.

How to create comfort

As part of the “Dignified Old Age” program, old people in Gruzkoye have already received new comfortable beds, along with modern mattresses and new linen, as well as glass-ceramic unbreakable dishes instead of terrible iron bowls.

The house has become very warm - the windows have already been replaced, but the slopes remain to be done.

During our visit, measurements were taken for sewing curtains.

Old dishes that were previously used by residents.Photo "Let's Help".

“The state doesn’t help us much. Everything that has been done here has been done by the Lets Help foundation. They updated the beds, changed the windows, dishes, bed linen, pillows, blankets. Household chemicals, diapers and so on - they help us all,” says the director of the house.

The establishment needs not only finances. Psychologists and volunteers are needed to bring the old people out of the weak and apathetic state in which they are now.

Everyone can help

None of us are immune from lonely old age. But everyone can make sure that old people are no longer treated as “extra burden” and “outcasts.”

Elderly people living here (and not only) need attention - they feel abandoned and forgotten.

If you came to them and reminded them that this world does not end in a nursing home, it would help them a lot and improve their quality of life.

The “Dignified Old Age” program is the first in Ukraine that aims to completely change the living conditions of lonely old people in 12 houses in the Kyiv region. The program is designed for 3 years, its funding is estimated at 30 million hryvnia.

On the Let's Help website there are details on each item and reporting.

They are also waiting for volunteers who are ready to come to the homes of the elderly. For coordination please contact

“Our most beloved people get the least love”

“Early Saturday morning, cloudy. April 1st. April Fool's Day, but now is not the time. Exciting fees. We load box after box into the car - we get ready. The boxes contain everything from vital supplies to gastronomic surprises. Let's go. The road is long, there is time to collect your thoughts, think about how to behave at your destination. The first time everything is scary and difficult.

We arrive at the first point long way– to the temporary residence department for elderly citizens and disabled people in Dobrovodie. In other words, to a nursing home. We are greeted by Old man, stretches out a trembling hand - he’s worried, and his age...

We walk into a spacious hall, pensioners watch with bated breath what will happen now. They were waiting for us, and it was clear: one lovely granny put on beads and painted her nails with varnish - she wanted to be beautiful. She asks to bring ear clips to become the most fashionable and find a husband. Her comrade does not lag behind - he goes into the room to put on a jacket with orders and medals. Everyone is looking forward to the holiday. We sing songs to the accordion and invite you to dance. Not everyone can: someone rubs their sore leg, lowering their eyes in resentment, someone is confined to a wheelchair. But there are those who get up and start dancing. Old people need joy! Let's inflate Balloons, we play, we give sweets, flowers to women - congratulations on March 8th. The old people are happy - the main task is completed.

We unload humanitarian aid from the car and enter. You can immediately see that the building is small and old. It turns out that not only pensioners are here, but also inpatients undergoing treatment. The old people are bedridden, so we go from room to room. The strongest pensioners join our team and enter each of the rooms. And how they sing! You can listen. That's what old school means.

We cannot linger for long: they are waiting for us in the last place - a low-capacity boarding house for elderly people and disabled people in the Brasovsky district. This is the largest institution today - two buildings for pensioners. We enter, the old people carefully peer into their faces, looking for acquaintances. For each of them, the arrival of volunteers - big celebration. We start the concert, grandmothers sing along to “Katyusha” and “Robin”, grandfathers clap and smile. We go around the wards - there are a lot of bedridden people. Every pensioner is touched to the core. Not far from the entrance there is a ward where a disabled grandfather lives. A strong man. He uses a wheelchair, but does not give up. During the conversation he remembers his dead wife and cries. A terrible picture. He sees us as family and tries to be needed and useful - he gives us fruit, we can’t refuse - he’ll be offended.

The first of April is coming to an end, we are returning home. Contrasting April Fool's Day. It hurts in my chest.

Second of April. Sunday. Early morning. The same scheme - we load box by box into the car and drive off. This time they are waiting for us in 2 places.

The first is the Zhukovsky boarding house for the elderly and disabled. A huge building on the banks of the Desna. There is interesting, sometimes difficult work ahead. In addition to the concert and games with the elderly, you need to ask everyone whether they write letters to him, whether they send him parcels and postcards. This is so important: you cannot leave people unattended. We take photos and chat with pensioners. I remember one grandmother who lived on the 2nd floor of the building. She couldn’t go downstairs for the concert – she was sick. I went into her room and we started talking. It turns out that she has been suffering from cancer for 4 years and is fighting. The staff takes her to Bryansk for examinations. The woman suffers, but does not give up. She is happy when they write to her, and hangs the received postcards on the wall carpet.

In addition to pensioners, there are young people who, for various reasons, cannot live independently. One of these is the young couple Sasha and Olya. He is over 40, she is a little less. They met at a boarding school, fell in love and recently legalized their relationship. They showed the rings and boasted. Happy people, They say!

The last point is a low-capacity boarding house for the elderly and disabled, located in the Dyatkovo district. The scheme of action is the same, only the old people change. And their eyes. Sad, full of pain, they are instantly filled with hope, joy and warmth. We sing songs, many sing along, others just listen and remember their youth, especially those moments when they were happy.

It's amazing how expectations differ from reality. It seemed that nursing homes were run-down buildings with old renovations and indifferent staff. Yes, some houses really look worse than others, but they are always clean, they keep order, and workers there become children for the elderly and do everything necessary.

Nursing homes are homes of grief. It is common to everyone. In nursing homes there are no happy life, there is little happiness and smiles there. There they often remember the past, they often cry. There are rare guests there. There are many bedridden patients there. It smells sad there. But at the same time, there is hope there. There are letters waiting there. They occasionally sing songs there. People find friends and love there. There is harmony there, maintained by the staff. They feed well and look after the elderly there.

Finding yourself in a nursing home is scary. But once there, finding real support from volunteers is happiness.

We don't know where each of us will end. But if we do good now, it will definitely come back to us. And it doesn’t matter anymore whether in your own home or a nursing home.”

In contact with

Most retirees prefer to spend their old age at home, within their own walls. However, it happens that an elderly person does not have children or who can provide proper care. In this case, you just need to know how to get into a nursing home.

Registration with a government agency

Every year there are more and more lonely elderly people who are unable to provide for themselves good life. The only way out is a nursing home. Of course, it cannot be said that the living conditions there are at the highest level. However, staff provide the necessary care for each resident. In addition, we should not forget that communication with other people in old age also plays an important role.

You can find out how people get into nursing homes from the social security authorities at the person’s place of residence. There you will need to write an application and provide a package of documents for registration.

What documents will be needed:

• Passport of the applicant.
• Health insurance policy - in original.
• Pensioner's ID.
• If you have a disability, you must provide a certificate.

When all the necessary papers have been prepared, they need to be handed over to the social service so that they can check everything. A special commission will be appointed whose responsibilities include checking the living conditions in which the pensioner is located and whether he has any relatives. If it is confirmed that an elderly person is not able to care for himself independently, then he will be assigned to a boarding home and will be given a conclusion and a referral to stay there.

Who can go to a nursing home

Before entering a nursing home, you must fill out a special form with the social security authorities and provide a full package of necessary documents. The candidate must meet the following criteria:

• Age category. Men must be at least 60 years old, women must be at least 55.
• Having a disability of the first and second groups, confirmed by a certificate.
• War veterans.

Psychoneurological departments

Institutions of this type can accommodate disabled people of the first, second groups or those pensioners who suffer from senile dementia. In addition to the application and documents, the guardian or relative will need to submit a certificate from the attending physician, which confirms the pensioner’s diagnosis.

Depending on the disability group or degree of incapacity, special care will be prescribed. Each specific case is considered taking into account many secondary factors.

Payment for stay in a boarding house

In most cases, pensioners are sent to a state nursing home. How to get there, who will pay for the stay - these and other questions are clarified with the social protection authorities.

There are two main scenarios:

• The pensioner pays for his accommodation independently from his pension. Typically, 75% of the amount is spent on payment, the other 25% is given to the person.
• It is possible that a pensioner has children, but they live abroad and cannot provide the parent with attention and care. In this case, any close relatives can pay for living in a nursing home.

To whom does the pensioner’s property go?

When preparing documents, you need to know not only how you can get into a nursing home, but also who will get the pensioner’s property. There are three scenarios for the development of events:

• If an elderly person has children or other close relatives, they have full right to dispose of the property that remains.
• If the pensioner has no one, he can transfer real estate or other possessions to the boarding house in which he will live. This will pay for his maintenance and stay in a nursing home.
• If the pensioner has no relatives and he has not transferred his property to anyone, the state has every right to seize everything into its ownership.

Private boarding house - a dignified old age for everyone

Today there are boarding houses not only public, but also private. Institutions of this type are considered the best for retirees who want to meet old age with dignity. Private nursing homes are characterized by the best care for guests, a high level of comfort and qualified medical care. Here pensioners will not only communicate with other people of their age, but also receive the necessary treatment.

However, it is worth noting that not everyone can afford such luxury. If government institutions are overcrowded, then there are a lot of private places. The thing is the cost of living: it is very high. If you are interested in how to get to live in a nursing home, then contact the social service, they will provide you with a list of public and private institutions.

Benefits of a nursing home

Of course, many may say that it is terrible for an elderly person to spend his old age in such a place. But, if you look at this question from the other side: what should those pensioners do who have no one and who simply want to meet their old age with dignity? There is only one way out - a nursing home. It’s very easy to find out how to get there, the main thing is to prepare Required documents.

So, let's look at the advantages that can be highlighted in boarding homes:

• Elderly people are provided with 24-hour care.
• Good food, mostly dietary, which is safe for the body of a pensioner.
• Availability of special strollers and comfortable beds for those who cannot walk independently.
• Varied leisure activities - walks, books, games.
• Constant examination by specialized doctors, drug treatment.
• Communication with your peers.
• You can pay for accommodation in a government institution from your pension.
• If there are relatives, they can visit the pensioner on any day off and even sometimes go to the city for a walk.

It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about a public institution or a private one, a nursing home is an excellent option for those retirees who want to feel needed and confident. Constant communication, care from the boarding house staff and other criteria give the guests smiles, which has a great effect on their overall health.

Psychological and medical assistance

Every person who enters a nursing home needs ongoing care. And not only medicinal, but also psychological.

Any institution has a staff of experienced doctors who constantly monitor the condition of residents. In addition, do not forget that pensioners will be able to communicate with each other at any time. This is actually a huge plus. At home, within the four walls, sometimes there is a feeling of helplessness and uselessness. This will not happen in a nursing home. Constant communication will allow you to feel much better, learn a lot of new things from your peers and even make friends. After all, you can’t live without friends, regardless of age.

How to get into a nursing home for a pensioner

How can a pensioner who cannot take care of himself, has no relatives and has difficulty moving around get into a boarding home? In fact, there is a way out of this situation. If you are unable to get to social services, you can simply call them and ask them to come home. Provide the employees with all the necessary documents for registration, and they will take care of everything themselves.

Don’t be afraid: they will provide you with not only medical care, but also psychological assistance.

Brief instructions

How people end up in nursing homes has now become more clear. It is not at all necessary that all the people there were abandoned by their families. It is quite possible that they simply have no one, and the boarding house has become a second home. For such people it is very important that they do not spend old age alone.

How do they get into nursing homes and what needs to be done for this:

• Contact social security authorities.
• Fill out the application and check if you meet all the criteria.
• Decide who will get your property. If there are no relatives, then the best option will transfer the property to the boarding house as payment for staying with them.
• Wait for all documents to be completed (usually this does not take much time).
• Spend your old age among your peers, find proper care and a great mood.

Now you know how people get into nursing homes and why they need it. You personally do not need this, but you know an incapacitated neighbor who has no one to care for, help her, give her a decent old age in a circle of care and communication with people. A boarding house will be a real salvation, a godsend for that category of pensioners who want to enjoy life and not feel lonely.