HW 30

• What aspect of the dominant social practices around illness & dying did you decide to explore? 

Nursing homes and how they deal with the old and dying.

• What resource(s) or insight(s) from the unit (if any) connect to this aspect?

"Tuesdays With Morrie" how death is viewed by someone who is old and/or dying

• What information did you gather from the internet related to this aspect? Please cite sources.

Not many people want to take care of the old, there are less and less nurses being able to provide care. Sometimes the workers are unhappy with they're job and start to mistreat the elderly.  Theres many nursing homes all over but I dont think anyone really cares about a nursing home until they or someone they care about is being sent there.
(http://www.efmoody.com/longterm/nursingstatistics.html)
(http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20020922nursinghomes0922p1.asp)

• How did you explore? What did you do in the real world? Did you enjoy it, contribute to another, see something new? Give us some flavor, show don't tell.

Went to a nursing home on 72nd and york. The lobby was really nice but once you traveled up  few floors yuck. It smelled but all the nurses were pretty friendly(who were mostly minorities). They had the medication just sitting to the side in a bunch of little cups. A lot of the patients were sitting down in either chairs or wheel chairs. It really quite, I expected them to have activities for the patients like they do in movies but that was definitely not the case.

• What did you learn? 

Getting old sucks and unfortunately the old is mistreated. when people dont want to deal with the sick and old and dying they give the responsibility to someone else. Sometimes they mistreat they're patients and dont pay much attention to them.  The more money the patient has I'm guessing the better they're treated and the nicer the facility. Money makes the world go round.

• What does this show about dominant social practices of illness & dying in our culture?

People dont like to deal with it and want to keep it out of mind, illness and dying is never a positive thing so when it does occur in someones life its depressing. There isn't much control over illness and dying which people strive to change , but if they dont have to deal with it then its not they're immediate problem. If grandma is suffering and dying slowly and living in your house its depressing overwhelming and sad but if shes suffering and dying slowly in a nursing home shes receiving all the care she can get.