What Life Is Like In A Nursing Home - YouTube

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Two. (clapping)

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- [Woman] Good job. - Five.

- Six.

My name is Eilat Nahum,

I'm owner and administrator of Beit Shalom.

Beit Shalom basically mean house of peace,

and it's RCFE, residential care facility for the elderly.

- You see people that have been professors at UCLA,

doctors, pilots, and all of a sudden,

they can't walk, they forget their name,

it's hard to watch and to know that

it's just a matter of time before I get there,

before my mother gets there,

before my grandmother gets there.

It's been a few years of a lot of reality checks

on a daily basis.

So this second facility is just down the block

from our first place.

- This house has been a big blessing for us,

my mother-in-law got very, very sick,

and I wanted to bring her here, so in order for me

to bring her here, I had to have a facility

with the right staff, with the right caregivers,

and I got my license.

Two weeks later, she passed away.

So this is like the memory of my mother-in-law

and also it's been a big blessing for all of us.

How are you, Mama?

How is everything?

- Most things are okay.

- Good, good, I'm happy.

- So basically, we have 24 clients,

one of them is Elsie, she does beads, flowers,

and beautiful art.

- This was my hobby of making beaded flowers.

- How long does it take you to make one of these?

- Oh, well...

Some time.

- Taking care of the elderly is very rewarding,

especially when they improve.

Some of them come here and they are quite frail

and I see how they progress and they actually

become healthier, participate for--

- How are you? (kisses)

How is everything? - Good.

- We also have another client, her name is Loella.

When she first moved into our place, she was not able

to walk, or talk, or eat even.

Now, thank God she's eating, walking, and talking.

And she's so happy.

- What letter is this one?

- What letter is that? - [Man] H.

- That's right.

And this one is? - I.

- In the afternoon, basically we do bingo, puzzles,

arts and craft, because it's very good for their

cognitive skills.

- Got a PhD and taught at Washington State

and then UCLA, retired professor from there.

If you're not used to living in an institutional care,

it's adjustment, it would be good to have more younger

people have some experience with facilities like this.

- Can you put H back? Where's H?

No, no, no, don't eat it. (laughs)

- The challenge in this job, it is when people decline.

And they actually see how they deteriorate,

you find yourself being really helpless.

- Let's get them out and then dinner going also.

Today, they have a special treat.

You gonna have dinner? (speaks foreign language)

Dinner!

- I feel the elderly are neglected a lot

by their own families, and it's sad because

elderly kind of want to have their own family around.

- I have some family members who don't even visit,

and that's the sad part and sometime we try to call them,

to speak to them, they don't even answer the phone.

- I haven't been happy since my wife died,

my daughter died, and my son ran off with all the money.

So, ain't been too many happy days.

- That's one of the things, it really hurt me deep inside.

Just take the moment and come and visit your parents.

If it was the other way around,

your parents would come and visit you.

One parent can take care of 10 kids,

10 kids cannot take care of one parent.

- When I was living on my own,

I used to celebrate the holidays,

and I would always call up nursing homes and ask them

to please send me a few of their people,

so that their people could then enjoy the holidays

to their fullest and not spend it lonely in a room

by themselves.

Please remember the elders, because they have contributed

so much to all of our lives.

- I had a client and I'd ask him,

"Sheldon, is there anything that you need,

"do you want me to do anything for you,

"is there any food you want me to pick up for you,"

and he said,

"No, just please, if you could come and talk to me. "

- One, two, three, four--

("This Little Light of Mine")

- Just visit your grandparents, visit your aunt

who's 90 years old, who's home by herself with a caregiver,

and have a conversation with them, spend 10-15 minutes

with them and you will see how much they thrive.

♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪

♪ Everywhere I go, I'm gonna let it shine ♪

- There is a beautiful, beautiful psalm

in the book of Psalms, which King David wrote,

that says, in Hebrew,

(speaks in foreign language)

which translates to, "Don't cast me away,

at old age, and when I lose my strength and my ability,

don't let me go."

And I live by that sentence, it's meant for our parents

and for our loved ones, when they get old,

to not throw them away, to not cast them away,

to not let go, but to be there for them,

especially in the last years of their lives,

to nurture them, to take care of them,

and when it's your time, people will do the same for you.