The Key to Wanting to Live in a Nursing Home

A recent article in the New York Times entitled “Nobody Wants to Live in a Nursing Home. Something’s Got to Give”1 speaks to the pervasive sentiment about nursing home care. In large part, the reason for disdain may be the challenge that was identified more than 20 years ago: “Embedded in most of our rules and regulations is the idea that long-term care should aspire to the best possible quality of life as is consistent with health and safety … but ordinary people may prefer the best health and safety outcomes possible that are consistent with a meaningful quality of life.”2 The problem is simple: in nursing homes, psychosocial care and well-being have been, and in some cases remain, neglected or regarded as secondary.