Man claims it's cheaper to spend your old age in a Holiday Inn than a nursing home

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/02/25/man-claims-its-cheaper-to-sp.html

8 Likes

Probably cleaner too. Eldercare in my State is particularly bad, so bad it’s routine to give old people a dose of resperidone despite them not having psych symptoms just to keep them shut up and out of the way (so folks in the field have intimated in the past when trying to figure out how to even report such a thing). The ones I’ve seen here are running on a shoestring and pretty fucking dismal. That being said if you’re well enough to live in a Holiday Inn you don’t need to worry about nursing homes.

35 Likes

Seems like maybe he doesn’t get the point of a nursing home.

Or maybe he does.

14 Likes

my aunt is in a nursing home in Iowa (a rather inexpensive part of the country) and spends over 7000 a month there. She had previously owned her home and had to sell it to help cover the nursing home costs. She had to move there because her disabilities make it almost impossible to do most normal tasks for herself anymore… but I can’t help but imagine you could pay a couple part time nurses to check in on you every day and bring you meals for less than that.

19 Likes

it makes ya think. I mean, most of us younger people dont think a lot about it, but is this just another thing like college tuition, and healthcare, where prices spiral upwards because of a system where actual costs are hidden (or deferred) from the consumer while middlemen are profiteering?

35 Likes

Has he even considered the long-term discount that many hotels offer (usually a 1-month minimum)?

14 Likes

If you are still capable of living in a hotel, of course it’s cheaper. Nursing and assisted living homes are for people who can’t take care of themselves. My grandmother can’t get out of bed or in and out of a car on her own. Holiday Inn staff aren’t going to help her go to the bathroom or anything. That’s what all the money is for.

Also, is this an advertisement for Holiday Inn in disguise? They could have just say “a cheap hotel” but they called out one chain specifically. That makes me suspicious.

50 Likes

There is a wide gap between different kinds of senior care. A Holiday Inn might work for someone who needs little to no assistance. In the industry that’s “Independent Living” or possibly “Residential Care”.

All the way at the other end of the spectrum is skilled nursing.

A Nursing Home (Skilled Nursing Care) is mostly about the assistance, not the real estate. Incontinence care, falls, specialized diets, help with eating and other activities of daily living, help with bathing/dressing/grooming, medication administration, nurses on site who actually understand your care and medical needs, caregivers available 24/7, many kinds of therapy, are all things that one would get in a “nursing home” and heaven help anyone trying to get that sort of assistance at a hotel. Skilled nursing is expensive, because it’s intensive.

Now, if this gentleman needs only the sort of assistance available at hotels, then more power to him, and I hope he lives a long and productive life. And, that he never actually needs to be in a nursing home.

33 Likes

He must have slept in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

9 Likes

I always thought prison was the solution. Just have to figure out the crime that will get me into a rich mans prison.

11 Likes
22 Likes

Volunteer for Trump’s reelection campaign. They’ll take care of the rest for you.

27 Likes

This guy is also doing it wrong. As part of work, I have to stay at a hotel for weeks at a time. $75/night. But by being part of the rewards program, that extra $16 gets me free breakfast, free dinner, and access to the self-serve lounge bar. Midshelf booze from 6-8 pm, soft drinks from 6AM to 12PM. Oh, and I get upgraded to a suite with a kitchen.

And I get to keep the points earned. Free rooms for me and the family when we travel.

21 Likes

Cruise ships used to be touted as the way to get semi-assisted living on the cheap along with a tour of the world. Regular old Holiday Inn isn’t a good indicator.

At least at a Holiday Inn Express you could claim to be someone you’re not.

10 Likes

It’s also cheaper to drive a moped than a sports car. And I’d rather do the former than stay at a Holiday Inn.

1 Like

Excellent thinking. Imbibe sufficiently, and you won’t need long-term care:
https://www.health.com/stroke/diet-soda-linked-to-risk-of-stroke-heart-attack-new-study-shows

2 Likes

Yeah, it’s cheaper just to stay in your home and have a grandchild stay over to help with meals and medication. But then you discover that it takes more than one person to lift you up every time you fall, and then you realize what nursing homes are for. Don’t ask me how I know.

21 Likes

I met a couple who’ve retired to cruise ships. They were in the process of selling their house. When you cruise enough, you earn status points, which gets you extras for free, like WiFi and laundry service, as well as discounts on the cruises themselves. They claimed to have their cruise living expenses down to $75/day for both of them, sailing full time, year round. The cruises were also very accommodating of their specific dietary restrictions.

16 Likes

HoJo’s to the rescue.

2 Likes

He’s still doing it wrong.

$60 per day x 365 days = $21,900. This works out to $1,825 per month. My 3000+ square foot house payment is less than that, and like him I’d still have to buy food, and need assistance/nursing.

The cruise ship thing is a little better as it includes meals.

This idea is great to retire (and maybe see the world too) but I wouldn’t want to seek end of life assistance on a ship or hotel…

9 Likes