outsource elderly care
Exporting Grandma
Vocabulary
| fellow | resort | care home |
| hardly | glance | health-related issues |
| fuel (2) | resident | out of reach |
| host | dementia | Alzheimer’s disease |
| endure | deplete | deliberate |
| wary | abuse | starvation |
| superb | look after | reflect (2) |
| even so | long way | take care |
| caregiver | eventually | aggressive |
| option | crisis | simultaneously |
One Way Ticket
Sybille Wiedmer of Zurich, Switzerland boarded an airplane for a trip to Thailand.
Unlike most of her fellow passengers, however, she held a one-way ticket.
And instead of a beach resort, she went a care home for the elderly in the city of Chiang Mai.
Permanently.
Shocked
Sybille is 91.
She also has dementia.
“A lot of people were shocked when I first told them,” says Elizabeth, Sybille’s daughter. “They said, ‘How can you do this to her’?”
More and More
But Sybille is hardly alone: more Europeans are going or sending their relatives to retirement homes abroad; her new home in Thailand has a dozen other German-speaking residents.
A glance at the numbers explains why.
The Numbers
With money getting tighter, a good residential home is out of reach for many. In Switzerland, for example, the monthly cost for an elderly resident runs from $5,000 to $10,000.
This situation is fueled by demand: more people are simply living longer. And getting older.
And with that comes a host of health-related issues . . . around 80% of care home residents have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia.
Abuse
And while the elderly’s life savings are depleted in care homes the UK, many endure abuse, and even deliberate starvation.
For these reasons, people are wary of putting family members in such places.
Strong Tradition
In contrast, Thailand has a strong culture of taking care of the elderly. This is reflected in the quality of elderly care.
“The treatment is superb. It’s so much more individual, and — how shall I say — with love,” says Elizabeth, Sybille’s daughter.
And the cost per month in Thailand: about $3,000.
La
Even so, La, a Thai caregiver who lovingly looks after Cybille day after day, would never consider sending her own family member there.
“Thai elderly don’t need to come here,” says La. “If you have a daughter, then she will take care of you at home. We live together.
If we have to come to a nursing home, it means there’s a problem with your daughter.”
Tried
Sybille Mieder’s daughter, Elisabeth did try caring for her mother herself. But it eventually became impossible.
“I had to spend much of my time looking after her — every day,” she says. “Though we have been close … she got very aggressive. That made the situation very, very difficult.”
So Thailand proved to be the best option.
Skype
And despite the distance, Sybille and her daughter speaks to each other via Skype every day and Elizabeth visits Thailand at least twice a year.
As a generation of 40- and 50-year-olds find themselves living through a financial crisis while simultaneously supporting both their children and elderly parents, it may mean that more people like Cybille may be moving a long way from home.
Questions
1. Sybille Wiedmer of Switzerland has a one-way ticket to Thailand. What does this mean?
2. Many people were shocked. Why were many people shocked?
3. Is Sybille unique, an odd case?
4. Some Europeans are “outsourcing” elderly care. Why are some elderly people going to Thailand?
5. What is the Thai attitude towards looking after elderly people?
6. What does La say about daughters?
7. Sybille’s daughter tried to look after her. Is this correct or wrong?
8. Do Sybille and her daughter stay in contact with each other?
9. What is going to happen in the future?
A. In your country, what happens to people when they get old?
B. What is the tradition? Is it changing?
C. What will happen to your friends when they get old?
D. Do you know anyone who lives or works in a retirement home? What do they say?
E. Would you send a family member or relative to a retirement home?
