Nursing homes answer elderly needs

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The wish not to burden her children and concerns for her security led Erifa to move six years ago to a nursing home for senior citizens, away from her loved ones.

The 71-year-old mother of four told The Jakarta Post on Sunday her children were all married and lived with their families in Jakarta, Bogor, Bekasi and Tangerang.

While she valued her independence, Erifa said she became afraid of living alone after her maid, who had been assigned to take care of her, stole a motorcycle from her house.

In 1998, with her children's consent, Erifa began living her days at the Wisma Mulia nursing home for elderly women in Jelambar, West Jakarta.

The home was established by the Indonesian Women Congress on Apr. 23, 1961.

When the Post met Erifa on Sunday, she and dozens of other residents were seen laughing and dancing while enjoying the performance of a clown and a singer. The entertainment was prepared by members of a local church.

"I hope more people organize such events like this. It's the only entertainment for us besides television," she said.

Head nurse Ani Dien said there were currently 68 women living at the home, close to its capacity of 70.

To serve the occupants, the home employs 10 nurses, four cooks and four janitors. It also has a 24-hour medical center with an isolation room for those suffering from contagious diseases, along with a multi-purpose function hall.

Ani said to qualify to live in the home, women had to be over 65 years of age, free from transmittable diseases and they or their families had to be able to afford the Rp 400,000 (US$43.5) monthly fee, which excluded the cost of medication.

Fees had risen, and long-term residents who had moved into the center before 2000 were not hit with the increases and still only paid Rp 150,000 a month, she said.

There were three common reasons for why many elderly women chose to live in nursing homes, Ani said. Many didn't have children, or their children were too busy to take care of them. Others were involved in family feuds or disagreements, she said.

Ani said the demand for places in the home was high, with about 10 families wanting to admit their mothers into the home each month.

"But we can't accept them because of our limited capacity. This month alone, I have rejected the applications of eight elderly women," she said.

To accommodate the higher demand, the nursing home planned to expand to house more seniors.

Indonesia's population is aging due to the country's increasing average life expectancy, from 43 in the 1960s to over 64 years today.

That, and the urban shift towards nuclear rather than extended families, has made senior citizens increasingly unable, or unwilling, to move in with their children.