Overview or list of senior caring homes

[Stefan in Thailand]

Hello,

 

a friend is looking for a place for her dement father. She asked me if Thailand is a good place. Of course it depends ...

 

For further research: is there a list or an overview of offers for caring homes? Places like McKean or Vivobene or smaller ones I know in Chiang Mai.

 

Thank you for you help.

Stefan

[grain]

Not a good place in my opinion, for reasons too many to list here. However if you found a care home isolated in a natural scenic rural setting that offered peace & quiet then that would probably be good. Otherwise not a good idea. Anywhere in any of the cities or tourist hubs forget it, the old folk will have thumping karaoke pubs and howling soi dogs to contend with. 

[Mike Lister]

There are plenty of really nice ones in Chiang Mai, just do a google search.. 

 

https://bansabaicare.com/

 

https://www.careresortchiangmai.com/

 

https://www.vivobene.co.th/en/home

 

https://chiangmai.care/list-of-care-homes-in-chiang-mai-thailand/

 

https://chiangmaibuddy.com/you-the-people/retirees/retirement-and-nursing-homes/

[connda]

I suggest the Philippines.  The visa issue here for someone with dementia are not easy nor humanitarian.
He'll be treated like all other 'retirees' which means 800K THB in a bank or 65K / month overseas transfers.
He won't be able to negotiate immigration by himself and if things go sideways you could end up finding him in Thai immigration prison on an overstay.  Personally I would not suggest Thailand at all.

The Philippines is a better place and visas are easier to obtain and you should be able to find a facility to care for him at a reasonable cost.  Lower cost than here and without the issues with visas and visa extensions.  Also unlike Thailand, almost everyone can speak English.  I'd look into housing him there and not in Thailand.  Check around on the Philippines expat forums.  Best of luck.  This is not a good country for foreigners with Alzheimer's or dementia.
 

 

[BritTim]

If you choose a good care home, I regard Thailand as much better than most countries in the West for those suffering from dementia. This assumes he is financially secure. The care home will ensure that medical and immigration issues are dealt with. There is just one exception I would caution you about. Thailand is not good at hospice type care where the objective is to maintain a good quality of life for people dying of conditions like cancer.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

14 hours ago, connda said:

The Philippines is a better place

There is a massive amount of Filipinos who work as caretakers for seniors outside of the Philippines and gain many years experience working in the field - probably more than any other country's citizens. Many of them go back home eventually so I'd expect elderly care personnel in the Philippines to be top notch.

[Jaxxper]

The Pattaya City Expat club web site has an area where some assisted living places have been listed.( I think with pricing schedules also). It’s worth a visit to the site, just to see what’s available around the Pattaya area.

[sidneybear]

20 hours ago, connda said:

I suggest the Philippines.  The visa issue here for someone with dementia are not easy nor humanitarian

Lots of posters here use agents for the annual renewal and say that it's really easy. The money saved on western care homes would fund that.

[Mike Lister]

1 minute ago, sidneybear said:

Lots of posters here use agents for the annual renewal and say that it's really easy. The money saved on western care homes would fund that.

In many cases, visa extension is part of the package offered by the care home.

[Severuss]

Actually, I am sitting in one now. My wife has severe dementia. I visited ever Skilled Nursing Home in the Bangkok area until I decided on Golden Years Hospital. By far the best, Doctor owned and resides on property. She has been there 10 years, moved her from a home in the US. The staff is caring and professional. 

[soisanuk]

1 hour ago, Jaxxper said:

The Pattaya City Expat club web site has an area where some assisted living places have been listed.( I think with pricing schedules also). It’s worth a visit to the site, just to see what’s available around the Pattaya area.

 

Here is the link to the PCEC webpage showing assisted living facilities:

https://pcec.club/HEALTH-CARE

 

It provide links to the facilities, but does not show prices as such will vary depending on the type of unit and level of care selected.

[connda]

11 hours ago, BritTim said:

Thailand is not good at hospice type care where the objective is to maintain a good quality of life for people dying of conditions like cancer.

Thailand is in the dark ages regarding palliative care.  If anyone noticed, Chuwit Kamolvisit just moved to Scotland to die.  That is about going to a country where self-administration of morphine at end of life is allowed.  Here - well good Buddhist doctors consider that you dying in agony is simply your karma.

[connda]

59 minutes ago, Severuss said:

Actually, I am sitting in one now. My wife has severe dementia. I visited ever Skilled Nursing Home in the Bangkok area until I decided on Golden Years Hospital. By far the best, Doctor owned and resides on property. She has been there 10 years, moved her from a home in the US. The staff is caring and professional. 

How much a month?

[soisanuk]

This link brings up a pdf document showing the Restive Care offered by Jomtien Hospital (Pattaya) including price list.  It notes that dementia patients are treated under this program (Jomtien Hospital is owned by the same parent company as Bangkok Hospital Pattaya).

 

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwij3ayjh8CCAxWLTmwGHSckCfoQFnoECBkQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvfw12146.org%2Fuploads%2Fdocuments%2FRespitecare_JomtienHospital2022-ENversion.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0_MIv8TskC82R0Rd_jMUKN&opi=89978449

[grain]

Imagine bringing a senior family member with dementia and plonking them down in this country when on top of all the difficulties they already have in life, they now have visas, maintaining required amounts in Thai bank accounts, 90 day reporting, TM30s, and starting soon taxes on their foreign pensions to deal with. There's also the language difficulties, not so many Thais are fluent in English or any other foreign language. I guess the answer is some staff member will take care of all these matters. Do you trust Thais to handle a foreigner's finances? When my own mother was put into an Australian old age home with dementia she was frequently confused and lost in her thoughts and bearings. It would have been hellish for her to have been in a foreign country with vastly different customs and culture, plus communication difficulties. Finally, there's the never ending uncertainty hanging over all our heads. Other than those few foreigners who have been able to obtain PR or Thai citizenship, the rest of us, even people with homes, families, kids in school, are all here on a fragile year by year basis, never knowing if the day will come when the Thai government bring in further regulations and requirements that will make living here on a long-term basis impossible. Why would anyone place an old-age family member suffering with dementia into that kind of situation?

[robertson468]

There are clearly  couple of people on this website who both are anti-Thai and do not read the sensible and knowlegable posts wirtten by others regarding Retirement Homes.  Would strongly recommend you ignore these uninformed zenophobes.

[Severuss]

Kung Connda;

 

Golden Years is a all inclusive Skilled Nusing Home. Doctor visit (twice per week), unlimited care by Certified Nursing assistants, food, Wifi, cable, private room, etc. 47,000.00 per month. $1,304.00 USD. Naturly, any additional medical care, such as meds or procedures are extra.

 

In the States the charge was 432,287.98 THB per month. I had breakfast in the morning with her and when I returned at night. She was still sitting in the same chair, still in the same shirt with pancake syrup on it. Her pants were soiled, all day.... The home she was in was considered first rate. 

 

Did my research and personally visited homes in the States and Thailand. The choice was easy to make.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[egypte]

Here attached is some compilation done a while back.

On 11/12/2023 at 11:46 AM, Stefan in Thailand said:

Hello,

 

a friend is looking for a place for her dement father. She asked me if Thailand is a good place. Of course it depends ...

 

For further research: is there a list or an overview of offers for caring homes? Places like McKean or Vivobene or smaller ones I know in Chiang Mai.

 

Thank you for you help.

Stefan

 

2023 09 Retirement Homes Thailand.xlsx

[chiangmaibruce]

There been many previous discussion threads on this topic - mostly quite interesting.

I looked into the topic a few years back when I was considering bringing my elderly mother here to live (which didn't ever happen). I looked at a few places in/near Chiang Mai.

One place sticks in my mind (name forgotten, sorry) but my first impression was quite positive. Then I went into serious review mode and would subsequently describe it as a place designed and built by someone who has only seen fancy magazine articles on western aged care home, but had never worked in one. So caution here, folks.

Things like slip or trip hazards, switches that couldn't be reached, steps instead of ramps, etc, etc. Someone in a wheelchair for example, would simply not have been able to get around the facility. Someone with dementia could just walk out of the facility and down the road, etc etc.

Maybe in a few years time they will get it right ... and then it could be fantastic

[Stefan in Thailand]

On 11/24/2023 at 10:49 AM, egypte said:

Here attached is some compilation done a while back.

 

2023 09 Retirement Homes Thailand.xlsx 16.2 kB · 24 downloads

Very helpful. Thank you!