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My mom is in a nursing home and has to share a room with another person. This is very hard to deal with at times. I was wondering if it is common and how others deal with roommates. I find it very sad that my mom has to lose her privacy and peace in the nursing home. It bothers me a lot.

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Yes. It is very common.

Single rooms cost more. If Mom has the money she can buy some privacy.
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Medicaid does not require sharing a room. They simply limit what they will pay.
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Sometimes roommates become very helpful and attached to one another. My sister lives in a group home and loves her roommate. Even if a private room came up, I would not move them apart from each other.
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Yes it is common for nursing home residents to have room mates. When they build them it is very expensive to do bathrooms, so they can save money by having 2 or more people share.
It's like college dormitory--a lot of kids have their own room at home and then are shocked to have to share with someone they've never met.
Yes it would be nice if they all could have private rooms, but most nursing homes and dormitories are 2 per room. Even when I go on a scrapbook retreat they always just assume 2 people per room, and cruise ships also like that.
Personally I like to pay extra for a private room!
They need to teach the realities of Medicaid - style nursing homes to kids in high school, college, even before that! And maybe people would start saving their money, buy good long term care insurance, and be better prepared for these possibilities .
But it's not the end of the world for a senior to have a roomie. And they can always ask for a different one, but no guarantees of getting a better one.
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When Medicaid is paying, you share a room. Like Jeanne said, if she is paying for it, she can get a private room. Don't think Medicaid will allow you to upgrade since you aren't suppose to have any money when on Medicaid. This is what I don't like about NH situations. No privacy and no room.
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Ontario, Canada. My mother has a private room and bath. It costs almost $600 a month more than if she shared, but there's no way her highness would share.
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I know it may be hard to have your loved one in a "shared" room, but sometimes it can be a blessing in disguise. My mom shared a room with a woman who had no visitors and was very lonely. By being with my mom (even though mom didn't always remember things and repeated things, she talked to the woman) and when we visited my mom, we included the other woman as well. It seemed to help the situation for both of them. It's not always going to work, but sometimes you have to just try to make the best of things. Over time, the other woman (sadly) died, and mom was alone, but mom's condition was deteriorating, and she needed extra care. There appeared to be nobody filling the other bed until the end, which was also a blessing because we were able to be with her as a family and not bother anyone, or have anyone witness the hardships we saw her go through. Good luck and God bless you and your family as you try to deal with this issue.
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Compromiser, if you don't get some satisfaction at the nh, involve the ombudsman. Your mother is entitled to full use of the room.

The other part of the solution is for mom to spend as little time in her room as possible. Sitting in one of the nice sunny common rooms, attending the activities, watching television on a large screen with a few other people -- all of these are better choices for persons who tend to be depressed, whether or not they have cooperative roommates.
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Since I wrote my answer over a year ago, my Mom [98] lived in long-term-care, self pay.

Mom had a room-mate and I was glad she did because of my Mom's late stage dementia [due to a fall with head trauma] she would forget she couldn't walk or stand, and would try to climb out of bed. Her room-mate was quite alert and would buzz the nurse any time my Mom got tangled in her own bed, or had fallen on a bed mat.
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My mother has a private room. She is probably paying the difference between what medicare pays and what it costs. I personally, would not want a roommate.
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