DOES THE geezer NEED A NURSING STUDENT?

Urgent Care

I live in a home with three bedrooms. At some point I will need care; especially if I elect to live-in-place. I need a cheap solution; especially at night. Someone to allay my fears of the dark and to answer the phone, the door and generally be a human presence.

A caregiver who is really just an elder-sitter would cost me $20 per hour or $240 a night and I would be asleep. That comes to $87,600 per year; a bit much given my social security of $1600 per month and no pension.

My solution is a student nurse. She can make aging in place workable.

Average student loan debt for graduating nurses is $30,000. The average cost of board and room at UNM for a student nurse is $8580 per school year. This does not include non-academic periods. For three years rooming at the geezer’s, this would be a savings of $25,740; not counting the non-school year times.

I spoke informally to a lady at the UNM nursing school  and to a fourth year student nurse, both of whom said it was possible to provide a nursing student with board and room in exchange for staying overnight at my house.

The student would live in one of my empty rooms, use the spare bathroom, eat the food from my “ice box” and check up on me, calling 911 as necessary.

She would be free during the day for classes; could have a boy/girl friend stay over, and could cut her student loans by at least $25,000.

She could do a paper on practical geriatrics for her geriatric course. She could study me, bring fellow students/professors around; and could generally get academic mileage out of her stay with me. I could be the guinea pig for geriatric research programs.

I could visit my kids during exams; and, we could work out something for periods when she had to be away.

She would have enough expertise; more than an elder-sitter; and, would know what to do in an emergency.

She would be better trained and vetted than the usual care-giver. I am afraid that someone is going to scam me or that a care-giver is going to steal my valuables and medicines. A nursing student has a career to lose if she does something unethical or illegal.

A win-win for both of us. She could even drop me off at the adult day-care on her way to classes. And could share my Meals-on Wheels.

UBER could handle trips to the doctor. See UBER post.

When she graduates, she could provide me with a replacement from the entering class.

And  I would be the envy of the senior community.

THINK OLD!