Bethlen Almanac 1998 (Ligonier)

The Bethlen Home

The apartments consist of a room about the size of 15’x22' with a hallway which is approximately 10' long. On one side of the hallway is a wonderfully simple shower, and on the other side, separated by a European-style door, is the toilet. Between them, in the middle, is the very conveniently located sink. On the other side of the hallway is a “tea kitchen” with a hot-plate, an under counter refrigerator, and on both sides of this counter are big closets from the floor to ceiling. Above the counter, is a cupboard which is enough for spices, glasses, etc. All the equipment is purchased by the residents.

There is a functioning kitchen on the first floor with a nice dining room where a hot meal is served daily to those who wish to participate in the prepaid meals program. These meals can also be carried to the individual apartments. Everybody pays the expenses such as: rent, electricity, meals, etc. based on the individual’s income. This is a very reasonable solution for the lower income pensioners.

Each apartment has a house telephone. If a resident does not feel well, all he or she has to do is to remove the receiver for the nurse to come immediately. My mother has hypertension problems. On days when her blood pressure would go up to 210/110, the nurse would come every morning to measure her blood pressure, and if her problem persisted, she would also come back in the evening to supervise her medication and monitor her blood pressure again.

While I was there, I saw a resident lady who was very ill and demented too. I noticed that the nurse would carry breakfast, lunch and dinner to her room, and as far as I could tell, she would also try to feed her. On the 5th floor, they added an infirmary for residents that need day and night supervision and care.

The other institution that I visited more than once is the Albert Schweitzer Home which is in the much more peaceful neighborhood of Hermina ut close to the Városliget. Here, the air is cleaner, the noise level is lower, and the residents can enjoy the outdoors in the gardens or on their balconies which stretch all the way around the front of their rooms. Each room has huge windows but with no screens so that flies and mosquitoes have easy access to the rooms.

This nursing home belongs to the Hungarian Reformed Churches and is also managed by them. Here we find intermediate care for ambulatory residents as well as for very ill, bedridden patients. The biggest problem is lack of space. Some rooms are shared by four residents. Most of the rooms are semi-private, only a very few are private for single occupancy.

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