At 101, Swede 'too healthy for retirement home'

At almost 101 years of age, Anna Lundvall has been refused a spot in a Swedish retirement home because municipal officials say she is too healthy, her outraged daughter said on Monday.
“You wouldn’t believe that she’s almost 101, she’s got a very clear head. But she doesn’t feel safe,” Gudrun Ek, 73, told AFP.
Lundvall, who will celebrate her 101st birthday on Saturday, is in overall good health but has poor vision.
After a fall a few months ago, she spent more than a month in hospital and when she was released she didn’t feel safe fending for herself at home anymore, Ek explained.
She applied for a spot in a municipally-run retirement home, but the town of Jokkmokk turned her down and offered to instead increase the number of hours of in-home care she received each day.
“Home care doesn’t give her any sense of security. She has an (elderly medical) alert system but that’s not enough,” said her daughter, who runs her mother’s errands and visits her “at least four times a day.”
“I’m not so young myself,” said Ek, who has appealed the municipality’s ruling. “They told me to drop it, but I’m not dropping my mother at 101.”
“Now we’re focusing on her birthday party,” she said.
Municipal officials could not be reached for comment Monday.