Should I Move My Loved One to Your Community?
During these difficult times, you may wonder if moving your loved one into a community is the best idea. We are confident that our Community is just that best idea! If you are struggling with that uncertainty, we hope the information below puts your mind at ease. Care Needs Staying at Home
- Providing personal care for a loved one at home should be evaluated depending on family dynamics.
- Home health services may provide some help, but growing demand and personnel shortages have made these services difficult and/or exceedingly expensive to schedule appropriately.
- It’s difficult for home care services to ensure proper infection control measures and personal protective equipment (PPE) are always used. Shortages in supplies and the logistics of multiple home visits per day make these protocols especially difficult.
- Ongoing and additional responsibilities such as buying groceries, cooking, administering medication, doing the laundry, and ensuring the home is free from potential contamination.
- Isolation and loneliness is increased during stay at home orders.
- During the height of the pandemic:
- We proactively ensured we had appropriate PPE to help eliminate the risk of potential spread and contamination of the virus.
- We actively set protocols advising staff of the proper processes for cleanliness, social distancing, and PPE wearing.
- We ensured transparency with families on communication regarding visitation, daily activities, and encouraged social socialization through many media platforms for everyone to still be in touch.
- We understood the importance of staying close even when far apart and took meals and treats to families and those considering coming to live with us to keep that one-on-one human connection.
- We know the importance of the human touch and made sure that our residents were still loved and cared for by our staff even though they could not touch their loved ones.
- Seniors with cognitive impairments may become more confused or agitated during this time if they are seeing different at home care givers due to high demand and low supply. In our community, they are cared for by a consistent caregiver that understands their impairments and can bring them a sense of calm and reassurance.
- We have strict protocols to ensure that all staff are taking the necessary precautions to not become exposed to the virus and have access to proper PPE to eliminate risk of potential contamination.
- We have strict protocols of disinfecting and cleaning to ensure the environment remains uncontaminated.
- The importance of safeguards required for COVID-19 highlight the numerous benefits of living in a supportive community setting like ours.
- We have carefully implemented specific recommendations provided by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention and have access to necessary and provided PPE to ensure reduced possible contamination.
- Our community continues to work cooperatively with various agencies to navigate this pandemic, including the CDC, state departments of health and other agencies.
- We have 24/7 nurse care, medical directors, and pharmacy services on site.
- We are almost through this pandemic. Many people will be returning to work or their normal activities and will not be able to provide full-time care for their loved one, but we can.
- Our community will be returning to normal activities, allowing you and your loved one to enjoy daily events, visiting together, and dining with their friends and family.
- We are looking into further social media socialization to continue to aid in the ability to stay connected as we slowly start to understand the daily procedures and protocols of everyday life.
Related Article: Aging in Place Inventory
