Like everyone, I am concerned about our elders living in facilities during the Coronavirus outbreak. Last week, we learned how COVID-19 has changed life in a Skilled Nursing facility. This week, the focus is on how Memory Care facilities are adapting. Changes to daily routine Staff and administration work every day to keep up and comply with CDC, state and local health … [Read more...]
Inside Skilled Nursing Facilities: Staff is working hard to keep your loved one safe and connected.
Changes in agency home care, assisted living and skilled nursing facilities are on the horizon. Through my work, I know many eldercare professionals that work in Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF’s). They are some of the most caring people I have ever met. They are heartbroken by the toll COVID-19 is taking on their residents and staff. The projections for loss of life … [Read more...]
What Happens to Josh if I Fall I’ll?
Planning for you and your pet is important. One unexpected outcome of the coronavirus is how it highlights the need for everyone, at all ages, to let their wishes be known through a living will / advance directive for healthcare. What I have not thought through completely is what happens to Josh if I am unable to care for him. It’s been on my mind lately as more and more … [Read more...]
Self-Care or Self-Medication During the Cornavirus? Which is your go-to coping mechanism?
Me? I’m polishing tennis shoes. In these unprecedented times it is easy for my self-care to go out the window and for self-medication to completely take its place. I know the difference between the two. For me, self-care keeps my attitude positive and results in moving forward, sometimes one small step at a time. Self-medication, on the other hand, are things that make me … [Read more...]
Letters to our daughter: True stories about life with my mother.
Treasured memories from more than forty years ago. When I was in college, my father sent me about a dozen letters about life at home. The letters showcase his wicked sense of humor and a way of telling a story that pays homage to his Irish roots. Every time I got a letter from dad, I would sit in my dorm hallway and folks would pile out of their rooms to listen to the … [Read more...]