Somebody’s Sweetheart: A Senior’s Treasured Memories

The month of February and Valentine’s Day brings a celebration of love and stirs couples to rekindle feelings of romance and devotion. Not so different from young couples are aging seniors, celebrating memories of sweethearts and romance in days gone by. Sit a while with a senior couple and they will soon be telling you their romance story or listen to a widow or widower as they sing their favorite love song from their youth.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s can rob senior minds of many of these treasured memories, changing their personality and lifestyle. Because of these and other illnesses, many seniors end up in nursing homes or care facilities where only their basic physical needs are cared for by the facility staff. To these seniors, Valentine's Day becomes no different from every other day. They often find it difficult to relive memories of the past. In one care facility a sign placed lovingly over a patient’s bed reads, “I Am Somebody’s Sweetheart,” as if to say I once dreamed, lived and loved; please treat me kindly.

When asked how she relates to those she cares for, nurse assistant Karen W. replies that most of the time it's those patients who are causing a disturbance or may be in danger of harming themselves who are the ones that get her attention. Even then she can only take care of the immediate problem. Very seldom has she time to personally get to know well all the elderly people she cares for.

Although this is true with many facilities, the need for more personalized care is, in some cases, being recognized. Assisted-living facilities with specialized memory care programs -- some using art, music and dance or physical activities -- are finding great success with increasing the quality of life for those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s. Many care facilities across the nation are adding these programs to better serve their residents.

If you cannot find a facility in your area that provides this special attention, home care may be a better option.

Consider this real experience. When Nora would visit her father in the nursing home she would find him sitting, slumped over and disinterested in his surroundings. By the time she and her young children finished their visit, he was alert and talking to them. Feeling he would do better in her home environment, Nora enlisted the services of a Geriatric Care Manager to evaluate her father and determine what would be needed for his care at home so that he could get the social stimulation that he needed.

A Geriatric Care Manager can be a valuable asset to family members when it becomes necessary to look at alternatives for their loved one's long-term care. They work with all members of the family in educating about resources and making decisions. Some services provided are.

• Make an assessment about the type of care needed
• Develop a care plan for both current and future care
• Work with physicians in getting medical support
• Find home care services that work with the family's needs
• Provide assistance with legal and financial issues

Appropriate home care services are also often necessary when a change in environment is called for. Home care services vary, depending on what is needed, and may change as caregiving requirements change in regards to the physical or mental health of the elderly person.

Types of Home Care are:

• Home health care companies: provide nurses, physical therapists, social workers and aides that assist with basic health care such as changing bandages, taking vital signs and helping with medication as well as a host of other skilled needs.
• Non-medical home providers: help with bathing, dressing, meals, ambulating, chores, errands, housekeeping and much, much more.

Home care personnel are skilled in working with the spouse and extended family members of their ailing loved one to provide needed services and support in the home. They add consistency in the care and are available in time of crisis or need to add additional services.

With help from her Geriatric Care Manager, Nora brought her father to her home for his care.

Source:  National Care Planning Council

Right at Home of St. Louis provides bonded, insured and trained caregivers who have a passion for helping individuals.  Whether you need care from 2-24 hours a day, both short-term and long-term care needs can be met, from companionship or homemaking to skilled nursing. Our staff is fully trained to help you and your loved ones safely maintain their home and their independence.   For more information or to schedule a complimentary in-home assessment, please visit, www.rahstl.com or call, 314-567-5545.