Debbie, a neighbor of mine fell the other day, in front of her own door, with her little dog on a leash. Joyce, who lives just around the corner, heard the crash and the barking and ran to investigate. Seeing the gash on Debbie’s head, Joyce pushed an emergency button and help was on […]
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Is There Skilled Nursing Care? This is a question to raise when you are choosing a place to spend your final years. In fact, the question is fundamental to the issue of a secure future. Living in a retirement community will not cure your diabetes or your osteoarthritis. It will not even guarantee that you […]
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In another country I visited a home for the sick and elderly, just a few days before Christmas. In the lobby where I got permission to go into the ward there was Christmas music, familiar carols. Then in the large room where more than a dozen women lay in hospital beds, there was no sound […]
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I am living in probably the safest place I have ever been. My family is not worried about me. While I sit here thinking about the Thanksgiving season, someone is cooking my dinner. The wonderful colors of autumn are hanging on in the courtyard. Even the weather is better than predicted. The hardest decision I […]
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The decision to leave home and move into any kind of adult-care community is a heavy decision. People considering it ask endless questions about accommodations, costs, medical care, social and educational opportunities, staff, policies, food. When we think we have all the practical answers, we still wonder: What if I am unhappy there? Can I […]
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A new year is upon us, while I am still looking back. Just a few months ago, in the laundry room, I met a new resident of the assisted care community. She was beautiful, her eyes such a friendly blue, her gray hair lying in soft waves, her smile lighting up that drab little room. […]
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Will I Get the Healthcare I Need? Part Two (The names in this article are fictitious, while the characters and their experiences are real, though sometimes disguised.) There are things an elder care community cannot do for its residents. Especially, it cannot take the place of family, not even in the realm of health […]
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The siren of an emergency vehicle is a common phenomena in a large elder care community. It means that someone has fallen or fainted or might be dangerously sick. An ambulance or the fire department EMTs have arrived. This is not surprising, since the organization has gathered into a small space a crowd of […]
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The question of cost is basic when we begin to search for a place to spend our declining years. Our resources are limited, and we don’t know how long they need to last. While visiting a certain very beautiful community, I met a lively, well-dressed woman who was chatting with a friend in the common […]
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