I hold the title of an advocate in high regard and consider it my life’s work to advocate for others. It’s my role to use my voice for good, for change, and for care. I have reached out to my local executives and community leaders, who have promised to advocate for my clients and their families with the Governor’s office. My goal is to remind them that streamlining the rules helps families navigate this challenging time and have a deeper understanding of their choices and options for long-term care. Regulations need to be defined clearly for all, and these regulations affect the well-being of our beloved seniors separated from their families. Without connection from family and access to the ones they love the most, long-term separation sets in and can alter their health and affect their overall thriving.
It’s important to note; COVID has presented a greater challenge in caregiving and oversight. Families are apprehensive and worry about the future of access and care. In the last 12 months, I have supported families who have removed or transferred their loved ones due to improper care management or to have personal oversight and access to their family. For some families, there have been tragic outcomes. Many families have remained healthy but lonely and unhappy.
The rules and management of COVID protection can vary greatly from property to property. Vaccination is opening visitation. Each property has regulations provided by their corporations that also honor local and CDC COVID guidelines. When properties are fully vaccinated, they are becoming more flexible to open to visitors and maintain a higher level of protection for the residents. Everyone is ready to hug their loved ones without restrictions. Even better, we are starting to see the ability to visit indoors with masks and social distancing. Some worry about the future and about access to their families in the years to come. There is still a vivid emotional response to the stories shared, the hands on the windows symbolizing the closest thing to touch and a handwritten note taped to the window to aid in the separation. No one wants to go there again. While the worst appears to be over, there is a clear observance of missed opportunities, but we can’t change the past. Everyone did the best with the limited information we had at the time in a new and strange world of a pandemic. We can only do better moving forward.
Learn more from the CDC about vaccine support and the recommendations to preventing getting sick from COVID-19.
Read how COVID-19 has affected nursing homes and long-term care facilities in Washington state.