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The COVID-19 pandemic continues with no obvious end in sight. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) provides information and updates on the Coronavirus disease. States are lifting restrictions, allowing for life to feel more normal, a term that has taken on a new meaning. The current normal involves different rituals and ways to interact with our community and, especially, our loved ones in the long-term care.
In response to the emergence of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control issued a preparedness checklist and guidance on how long-term care providers should respond. The guidance includes restricting all visitors except for end of life and/or other compassionate care situations. There are also recommendations to restrict volunteers and non-essential personnel (e.g., stylists, chaplains, etc.) from entering a long-term care community. Other suggestions include canceling all group activities and communal dining.
How do you feel about being touched? It probably depends on who is touching you, and why. Are you comfortable touching someone who is not family or a close friend? Some people are open to various forms of touch, such as hugs, while others are more reserved in touching or being touched. How do you know the difference? It’s obvious when someone does not want to be touched, almost more than when a person is receptive to touch. The message can come across without that person saying a word.
The mention of Valentine’s Day evokes thoughts of love, candy, romantic love and friendship. Expressions of love and kindness are exchanged through gifts and cards. For some people, Valentine’s Day is a special, sentimental occasion. For persons who are caring for a loved one with dementia, Valentine’s Day might feel like another reminder of the challenges in loving a person with dementia.
Family educational programs that are fun and engaging could help ease frustrations and tensions LTC providers experience with family members.
Rosalyn Carter once noted that there are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers. Her quote is an accurate assessment of how being a caregiver is a part of our lives, in one way or another. There is a tipping point for becoming a caregiver, and each person can have a different experience with caregiving. Caregiving can be long-term or short-term, depending on the care recipient.