To protect their high-risk residents from COVID-19, nursing homes and assisted living facilities are currently prohibiting visitors, a social distancing measure in line with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. Such precautions keep seniors safe, but they also result in many residents feeling lonely and afraid during this time.
The elder abuse lawyers at Pope & Howard in Atlanta, GA, are sharing things you can do from afar to help your loved one in a nursing home feel comforted and content. Read below for ideas or contact our firm for a free consultation if you suspect nursing home abuse.
The most important thing you can do for your loved one in lockdown at a nursing home is to simply keep in touch with them on a regular basis. Consider making a schedule for when you’ll contact them, preferably when you’d normally visit them in person. Knowing when they’ll hear from you can help your elderly family member feel more secure.
Use whatever means of communication your loved one can access. Talking on the telephone may be the easiest method, but tech-savvy older adults may be able to do video calls on a computer, tablet, or smartphone via programs like Zoom, Skype, and Google Hangouts.
If your elderly relative has never done a video call before, ask the nursing home staff if they can assist in setting it up. Seeing each other’s faces will provide extra reassurance and also better enable you to assess your loved one’s health.
And if none of these technologies are available, you can always mail or deliver letters, which brings us to our next tip…
If the nursing home allows it, drop off care packages for your loved one at the facility. You can include basic supplies you’d normally bring to them along with favorite snacks, comfort items, photos, and whatever else you’d like to add.
But before you deliver the package, make sure that you clean everything in it to reduce the chance of delivering germs. The CDC reports that spreading the virus via mail and packages is unlikely — but wiping down all the items you’re sending is still recommended.
Without visitors and maybe even without communal activities, nursing home residents are fighting boredom now more than ever. But depending on your elderly relative’s interests, there are plenty of ways to keep them entertained during lockdown.
If they have access to a computer or tablet, have your loved one check out a variety of virtual tours, live webcams, and YouTube videos. Perhaps they’d like to virtually visit an art museum, watch cute baby animals at a zoo, or travel to faraway destinations from their armchair.
Or, maybe they’d like some brainteasers like crosswords, puzzles, and card games. And if your relative enjoys nurturing their creative side, crafts like knitting and coloring will keep them occupied.
Even though you can’t physically be with your elderly loved one right now, you can still be there for them. But if the thing they need most right now is to escape a neglectful or abusive care facility in the state of Georgia, the attorneys at Pope & Howard are here to help. Contact us today to set up a free consultation.