GUARDIAN CARE
When Six Feet Becomes Six Miles Families are being kept apart from their loved ones in elder care.
O
ur most vulnerable citizens are seniors and children, the anchors of our existence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandates that there must be social distance. This has disturbed the way we live. We are robbed of precious moments that cannot be reclaimed. Our sick cannot be comforted by family. The dead cannot be funeralized. Human contact is on hold. These new social demands have placed added stress on those charged with caring for our seniors. In Orlando, Fla., Guardian Care Nursing and Rehabilitation Center (Guardian Care) is working hard to meet the challenges for the health and well-being of its residents and staff. The center’s 28 ONYX MAGAZINE
visitation has been cut off completely. Family is an essential ingredient in the well-being of the elderly residents who are at higher risk of dying if they are diagnosed with COVID-19. We are cautioned to keep children away from older people. What precautions are nursing homes taking? How will this pandemic change the way we care for the sage members of our community forever? How will we manage to survive the stress? According to Director Eloise Abrahams, R.N., N.H.A., Director, “ When the families of Guardian Care residents were told that family visits would be prohibited until further notice, the overwhelming response was, “thank you for putting the welfare of our family member first.” All persons
entering the building will be screened and their temperature taken to ensure that residents are protected from any health risk. Family members unable to visit frequently, and now unable to visit at all, viewed the news with some regret. “We take so much for granted,” one family member lamented. She lives out of town and is unable to visit her loved one. “I plan to call more. I cannot help but think about the times I postponed a visit in order to take care of matters that were pressing me at the time. Once this is over, I will consider re-prioritizing my choices. After all, what is more important than family?” One member of the staff brought to work a mask that his mother had sown in response to the outcry of health workers
EYESEEIMAGES
By Valada Flewellyn
