Rethinking elder care:
There’s no place like home
W
ith the uncertainty of living with COVID-19, the considerations for transitioning from hospital or rehab to home have changed considerably, particularly for seniors. Similarly, with safety in mind, many seniors are voluntarily transitioning from assisted or skilled nursing facilities to home under the care of a single caregiver to minimize exposure to the coronavirus. Before the pandemic, it was common practice to send discharged hospital patients to rehab centers where they could comfortably convalesce from an illness, surgery or injury. Today, patients—particularly seniors and their families—are minimizing the risk of COVID-19 exposure by opting to bypass rehab and go directly home under the supervision of a caregiver. A bonus is the senior now has one-on-one care in his or her own home instead of sharing a rehab caregiver with a handful of patients. And as Dorothy has been telling us for years, there is no place like home. Our SYNERGY HomeCare caregivers are trained in CDC-approved safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. These measures include frequent handwashing, temperature checks, home sanitization of common areas and wearing personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. Many seniors are choosing home care over rehab centers. Nursing homes from coast to coast are also experiencing a steady exodus of residents—some who are asked to leave after testing positive for COVID-19 and some who exit voluntarily to avoid further exposure, as the number of COVID-19 cases continue to climb faster in nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities than any other location.
4
