SENIORS

During and After COVID-19

There are so many difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and there are even some unexpected benefits.

An unexpected benefit we see at the Eldercare Foundation in Victoria is the attention the virus has brought to the inequities faced by so many of the elders in our communities. The even greater challenge we see is finding the ways and means to continue to support the long-term care hospitals and community outreach that has been our mission since 1982.

Our urgent plea for help was thankfully answered with generosity and compassion…

It has always been a basic tenant of our Foundation to provide homelike enhancements, innovative therapy programs, and specialized equipment to 700 seniors in Island Health longterm care hospitals. In recent years, we have also been providing funding for adult day programs, education, respite, and more, to the general community. For the most part, we provide for seniors in need of financial

Lori McLeod

assistance . . . the group of seniors who are so vulnerable, especially during this pandemic.

While our long-term care facilities have thankfully been spared the terminal tragedies that other facilities have suffered, the lack of social connections, family visits, therapy programs, and entertainment threatens the emotional and even the physical health of seniors here. It is truly heartbreaking to see couples, married for decades, restricted from their daily visits, particularly when one of them suffers from dementia and just doesn’t understand.

As the pandemic evolved, the Eldercare Foundation reached out to our community with the urgent need for phones and tablets to connect long-term care residents with their loved ones, equipment to facilitate small-group activities, and funding to clear our SAFE Lifeline wait list so at-risk seniors in need could remain in their own homes safely.

Our urgent plea for help was thankfully answered with generosity and compassion, enabling Eldercare to provide dozens of cell phones, computer tablets, and Smart TVs. Long-term care residents can now access online entertainment, activities, exercise programs, and most important maintain vital connections with families and friends.

We received a touching letter from a daughter in California that speaks to the impact made on both residents and families during the fearsome global pandemic.

“This has been an extremely challenging time for me because I live in California and my dad lives in Victoria. He was living alone at home and I became aware something was very wrong with him toward the end of last year. After I made multiple trips to Victoria to see about getting care for my dad, he was finally diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He was moved a few times while a final decision was being made about his living situation, which was extremely complicated by COVID and the border was closed so I was no longer able to go back and forth. “Finally, in May, Dad was moved to the Glengarry Hospital long-term care facility. I am so impressed by the staff . . . my mind is finally at rest and I don’t worry constantly about him now that he’s there.

“At first I was calling him a few times a week, going through the nurses’ station. The nurses were extremely kind; having the extra cell phones made such a difference because it was easier.

“Then, the recreational therapist started setting up Facetime calls with Dad, using a laptop, and that truly has been a lifesaver—for both Dad and me. It’s so much easier to communicate using Facetime. It makes a big difference for him to be able to see me and my husband. Even if he doesn’t catch every word and doesn’t understand everything, I think just seeing us makes him very happy. I wish we could do it more often.

“I cannot thank you enough for your generous support of Glengarry Hospital and its residents and staff, especially in the areas of providing extra cell phones and laptops. It makes such a difference, improving the lives of my dad and other residents and mine and the lives of all the families who are unable to visit our aging loved ones, whether close by or far away as I am and unable to cross the border even now.” Kathryn B., California

As we all learn to adjust and navigate this “new normal,” we will undoubtedly uncover more unexpected benefits as we continue to find new ways to care for our planet and each other.

The lack of priority in helping seniors and their heightened vulnerability is finally starting to make the headlines; that’s an unexpected pandemic benefit that we hope will shine the spotlight on our often forgotten seniors—both now and in the future.

How we treat our most vulnerable people truly defines who we are. It is our hope that as individuals and communities, as a province and as a country, we support our elders to live out their lives with the dignity and respect they deserve.

A society is measured by the way it cares for its elderly citizens. Together we can ensure that Canada measures up. s Lori McLeod is Executive Director of the Eldercare Foundation, Victoria.

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