We really want to “take care of” those elders in our life who are important to us. Those elders may well be our parents, or may be elder members of our religious congregation. The response of “wanting to take care of” comes from a sincere “caring about” the elder(s) in our life.
Too often this well-intentioned mindset is tainted with the ageism that is so embedded in our society that we are totally unconscious of it; we don’t recognize it. Two examples of this come to mind immediately. In one case, a widow in her early 80s lives in a rural area but drives the short distance into the small adjacent town as needed and desired. Recently her vehicle of many years became unusable. Her only child chooses not to help his mother shop for another vehicle because he worries about her driving. Now this woman has had no accidents, no fender-benders or traffic violations. She uses good judgment about when and where to drive. However, her adult child worries about her mother. “Something might happen.”
A second example is of an elder Sister who wanted to make arrangements to spend Easter with her family who lived some 70 miles from her motherhouse. The Sister appointed to act as “superior”/family member” suggested to the Sister that she not make this trip. “Sister, you know you fall sometimes. I’m afraid if you make that visit you may fall while you are there.” The Sister, of course, didn’t visit her family.
Dr. Judah Ronch tells us that such actions result in “surplus safety.” In the name of caring for an elder because we care about them, we prohibit them from taking risks that are inherent in life. When all risks are negated, there is no quality of life. Every day every one of us take risks – a flight from one part of the country to another – driving a car – and on and on. We take risks because we judge the benefdits to outweigh the risks.
When elders are prohibited from taking similar risks because we want to keep them safe, usually ageism, exhibited as paternalism is involved. A valid question to ask when one is tempted to prohibit an elder’s action in order to keep him/her safe is this: “Would I be inclined to make this same decision for a person who is thirty years younger?” If the answer is no, examine whether a paternalistic/maternalistic (read patronizing) mindset is what drives our decision.
For more information,Google “surplus safety” and “Judah Ronch”
Friday, February 17, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Alzheimers -- Living in the Moment
Often when aging and aging services are discussed, the focus becomes, intentionally or not, pathological aging, such as is experienced by any elder who is living with dementia. It is true that as one’s age advances the risk of dementia increases – until we’re 95 according to Dr. Snowden of the Nun’s Study, and then the risk for dementia decreases to almost ‘it’s not going to happen.’ However, aging and living with dementia are not interchangeable terms.
There is a very thought-provoking article in today’s New York Times entitled, “Finding Joy in Alzheimer’s.” The author believes that we should “reassess our thinking about the elderly and old age dementia” – that an important change in perspective is called for in how we view the changes that are going on in the affected elder.
The comments that follow the column enhance the already informed and perspective-rich article. I offer the link here for your convenience.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/finding-joy-in-alzheimers/?ref=health
There is a very thought-provoking article in today’s New York Times entitled, “Finding Joy in Alzheimer’s.” The author believes that we should “reassess our thinking about the elderly and old age dementia” – that an important change in perspective is called for in how we view the changes that are going on in the affected elder.
The comments that follow the column enhance the already informed and perspective-rich article. I offer the link here for your convenience.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/finding-joy-in-alzheimers/?ref=health
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Death doula: A midwife for the end of life
This brief article from today’s L.A. Times describes an advocate’s perspective on companioning another during his/her dying. This one sentence reflects the nobility and sacredness of the task Ana takes on as a death doula: “If I'm assisting in a death passing, what I'm really doing is assisting the soul to birth its new life. And that's such an honorable, necessary thing." Ana Blechschmidt
The entire article can be accessed at this link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-death-doula-20111227,0,1874185.story
The entire article can be accessed at this link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-death-doula-20111227,0,1874185.story
Monday, October 31, 2011
But my bathroom has always been steps away from the foot of my bed!"
A week ago I moved to a new (for me) home in a new city in a new State along with fellow community member, Sister Bernie Galvin. Three days after arriving, I commented to Sister Bernie on how puzzled I was that in going from the kitchen to the basement, I automatically headed for the door which is a closet, instead of the door on the other side of the room which leads to the basement. I visualized the previous house I had lived in and realized the path I instinctively took WOULD have led me to the basement in the "old"house. When I shared that revelation with Bernie, she told me that she had a similar experience. In leaving her bedroom to go to the bathroom in this new location, she instinctively attempted a left turn into the hallway which was the “route” in the previous house.
Patterns and routines run deep. We both have adjusted pretty well to learning new patterns, but this reality of following learned routines rather spontaneously caused me to think of consequences for elders when they are hospitalized, or when they first move to a nursing home.
That same pattern of following a familiar “path” to the bathroom, the first few nights that an elder is in the hospital or is new to a nursing home often results in falls. These falls can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences.
Hospitals are taking more notice of falls because Medicare no longer reimburses the cost of care due to an in-hospital fall-related injury. The “solution” to preventing falls, whether in hospitals or nursing homes is NOT the use of physical restraints or those ever-increasingly-used but proven-to-be ineffective chair alarms. Evidence of this is not only common sense, but ongoing research.
Lack of mobility adversely affects every ---- every --- system in the body. When one doesn’t move, one loses muscle strength and balance – just for starters.
An article in “Medical News Today” describes an in-hospital study which concludes that falls are not related to activity (number of steps taken). An analysis of in-hospital falls during this study found that all of the falls took place at night, and that 60% of these falls were related to visits to the bathroom.
Patterns and routines run deep.
To read this short article, click on the link below.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/236797.php
Patterns and routines run deep. We both have adjusted pretty well to learning new patterns, but this reality of following learned routines rather spontaneously caused me to think of consequences for elders when they are hospitalized, or when they first move to a nursing home.
That same pattern of following a familiar “path” to the bathroom, the first few nights that an elder is in the hospital or is new to a nursing home often results in falls. These falls can have serious and sometimes fatal consequences.
Hospitals are taking more notice of falls because Medicare no longer reimburses the cost of care due to an in-hospital fall-related injury. The “solution” to preventing falls, whether in hospitals or nursing homes is NOT the use of physical restraints or those ever-increasingly-used but proven-to-be ineffective chair alarms. Evidence of this is not only common sense, but ongoing research.
Lack of mobility adversely affects every ---- every --- system in the body. When one doesn’t move, one loses muscle strength and balance – just for starters.
An article in “Medical News Today” describes an in-hospital study which concludes that falls are not related to activity (number of steps taken). An analysis of in-hospital falls during this study found that all of the falls took place at night, and that 60% of these falls were related to visits to the bathroom.
Patterns and routines run deep.
To read this short article, click on the link below.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/236797.php
Monday, May 2, 2011
Real Food VS. Oral Nutritional Supplements
Michael Pollan is a journalist who, in doing some investigative journalism work about our food supply and the way we Americans eat, has written some very good books. In fact, Pollan is recognized as a foremost authority in the conversation about real food and what he calls “food-like” food. The latter he defines as processed and pre-prepared foods.
I wish Michael had been with me at a conference session (Aging in America) that I attended last week. Two national organizations focusing on aging cosponsored their national conference here in San Francisco so I took advantage of what I had judged to be worthwhile sessions. This one was entitled something about the role of malnutrition in older adults in loss of independence.
Without going into their entire presentation, I present this brief summary: A fine doctor (internist, geriatrician, certified medical director at two teaching nursing homes, and researcher) presented data showing how older adults are at risk for malnutrition and all the ills that can result from malnutrition.
Then two registered dietitians (RD) took over the rest of the session. In the interests of full disclosure, they both stated that they were consultants for Nestle Nutrition Institute. (Oooohhhhh!) I hate it when I get caught in a corporate “paid programming” session especially when it happens at a conference that advertises itself as a professional conference.
Now the first purpose of any corporation that intends to stay in existence is to make money. Good capitalistic principle. Not an evil concept when the reach for profit is kept in its place.
So these RDs showed us many charts with all the good results reflecting the benefits for a person who is malnourished or is at risk for being malnourished when s/he is provided oral nutritional supplements (ONS). I don’t question their results.
This is what I questioned at the session: Are there studies that reflect that when real food is provided to elders (Meals on Wheels, Senior Centers, PACE Centers, retirement settings and nursing homes) that the need for ONSs decreases? Are there studies that indicate that when residents of nursing homes are allowed to come to the dining room (or kitchen in a household nursing home) for meals when they are ready to eat, that the need for ONSs decreases? Believe it or not, not even the doctor was aware of any such studies.
I also had to explain what I meant by “real food.” When food is prepared for any of the congregate settings mentioned above, the typical approach is to buy foods from an institutional food service. The food is already seasoned (high in sodium) and cooked. All that is required of the staff is to open and heat. Even the cakes and other desserts are all pre-cooked and just have to be thawed and served. By and large that is what elders who do not live at home, or who live at home and can no longer prepare their meals, are subject too.
In fact the studies I asked about have been done. And in every study, the need for ONSs decreased; there was less wasted food within the institution and the outcome was an increase of weight for the elders who were malnourished or at risk for being malnourished.
There’s also the whole world of smells when food is “cooked from scratch.” Don’t we all know that experience of the simultaneous sense of aroma from the kitchen and a sense of, “I want to eat!” Let’s not deprive our elders of that experience – the pleasure of eating “real food” and all the healthy benefits it provides.
Michael Pollan summarizes a healthy diet in his book: “In Defense of Food” this way: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants." I say let’s provide that for our elders!
P.S. I know there are situations in which only ONSs will provide the needed results. But those ONSs should be tried only after there is no response to “real food” provided in an environment of HOME.
I wish Michael had been with me at a conference session (Aging in America) that I attended last week. Two national organizations focusing on aging cosponsored their national conference here in San Francisco so I took advantage of what I had judged to be worthwhile sessions. This one was entitled something about the role of malnutrition in older adults in loss of independence.
Without going into their entire presentation, I present this brief summary: A fine doctor (internist, geriatrician, certified medical director at two teaching nursing homes, and researcher) presented data showing how older adults are at risk for malnutrition and all the ills that can result from malnutrition.
Then two registered dietitians (RD) took over the rest of the session. In the interests of full disclosure, they both stated that they were consultants for Nestle Nutrition Institute. (Oooohhhhh!) I hate it when I get caught in a corporate “paid programming” session especially when it happens at a conference that advertises itself as a professional conference.
Now the first purpose of any corporation that intends to stay in existence is to make money. Good capitalistic principle. Not an evil concept when the reach for profit is kept in its place.
So these RDs showed us many charts with all the good results reflecting the benefits for a person who is malnourished or is at risk for being malnourished when s/he is provided oral nutritional supplements (ONS). I don’t question their results.
This is what I questioned at the session: Are there studies that reflect that when real food is provided to elders (Meals on Wheels, Senior Centers, PACE Centers, retirement settings and nursing homes) that the need for ONSs decreases? Are there studies that indicate that when residents of nursing homes are allowed to come to the dining room (or kitchen in a household nursing home) for meals when they are ready to eat, that the need for ONSs decreases? Believe it or not, not even the doctor was aware of any such studies.
I also had to explain what I meant by “real food.” When food is prepared for any of the congregate settings mentioned above, the typical approach is to buy foods from an institutional food service. The food is already seasoned (high in sodium) and cooked. All that is required of the staff is to open and heat. Even the cakes and other desserts are all pre-cooked and just have to be thawed and served. By and large that is what elders who do not live at home, or who live at home and can no longer prepare their meals, are subject too.
In fact the studies I asked about have been done. And in every study, the need for ONSs decreased; there was less wasted food within the institution and the outcome was an increase of weight for the elders who were malnourished or at risk for being malnourished.
There’s also the whole world of smells when food is “cooked from scratch.” Don’t we all know that experience of the simultaneous sense of aroma from the kitchen and a sense of, “I want to eat!” Let’s not deprive our elders of that experience – the pleasure of eating “real food” and all the healthy benefits it provides.
Michael Pollan summarizes a healthy diet in his book: “In Defense of Food” this way: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants." I say let’s provide that for our elders!
P.S. I know there are situations in which only ONSs will provide the needed results. But those ONSs should be tried only after there is no response to “real food” provided in an environment of HOME.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Quality of life, Falls and Vitamin D
When researchers examine the quality of life that residents of nursing homes experience, one of the questions in determining a good or poor quality of life is, “How often do you get outdoors?” We certainly don’t need esoteric research to convince us that getting outdoors is a good thing. Our experience tells us that. Perhaps it is that first walk in the morning around the yard to see what has appeared since yesterday. Or it may be that cherished walk in the early morning or late afternoon that is a ritual for us, after which we feel a new energy in our steps. What can compare with the brush of a soft spring breeze on our cheek? What delight do we not experience at the sight and sound of a bird winging its way with obvious delight, also, in the new day?
If a person is not living independently at home, that access to the outdoors may be totally dependent on her caregivers. How many retirement settings have priorities and stated programmatic policies about assuring that residents in their retirement community get outdoors when the weather permits? Are activities ever planned that involve an outdoor experience? Are spaces intentionally developed that invite elders outdoors?
Now apart from the gift to the soul that being outdoors provides, there is also an aspect of physical health. We all know that exposure to sunlight produces Vitamin D in our bodies. Amazing, isn’t it! Twenty minutes outdoors when the UV index is 3 or greater will do it!
Here’s what a noted doctor says about Vitamin D and older adults:
According to Elizabeth Sykes, MD, vice chief of clinical pathology at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., older adults with vitamin D deficiency also have an increased risk of muscle weakness and bone diseases such as osteomalacia (softening of the bones) or osteoporosis (reduced bone density) as well as an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes (http://www.agingwellmag.com/news/ex_012511_02.shtml accessed April 20, 2011)
Falls among elders are serious matters. One in three persons over the age of 65 experiences a fall over the course of a year. These falls can lead to hospitalization, admission to a long-term care setting, or even death.
Studies of elders show a relationship between falls and Vitamin D levels in the body. Vitamin D is needed by the body to improve muscle strength and contraction.
Medical professionals encourage Vitamin D supplements among elders if needed when exposure to sunlight is not sufficient, or if their diet does not provide this vitamin adequately. So in those climates and at those times of the year when our friends and/or family members living in retirement settings can get outdoors, let’s get them outdoors! When sunlight exposure is not practical because of the weather, a healthy diet and, if needed, the Vitamin D supplements should be used.
Oh, and one other thing: an analysis at Rush University Medical Center of several studies among older adults with Alzheimer’s showed a relationship between the presence of this dreaded disorder and “a constricted life space.” That constricted life space was defined in the study as: “Specifically, those with a life space restricted to their immediate home environment.” Older adults in a “constricted life space” were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as elders whose life space extended beyond this immediate home environment.
Anybody for a walk – for its gift to the body, mind and spirit?
If a person is not living independently at home, that access to the outdoors may be totally dependent on her caregivers. How many retirement settings have priorities and stated programmatic policies about assuring that residents in their retirement community get outdoors when the weather permits? Are activities ever planned that involve an outdoor experience? Are spaces intentionally developed that invite elders outdoors?
Now apart from the gift to the soul that being outdoors provides, there is also an aspect of physical health. We all know that exposure to sunlight produces Vitamin D in our bodies. Amazing, isn’t it! Twenty minutes outdoors when the UV index is 3 or greater will do it!
Here’s what a noted doctor says about Vitamin D and older adults:
According to Elizabeth Sykes, MD, vice chief of clinical pathology at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., older adults with vitamin D deficiency also have an increased risk of muscle weakness and bone diseases such as osteomalacia (softening of the bones) or osteoporosis (reduced bone density) as well as an increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes (http://www.agingwellmag.com/news/ex_012511_02.shtml accessed April 20, 2011)
Falls among elders are serious matters. One in three persons over the age of 65 experiences a fall over the course of a year. These falls can lead to hospitalization, admission to a long-term care setting, or even death.
Studies of elders show a relationship between falls and Vitamin D levels in the body. Vitamin D is needed by the body to improve muscle strength and contraction.
Medical professionals encourage Vitamin D supplements among elders if needed when exposure to sunlight is not sufficient, or if their diet does not provide this vitamin adequately. So in those climates and at those times of the year when our friends and/or family members living in retirement settings can get outdoors, let’s get them outdoors! When sunlight exposure is not practical because of the weather, a healthy diet and, if needed, the Vitamin D supplements should be used.
Oh, and one other thing: an analysis at Rush University Medical Center of several studies among older adults with Alzheimer’s showed a relationship between the presence of this dreaded disorder and “a constricted life space.” That constricted life space was defined in the study as: “Specifically, those with a life space restricted to their immediate home environment.” Older adults in a “constricted life space” were twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as elders whose life space extended beyond this immediate home environment.
Anybody for a walk – for its gift to the body, mind and spirit?
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Avoiding Falls in Our Later Years
© September 16, 2010 by Imelda Maurer, cdp
Corporations bag billions in profits each year with “anti-aging” solutions – creams, oils, supplements, surgery , books – successfully playing to American’s fear and denial of aging.
While we cannot avoid aging, and while there are no true “anti aging “ solutions, an article in the New York Times describes how the skill of balance CAN BE ENHANCED with appropriate exercise! Why is this so important?
“Unintentional falls among those 65 and older are responsible for more than 18,000 deaths and nearly 450,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Most of these falls are caused by a decline in that complex and multidimensional human skill known as balance.
To remain upright and sure-footed, explained Dr. David Thurman, a neurologist with the center and a spokesman for the American Academy of Neurology, “there are several components of the nervous system, as well as motor or movement functions that need to be intact.” These include the vestibular system of the inner ear, vision and proprioception, the ability to sense where one’s arms, legs or other parts of the body are without looking at them, as well as the strength and flexibility of bones and soft tissue.
“All of these,” Dr. Thurman said, “tend to degrade with age, particularly as people move into their seventh and eighth decades.”
Yet, unlike many effects of aging, balance can be improved, and the age-related declines can be delayed or minimized with proper training.
“The preponderance of evidence,” Dr. Thurman said, “shows fairly convincingly that strength and balance training can reduce the rate of falls by up to about 50 percent.”
To read about the types of exercise that can enhance the skill of balance without hiring a personal trainer, go to the NY Times article by clicking on the title of the blog entry.
Corporations bag billions in profits each year with “anti-aging” solutions – creams, oils, supplements, surgery , books – successfully playing to American’s fear and denial of aging.
While we cannot avoid aging, and while there are no true “anti aging “ solutions, an article in the New York Times describes how the skill of balance CAN BE ENHANCED with appropriate exercise! Why is this so important?
“Unintentional falls among those 65 and older are responsible for more than 18,000 deaths and nearly 450,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Most of these falls are caused by a decline in that complex and multidimensional human skill known as balance.
To remain upright and sure-footed, explained Dr. David Thurman, a neurologist with the center and a spokesman for the American Academy of Neurology, “there are several components of the nervous system, as well as motor or movement functions that need to be intact.” These include the vestibular system of the inner ear, vision and proprioception, the ability to sense where one’s arms, legs or other parts of the body are without looking at them, as well as the strength and flexibility of bones and soft tissue.
“All of these,” Dr. Thurman said, “tend to degrade with age, particularly as people move into their seventh and eighth decades.”
Yet, unlike many effects of aging, balance can be improved, and the age-related declines can be delayed or minimized with proper training.
“The preponderance of evidence,” Dr. Thurman said, “shows fairly convincingly that strength and balance training can reduce the rate of falls by up to about 50 percent.”
To read about the types of exercise that can enhance the skill of balance without hiring a personal trainer, go to the NY Times article by clicking on the title of the blog entry.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Making it OK to Sleep Late
© September 14, 2010 by Imelda Maurer, cdp
My sister and her husband have, for the last few years, enjoyed socializing at a neighborhood senior center. Their custom is to go once or twice a week. Not long ago during a telephone visit, I asked my sister if they enjoyed lunch at the center. “No,” she said, “they serve lunch at 11:30. We are late sleepers and when we get up and take our time in the mornings, we don’t usually make it in time for lunch.”
Nothing unusual in that remark. After many years of hard work, this retired couple can now manage their daily schedule according to their own likes. They share long evenings, get to bed late and like to sleep late in the morning. Fair enough. They deserve it!
In too many nursing homes, for those adults who have to live in one, there is a schedule: breakfast served at particular time as is lunch and dinner. That means that staff members are required to have the residents up and dressed in order to be “on time” for the institutionally scheduled breakfast time.
Lots of problems with this kind of living for years on end. It’s institutional. It’s NOT home. For elders with even minimal cognitive impairment, being awakened and helped with dressing and grooming before they are ready to do so may result in notes in that elder’s chart claiming there was “combative behavior” or that the resident “was uncooperative with a.m. care.” That’s a topic for another entry.
However, the good news in all this is that THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’! Progressive nursing homes are “making it ok to sleep late.” An article in The Chicago Tribune highlights a nursing home which is making the move from institution to home.
Note the advantages that are evident: quality of life for the residents; enhanced employee satisfaction; lower costs for the provider.
“Nursing homes that embrace the new philosophy are letting residents decide when to bathe, eat and sleep; allowing them to organize their own activities; and redesigning nursing units into small "households."
Advocates say residents in such homes are happier and healthier; the employees have more job satisfaction; and giving care this way even costs less.”
The administrator is quoted as saying that she doesn’t even like to speak of “allowing” residents to sleep late. "It's not for us to give them that freedom," she said. "They should have it."
There is an important corollary to this story: consumers -- that’s US, the nursing home residents of the future -- must demand this kind of environment and person-centered living. The movement of transformative culture change in nursing homes is a fast-growing ripple. We advocates and consumers must change the ripples into waves!
GO, MAKE WAVES!
Click on the title of this post at the top of this page to be linked to the article from The Chicago Tribune. It is a short, enjoyable and informative piece
My sister and her husband have, for the last few years, enjoyed socializing at a neighborhood senior center. Their custom is to go once or twice a week. Not long ago during a telephone visit, I asked my sister if they enjoyed lunch at the center. “No,” she said, “they serve lunch at 11:30. We are late sleepers and when we get up and take our time in the mornings, we don’t usually make it in time for lunch.”
Nothing unusual in that remark. After many years of hard work, this retired couple can now manage their daily schedule according to their own likes. They share long evenings, get to bed late and like to sleep late in the morning. Fair enough. They deserve it!
In too many nursing homes, for those adults who have to live in one, there is a schedule: breakfast served at particular time as is lunch and dinner. That means that staff members are required to have the residents up and dressed in order to be “on time” for the institutionally scheduled breakfast time.
Lots of problems with this kind of living for years on end. It’s institutional. It’s NOT home. For elders with even minimal cognitive impairment, being awakened and helped with dressing and grooming before they are ready to do so may result in notes in that elder’s chart claiming there was “combative behavior” or that the resident “was uncooperative with a.m. care.” That’s a topic for another entry.
However, the good news in all this is that THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN’! Progressive nursing homes are “making it ok to sleep late.” An article in The Chicago Tribune highlights a nursing home which is making the move from institution to home.
Note the advantages that are evident: quality of life for the residents; enhanced employee satisfaction; lower costs for the provider.
“Nursing homes that embrace the new philosophy are letting residents decide when to bathe, eat and sleep; allowing them to organize their own activities; and redesigning nursing units into small "households."
Advocates say residents in such homes are happier and healthier; the employees have more job satisfaction; and giving care this way even costs less.”
The administrator is quoted as saying that she doesn’t even like to speak of “allowing” residents to sleep late. "It's not for us to give them that freedom," she said. "They should have it."
There is an important corollary to this story: consumers -- that’s US, the nursing home residents of the future -- must demand this kind of environment and person-centered living. The movement of transformative culture change in nursing homes is a fast-growing ripple. We advocates and consumers must change the ripples into waves!
GO, MAKE WAVES!
Click on the title of this post at the top of this page to be linked to the article from The Chicago Tribune. It is a short, enjoyable and informative piece
Monday, July 26, 2010
I Never Saw Your Wrinkles
Another one of my favorites -- posted some time ago!
Friday, March 2, 2007
I Never Saw Your Wrinkles
© March 2 2007 by Imelda Maurer, cdp
Several years ago I fell in love with gardening. It was a kind of surprising transformation following a farm-life childhood, where the work seemed only drudgery. So averse was I to having to go on Saturday mornings to hoe the weeds out of the long rows in the grape vineyard or from around the young corn plants, or to pick the field peas, that I cultivated the habit of praying for rain every weekend.
When I was in my mid-30s, I found myself living in rural southern Louisiana with an ample yard of beautiful, dark, delta soil beneath the lawn. I decided to attempt a small organic vegetable garden and cultivated a patch that was probably 20 feet by 12 feet. I was astounded at the delight I took in seeing the small seedlings take hold and flourish, at the beauty of the different shades of green against the dark, black soil. I looked forward to the time I would be able to spend in my garden, a time that became richly reflective and meditative, as well as emotionally fulfilling.
As that first spring progressed, the tomato plants grew almost shoulder height, producing tomatoes for me and many of my neighbors. After the growing season, I removed the dead plants and added them to the compost pile where, during the still winter season, they turned into rich dirt. That compost, added to the garden, nourished the next season's young plants. I had an experiential awareness of the universal cycle of life, death and subsequent new life, as I had observed my garden plants mature, provide fruit and later yield to death.
There is a distinct beauty in a young, maturing plant. A pepper plant, for example grows so straight with wondrous, dark, shiny, green leaves. Its stems strengthen and become almost woody, enabling it to support the proliferation of beautiful, glossy, waxy peppers. In doing so, the plant loses its youthful appearance and gains the beauty of maturity.
I began to understand not only that the appearance of the pepper plants in each stage of growth and development held its own beauty, but that there was a certain rightness and appropriateness in the beauty of each stage of that pepper plant's life. The reflective time in the garden provided the recognition of a connection between the stages of life in the plants I loved and nurtured and the stages in my own life. I recognized in a new and profound way that there is a beauty, a rightness, an appropriateness in who we are and how we appear at whatever age.
I've believed for many years that as we age our beauty deepens. The face and eyes of older persons reflect the richness of their life experiences and the wisdom that comes from their life's journey of intermingled pain and joy. It is this inner self, wonderfully manifested in some way in our physical being, that is who we really are. Robert Redford alluded to this perspective in an interview in which he spoke of a personal rejection of having plastic surgery because he believes that in that process, "something of your soul in your face goes away."
We all know at some level that, when we look at someone, or when we call a person's image to mind, that we are seeing the person as he or she really is -- something of the inner self. This was exquisitely voiced by a woman in a news story that ran recently on "Good Morning America.” The story cited growing numbers of adults older than 65 who are choosing plastic surgery. Featured was an 80-year-old woman who had recently had a face lift, tummy tuck and breast augmentation. She was shown sitting around a table with women of her own age group, obviously friends and acquaintances. One in the group asked why she underwent plastic surgery. The subject of the interview answered, touching her smooth, wrinkle-free face: "Look how smooth my face is. Don't you remember how wrinkled it was?" To which her friend replied in a soft-spoken voice, "I never saw your wrinkles."
Posted by Imelda Maurer, cdp at 8:14 AM
Friday, March 2, 2007
I Never Saw Your Wrinkles
© March 2 2007 by Imelda Maurer, cdp
Several years ago I fell in love with gardening. It was a kind of surprising transformation following a farm-life childhood, where the work seemed only drudgery. So averse was I to having to go on Saturday mornings to hoe the weeds out of the long rows in the grape vineyard or from around the young corn plants, or to pick the field peas, that I cultivated the habit of praying for rain every weekend.
When I was in my mid-30s, I found myself living in rural southern Louisiana with an ample yard of beautiful, dark, delta soil beneath the lawn. I decided to attempt a small organic vegetable garden and cultivated a patch that was probably 20 feet by 12 feet. I was astounded at the delight I took in seeing the small seedlings take hold and flourish, at the beauty of the different shades of green against the dark, black soil. I looked forward to the time I would be able to spend in my garden, a time that became richly reflective and meditative, as well as emotionally fulfilling.
As that first spring progressed, the tomato plants grew almost shoulder height, producing tomatoes for me and many of my neighbors. After the growing season, I removed the dead plants and added them to the compost pile where, during the still winter season, they turned into rich dirt. That compost, added to the garden, nourished the next season's young plants. I had an experiential awareness of the universal cycle of life, death and subsequent new life, as I had observed my garden plants mature, provide fruit and later yield to death.
There is a distinct beauty in a young, maturing plant. A pepper plant, for example grows so straight with wondrous, dark, shiny, green leaves. Its stems strengthen and become almost woody, enabling it to support the proliferation of beautiful, glossy, waxy peppers. In doing so, the plant loses its youthful appearance and gains the beauty of maturity.
I began to understand not only that the appearance of the pepper plants in each stage of growth and development held its own beauty, but that there was a certain rightness and appropriateness in the beauty of each stage of that pepper plant's life. The reflective time in the garden provided the recognition of a connection between the stages of life in the plants I loved and nurtured and the stages in my own life. I recognized in a new and profound way that there is a beauty, a rightness, an appropriateness in who we are and how we appear at whatever age.
I've believed for many years that as we age our beauty deepens. The face and eyes of older persons reflect the richness of their life experiences and the wisdom that comes from their life's journey of intermingled pain and joy. It is this inner self, wonderfully manifested in some way in our physical being, that is who we really are. Robert Redford alluded to this perspective in an interview in which he spoke of a personal rejection of having plastic surgery because he believes that in that process, "something of your soul in your face goes away."
We all know at some level that, when we look at someone, or when we call a person's image to mind, that we are seeing the person as he or she really is -- something of the inner self. This was exquisitely voiced by a woman in a news story that ran recently on "Good Morning America.” The story cited growing numbers of adults older than 65 who are choosing plastic surgery. Featured was an 80-year-old woman who had recently had a face lift, tummy tuck and breast augmentation. She was shown sitting around a table with women of her own age group, obviously friends and acquaintances. One in the group asked why she underwent plastic surgery. The subject of the interview answered, touching her smooth, wrinkle-free face: "Look how smooth my face is. Don't you remember how wrinkled it was?" To which her friend replied in a soft-spoken voice, "I never saw your wrinkles."
Posted by Imelda Maurer, cdp at 8:14 AM
I'm Not A Young Woman
© March 26, 2007 by Imelda Maurer, cdp
This is one of my first entries on my blog, which you can tell from the date. However, it's one of my favorites. I want to share it again.
Lowe’s had a large selection of vacuum cleaners, and I needed one. I had just moved to begin a new ministry and was shopping that Saturday afternoon for some basics for the small house I was renting. The salesman was helping another woman when I walked up. I was there only a moment or two before he looked at me and said, “I’ll be with you in a minute, young woman.” To which I responded politely, “I’m not a young woman.” The woman he was helping was probably embarrassed at my apparent lack of social sensitivity to this well-meaning salesman. She turned to me and said, “He’s trying to make you feel good.” “I know,” I said, “but I’ve lived 63 years to look like this, and I don’t want any of those years or experiences disregarded.”
How many of us have not had that experience at least once since we passed 55 or 60 years of age? How did we really feel about such a remark? A good feeling because maybe we really don’t look as old as we really are? Maybe ‘they’ really think I am still young. And am I happy that I am seen as still young?
Our western society is so terribly ageist. The state of youthfulness is worshipped and sought after to the tune of billions of dollars raked in by the cosmetic and anti-aging industry here in the United States alone. On the other hand, birthday cards for anyone 30 or older make degrading joke after degrading joke about one’s age. What a shame.
Dr. Andrew Weil, in his recent book, HEALTHY AGING addresses this concept of our society’s abhorrence of aging. He concludes by saying that no matter how much we spend on hormonal supplements, plastic surgery or anti-aging cosmetics, we cannot stop the aging process, and we should “accept” our aging. No, Dr. Weil, we should not “accept” our aging, we should CHERISH and HONOR our aging. It is a sacred part of our life journey.
For me as a Sister of Divine Providence, it is another wonderful and good aspect of God’s Providential love and care. For me, aging is an adventure. I’ve never been this old before! Who will I be as an old(er) person? How will the experiences of my life, both inner and outer experiences, show themselves in my face, in my body?
Aging can hold much pain for some of us. I don’t deny that. Many older adults suffer complex health problems. But that is not a universal experience. Each of us has some control over how our older years will be lived based on our inherited genes and by the way we live each day now: healthy diet, at least a 30-minute walk, positive attitudes, and informed, regular care of body, mind and spirit.
If we each fought ageism every time we encountered it, whether it is public policy or a well-meaning sales clerk, wouldn’t we individually be a lot more psychologically healthier? Wouldn’t our entire society be a lot healthier?
Can you look at yourself in the mirror and smile with gratitude for the life’s journey that has been yours so far, and that reveals itself in that face you see in the mirror?
This is one of my first entries on my blog, which you can tell from the date. However, it's one of my favorites. I want to share it again.
Lowe’s had a large selection of vacuum cleaners, and I needed one. I had just moved to begin a new ministry and was shopping that Saturday afternoon for some basics for the small house I was renting. The salesman was helping another woman when I walked up. I was there only a moment or two before he looked at me and said, “I’ll be with you in a minute, young woman.” To which I responded politely, “I’m not a young woman.” The woman he was helping was probably embarrassed at my apparent lack of social sensitivity to this well-meaning salesman. She turned to me and said, “He’s trying to make you feel good.” “I know,” I said, “but I’ve lived 63 years to look like this, and I don’t want any of those years or experiences disregarded.”
How many of us have not had that experience at least once since we passed 55 or 60 years of age? How did we really feel about such a remark? A good feeling because maybe we really don’t look as old as we really are? Maybe ‘they’ really think I am still young. And am I happy that I am seen as still young?
Our western society is so terribly ageist. The state of youthfulness is worshipped and sought after to the tune of billions of dollars raked in by the cosmetic and anti-aging industry here in the United States alone. On the other hand, birthday cards for anyone 30 or older make degrading joke after degrading joke about one’s age. What a shame.
Dr. Andrew Weil, in his recent book, HEALTHY AGING addresses this concept of our society’s abhorrence of aging. He concludes by saying that no matter how much we spend on hormonal supplements, plastic surgery or anti-aging cosmetics, we cannot stop the aging process, and we should “accept” our aging. No, Dr. Weil, we should not “accept” our aging, we should CHERISH and HONOR our aging. It is a sacred part of our life journey.
For me as a Sister of Divine Providence, it is another wonderful and good aspect of God’s Providential love and care. For me, aging is an adventure. I’ve never been this old before! Who will I be as an old(er) person? How will the experiences of my life, both inner and outer experiences, show themselves in my face, in my body?
Aging can hold much pain for some of us. I don’t deny that. Many older adults suffer complex health problems. But that is not a universal experience. Each of us has some control over how our older years will be lived based on our inherited genes and by the way we live each day now: healthy diet, at least a 30-minute walk, positive attitudes, and informed, regular care of body, mind and spirit.
If we each fought ageism every time we encountered it, whether it is public policy or a well-meaning sales clerk, wouldn’t we individually be a lot more psychologically healthier? Wouldn’t our entire society be a lot healthier?
Can you look at yourself in the mirror and smile with gratitude for the life’s journey that has been yours so far, and that reveals itself in that face you see in the mirror?
"When I Grow Up . . . "
© by Imelda Maurer, cdp July 26, 2010
AARP has an ad that I believe is absolutely wonderful and absolutely on target. The message seeks ultimately to recruit members to their organization. But the line used over and over again by the middle aged actors in the ad is this: "When I grow up . . . " It ends with a voiceover saying, "At AARP we believe you're never done growing." What an attitude toward aging! And it's true! We have the potential for growth and development until we draw our dying breath.
The ad is on the web and you can access it by clicking on the title of this post. It's only 30 seconds long. Enjoy it!
http://homadge.blogspot.com/2010/04/aarp-when-i-grow-up.html
AARP has an ad that I believe is absolutely wonderful and absolutely on target. The message seeks ultimately to recruit members to their organization. But the line used over and over again by the middle aged actors in the ad is this: "When I grow up . . . " It ends with a voiceover saying, "At AARP we believe you're never done growing." What an attitude toward aging! And it's true! We have the potential for growth and development until we draw our dying breath.
The ad is on the web and you can access it by clicking on the title of this post. It's only 30 seconds long. Enjoy it!
http://homadge.blogspot.com/2010/04/aarp-when-i-grow-up.html
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Real Story of Aging: As Experienced and as Ministry To the Other
The following letter was sent earlier this week to all members of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) by Larry Minnix, our AAHSA President, who is also a Methodist minister. Larry can talk the statistical, bottom line, give a surpass-the-competition kind of talk with a valid and assured competence. Larry also “gets it” about the real mission of serving our elders, and always communicates that mission in messages such as these to the membership.
In this letter, Larry writes about a woman who, incidentally, lived and died at a Continuing Care Retirement Center here in San Francisco: The Sequoias, a Presbyterian-sponsored ministry.
The letter is worthy of broad distribution for these reasons:
Larry dismisses the myths of aging often portrayed in the public media; he also rejects the botox-using, aging-denying efforts all too prevalent in our American society.
He shows how Jean Wright and those of her ilk, lived her life to the fullest. She embraced her aging as part of the “fulfilling process of the life cycle.”
Larry observed that Jean “lived fully until she died. She trusted in the grace of it all. She reminded us that our mission together is about the people we serve.”
I share this letter with the hope that it will stir reflections among each of us about honoring our own aging and those among us, that it will draw us to a deeper consciousness of the sacredness of this “Third Act” -- our own and those we love -- and the profound implications therein.
Jean Wright: The Real Story of Aging
By Larry Minnix
May is dedicated to older Americans. Maybe it's because I'm becoming one. Maybe it's because a great one, Jean Wright of The Sequoias, recently passed. But lately I have been giving a lot of thought to the real story of aging in our society.
Older Americans Month is a great opportunity to reflect on aging and role models of successful aging. Throughout May (Yes, I'm starting early), I plan to present role models I have known.
The media often portrays aging as either comedic characters who can get away with edgy comments because of age or, more recently, the once beautiful or handsome movie star who has been retreaded with botox and cosmetic surgical work to become the “70 year old who’s the new 40” kind of image.
Don’t get me wrong, I like edgy "senior" comedy. There is an outrageous quality about some of it that I find fun, and I think Raquel Welch was gorgeous at 29 and looks good at 69. No value judgment about either.
It’s just that, well, those role models are not the real story of aging. But Jean Wright is. And I do not believe our society and culture will ever fully embrace aging as a part of the fulfilling process of the life cycle until we understand and appreciate people like Jean.
On Feb. 7, 2010, at the age of 86, Jean died at The Sequoias, a storied AAHSA member, where she lived with her husband for 28 years. Jean’s daughter, Deborah, said Jean was “…surrounded in death by her husband and children.” Reminds me of Abraham and Sarah’s passing in the Old Testament. They died “a good old age.”
Jean was a “powerful lady,” says Ramona Davies, a friend of Jean and a Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services leader. Jean was elected to the Aging Services of California board, the AAHSA House of Delegates, and was the first resident to serve on AAHSA’s Board of Directors.
Ramona stated it well: In every session Jean attended, she would remind providers and residents alike who we are supposed to be serving. She could make us uncomfortable in doing so, but you always knew that Jean was one of our biggest fans.
I admired her tenacity as her body steadily betrayed her. She rarely missed our AAHSA board meeting, traveling across country to attend. On two occasions, we had to call 911 because she had fallen at a hotel event. She didn’t like the fuss and didn’t miss the meetings.
There were special intangibles about Jean. She exuded integrity, hope, disciplined thought, and principles. She inspired confidence and trust. One time, my wife and I hosted an informal dinner for the AAHSA board at our home. We had a skittish border collie mix named Bear. Bear really only loved his family and barked at other people. Jean came into our home, sat on our couch, and Bear immediately bonded with her. Jean faithfully asked about Bear when we’d correspond.
Deborah, Jean's daughter, referred to Jean’s Sequoias/ASC/AAHSA years as “Act Three” of Jean’s life. What a concept! In the latter days of Act Three, Jean taught us one of the most valuable lessons that can be taught: How to recognize the near end of life and how to accept the inevitability of it.
After steady deterioration of body, Jean asked to be part of “Comfort Care” status. She had “…long been an advocate of compassionate choices related to end-of-life care,” wrote Deborah. Jean “graciously accepts the path she has chosen.”
O, death, where is thy sting?
Deborah asked Jean what message she wanted us to receive from her. Teacher and purveyor of wisdom to the very end, Jean replied, “Tell them that I’ve had a good, good life and that I am grateful for the role each of them has played in that life. No regrets!”
Jean Wright‘s life, dying, and death are the real story of aging in a healthy way. She lived fully until she died. She trusted in the grace of it all.
She reminded us that our mission together is about the people we serve, and that, like the Sequoias obviously knows, you and I are in the “No regrets” business during the “Act Three” of people’s lives.
People like Jean give all of us confidence about the life cycle. We trusted her. We can trust beyond ourselves. Even Bear, my mistrusting dog, sensed it. Jean, we already miss you!
Let’s celebrate people like Jean in May.
In this letter, Larry writes about a woman who, incidentally, lived and died at a Continuing Care Retirement Center here in San Francisco: The Sequoias, a Presbyterian-sponsored ministry.
The letter is worthy of broad distribution for these reasons:
Larry dismisses the myths of aging often portrayed in the public media; he also rejects the botox-using, aging-denying efforts all too prevalent in our American society.
He shows how Jean Wright and those of her ilk, lived her life to the fullest. She embraced her aging as part of the “fulfilling process of the life cycle.”
Larry observed that Jean “lived fully until she died. She trusted in the grace of it all. She reminded us that our mission together is about the people we serve.”
I share this letter with the hope that it will stir reflections among each of us about honoring our own aging and those among us, that it will draw us to a deeper consciousness of the sacredness of this “Third Act” -- our own and those we love -- and the profound implications therein.
Jean Wright: The Real Story of Aging
By Larry Minnix
May is dedicated to older Americans. Maybe it's because I'm becoming one. Maybe it's because a great one, Jean Wright of The Sequoias, recently passed. But lately I have been giving a lot of thought to the real story of aging in our society.
Older Americans Month is a great opportunity to reflect on aging and role models of successful aging. Throughout May (Yes, I'm starting early), I plan to present role models I have known.
The media often portrays aging as either comedic characters who can get away with edgy comments because of age or, more recently, the once beautiful or handsome movie star who has been retreaded with botox and cosmetic surgical work to become the “70 year old who’s the new 40” kind of image.
Don’t get me wrong, I like edgy "senior" comedy. There is an outrageous quality about some of it that I find fun, and I think Raquel Welch was gorgeous at 29 and looks good at 69. No value judgment about either.
It’s just that, well, those role models are not the real story of aging. But Jean Wright is. And I do not believe our society and culture will ever fully embrace aging as a part of the fulfilling process of the life cycle until we understand and appreciate people like Jean.
On Feb. 7, 2010, at the age of 86, Jean died at The Sequoias, a storied AAHSA member, where she lived with her husband for 28 years. Jean’s daughter, Deborah, said Jean was “…surrounded in death by her husband and children.” Reminds me of Abraham and Sarah’s passing in the Old Testament. They died “a good old age.”
Jean was a “powerful lady,” says Ramona Davies, a friend of Jean and a Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services leader. Jean was elected to the Aging Services of California board, the AAHSA House of Delegates, and was the first resident to serve on AAHSA’s Board of Directors.
Ramona stated it well: In every session Jean attended, she would remind providers and residents alike who we are supposed to be serving. She could make us uncomfortable in doing so, but you always knew that Jean was one of our biggest fans.
I admired her tenacity as her body steadily betrayed her. She rarely missed our AAHSA board meeting, traveling across country to attend. On two occasions, we had to call 911 because she had fallen at a hotel event. She didn’t like the fuss and didn’t miss the meetings.
There were special intangibles about Jean. She exuded integrity, hope, disciplined thought, and principles. She inspired confidence and trust. One time, my wife and I hosted an informal dinner for the AAHSA board at our home. We had a skittish border collie mix named Bear. Bear really only loved his family and barked at other people. Jean came into our home, sat on our couch, and Bear immediately bonded with her. Jean faithfully asked about Bear when we’d correspond.
Deborah, Jean's daughter, referred to Jean’s Sequoias/ASC/AAHSA years as “Act Three” of Jean’s life. What a concept! In the latter days of Act Three, Jean taught us one of the most valuable lessons that can be taught: How to recognize the near end of life and how to accept the inevitability of it.
After steady deterioration of body, Jean asked to be part of “Comfort Care” status. She had “…long been an advocate of compassionate choices related to end-of-life care,” wrote Deborah. Jean “graciously accepts the path she has chosen.”
O, death, where is thy sting?
Deborah asked Jean what message she wanted us to receive from her. Teacher and purveyor of wisdom to the very end, Jean replied, “Tell them that I’ve had a good, good life and that I am grateful for the role each of them has played in that life. No regrets!”
Jean Wright‘s life, dying, and death are the real story of aging in a healthy way. She lived fully until she died. She trusted in the grace of it all.
She reminded us that our mission together is about the people we serve, and that, like the Sequoias obviously knows, you and I are in the “No regrets” business during the “Act Three” of people’s lives.
People like Jean give all of us confidence about the life cycle. We trusted her. We can trust beyond ourselves. Even Bear, my mistrusting dog, sensed it. Jean, we already miss you!
Let’s celebrate people like Jean in May.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Catholic Sisters: Strong, courageous, nurturing compassion
© Imelda Maurer, cdp March 23, 2010
On September 10, 1950 our family was on our way to 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. Within blocks of church a woman ran a red light and hit us broadside. My younger sister and oldest sister sustained serious injuries which resulted in a week’s stay in the hospital for each of them. My oldest sister was knocked unconscious and was also bleeding profusely from the neck. My mother feared an artery had been severed and applied pressure at the laceration – not taking time to remove her Sunday gloves.
After the ambulance arrived and the paramedics had provided emergency First Aid, my mother, of course, accompanied my sisters in the ambulance to the hospital. Mother told the ambulance driver to take her to St. Paul’s Hospital. This request came from my mother’s deep love for the Church and her trust that the Sisters in a Catholic hospital would provide the best physical and spiritual care possible. The ambulance driver told her that St. Paul's Emergency Room was not open on Sunday; he was going to the county hospital. My mother’s response to this was to beat on his shoulder – bloodied gloves ---- and tell him: "You take me to St. Paul’s. The Sisters will let me in.”
The driver pulled up to the front entrance of St. Paul’s hospital. This was well before 8:00 on a Sunday morning. My mother dashed to the staired front entrance leading to the administrative offices. She had gone no more than two or three steps when she saw a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul rushing toward her down the steps. arms open and embracing her when they met. Sister’s response to my mother’s reporting that she was told the Emergency Room was not open on Sunday was, “Of course we’re here for you.”
No matter how many times I remember that story, it is still a very emotional experience for me: recalling my mother’s unquestioning trust in and love for everything connected with the Church, and the human, immediate, effective compassion that wonderful Daughter of Charity showed my mother. (How many hospital administrators are in their office at 8:00 on a Sunday morning?) The story is true in fact and deeply symbolic of the commitment and compassion Sisters have shown those in need throughout our more than 200 years in this country. Sisters nurtured the orphans, taught poor immigrant children, nursed soldiers from the North and the South during the Civil War. All this was often done without pay and at times under oppressive conditions within the hierarchical Catholic Church Institution. Sisters marched in Selma. Sisters have worked for women’s rights. Today Sisters are found beyond the hospital and classroom, though there too. Sisters are answering unmet needs – in metropolitan areas, in hamlets and in inner cities – needs that would continue to go unmet without the involvement of Sisters.
Most recently Sisters acted with strong, courageous, nurturing compassion, this time publicly and corporately. Prominent women religious leaders concluded after a careful study of the pending health care bill that “the reform law does not allow federal funding of abortion and that it keeps in place important conscience protections for caregivers and institutions alike. We are also pleased that the bill includes $250 million to fund counseling, education, job training and housing for vulnerable women who are pregnant or parenting.” (Sister Carol Keehan, CEO of CHA)
On March 15, Sister Carol Keehan, A Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and CEO of the Catholic Health Association issued a statement of support for the pending health care bill. The statement reflected that the bill goes beyond the requirements of the Hyde amendment and said “the time is now for health reform.”
Two days later, Network, (www.networklobby.org) a national Catholic Social Justice Lobby, sent a letter to every member of the House of Representatives saying: “We write to urge you to cast a life-affirming yes vote when the Senate health care bill (H.R. 3590) comes to the floor of the House for a vote.” The letter was signed by Sister Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA, President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. That organization represents 95% of Catholic Sisters in our country. Sister Marlene signed a second time as President of her Congregation, along with more than 50 other Sisters in various capacities of elected leadership within their congregations. I have every certainty that many more congregations would have been represented in that letter had it not been for the necessity of a very close deadline.
In these public actions, I believe, Catholic Sisters were caring in ways we have cared since our beginnings in this country. In the words of Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, “They care for the least, the last and the lost.”
This public, corporate stance for those most marginalized in our society is a source of great pride for me. This is “us” at our best! Strong, nurturing, courageous, passionate! What a gift to be within this circle of women!
On September 10, 1950 our family was on our way to 7:30 a.m. Sunday Mass. Within blocks of church a woman ran a red light and hit us broadside. My younger sister and oldest sister sustained serious injuries which resulted in a week’s stay in the hospital for each of them. My oldest sister was knocked unconscious and was also bleeding profusely from the neck. My mother feared an artery had been severed and applied pressure at the laceration – not taking time to remove her Sunday gloves.
After the ambulance arrived and the paramedics had provided emergency First Aid, my mother, of course, accompanied my sisters in the ambulance to the hospital. Mother told the ambulance driver to take her to St. Paul’s Hospital. This request came from my mother’s deep love for the Church and her trust that the Sisters in a Catholic hospital would provide the best physical and spiritual care possible. The ambulance driver told her that St. Paul's Emergency Room was not open on Sunday; he was going to the county hospital. My mother’s response to this was to beat on his shoulder – bloodied gloves ---- and tell him: "You take me to St. Paul’s. The Sisters will let me in.”
The driver pulled up to the front entrance of St. Paul’s hospital. This was well before 8:00 on a Sunday morning. My mother dashed to the staired front entrance leading to the administrative offices. She had gone no more than two or three steps when she saw a Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul rushing toward her down the steps. arms open and embracing her when they met. Sister’s response to my mother’s reporting that she was told the Emergency Room was not open on Sunday was, “Of course we’re here for you.”
No matter how many times I remember that story, it is still a very emotional experience for me: recalling my mother’s unquestioning trust in and love for everything connected with the Church, and the human, immediate, effective compassion that wonderful Daughter of Charity showed my mother. (How many hospital administrators are in their office at 8:00 on a Sunday morning?) The story is true in fact and deeply symbolic of the commitment and compassion Sisters have shown those in need throughout our more than 200 years in this country. Sisters nurtured the orphans, taught poor immigrant children, nursed soldiers from the North and the South during the Civil War. All this was often done without pay and at times under oppressive conditions within the hierarchical Catholic Church Institution. Sisters marched in Selma. Sisters have worked for women’s rights. Today Sisters are found beyond the hospital and classroom, though there too. Sisters are answering unmet needs – in metropolitan areas, in hamlets and in inner cities – needs that would continue to go unmet without the involvement of Sisters.
Most recently Sisters acted with strong, courageous, nurturing compassion, this time publicly and corporately. Prominent women religious leaders concluded after a careful study of the pending health care bill that “the reform law does not allow federal funding of abortion and that it keeps in place important conscience protections for caregivers and institutions alike. We are also pleased that the bill includes $250 million to fund counseling, education, job training and housing for vulnerable women who are pregnant or parenting.” (Sister Carol Keehan, CEO of CHA)
On March 15, Sister Carol Keehan, A Daughter of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and CEO of the Catholic Health Association issued a statement of support for the pending health care bill. The statement reflected that the bill goes beyond the requirements of the Hyde amendment and said “the time is now for health reform.”
Two days later, Network, (www.networklobby.org) a national Catholic Social Justice Lobby, sent a letter to every member of the House of Representatives saying: “We write to urge you to cast a life-affirming yes vote when the Senate health care bill (H.R. 3590) comes to the floor of the House for a vote.” The letter was signed by Sister Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA, President of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. That organization represents 95% of Catholic Sisters in our country. Sister Marlene signed a second time as President of her Congregation, along with more than 50 other Sisters in various capacities of elected leadership within their congregations. I have every certainty that many more congregations would have been represented in that letter had it not been for the necessity of a very close deadline.
In these public actions, I believe, Catholic Sisters were caring in ways we have cared since our beginnings in this country. In the words of Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, “They care for the least, the last and the lost.”
This public, corporate stance for those most marginalized in our society is a source of great pride for me. This is “us” at our best! Strong, nurturing, courageous, passionate! What a gift to be within this circle of women!
Monday, January 25, 2010
"A story is difficult, if not impossible to read in an electronic medical record."
© Imelda Maurer, cdp January 25, 2010
Today's mail included the current issue of the publication, "Caring for the Ages." It is a journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Medical directors are physicians who, in addition to possibly attending some of the residents in a nursing home, are responsible for developing and implementing medical care policies and procedures that are based on current standards of practice. The Medical Director is also responsible, if requested by the nursing home, for supervising the care other physicians in the nursing home provide their residents to see that all medical care policies are implemented.
I was excited to see the debut of a column by Dr. Jerald Winakur and skipped quickly to that page. Dr. Winakur is a practicing geriatrician and a faculty member of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio,TX. About this time last year he published a remarkable, moving memoir, "Memory Lessons", in which he tells his life story through the narrative of his father's stages of dementia and finally death. Each chapter is a well-told story wrapped in his professional and humanitarian understanding of the aging process and his manner of honoring that process in each of his patients and in his dad.
In this column, Dr. Winakur relates his experiences as a practitioner in the context of stories. Each person, he relates, brings a story. The doctor's task is to listen to that story. Winakur has learned to ask a few questions, he says. He believes that the "forged ability to listen" is the 'art' of medicine. "By listening to our patients' stories, good doctors glean most of the information they need not only to treat ailing bodies but also to care for our fellow humans as unique beings. He continues, "It is not necessarily what patients tell me but what they don't tell me -- what I observe from years of being alert to nonverbal cues -- that is often even more important than words."
The intent of his initial column is to highlight the relational aspect of 'doctoring.' He chides those physicians who become "mere technicians" in our procedure-oriented world." Referring to the current health care 'debate,' Winakur pleads that people making public policy set in place policies that will provide reimbursement for both narrative and statistics. Otherwise, he says, "if the oft-tortured thread of a story is absent in the debate of policy makers . . . . our health care system will be sterile, unresponsive, bureaucratic, inflexible and undignified for patient and practitioner alike."
While reading this column, I was again reminded of how fortunate Dr. Winakur's patients are to have him as their primary care provider. I have a few friends in San Antonio who fit that description, and not one of them expresses less than a huge, grateful smile when this relationship is mentioned.
I was also reminded of a recent telephone conversation with my sister who lives in another city. In response to a question about her health, she told me that she and my brother-in-law are just fine. "We've changed doctors." Their previous, doctor, in their estimation, had gotten to the point that "he thought he knew more about us then we did." In other words, this 'other doctor' didn't listen to their stories. He didn't honor their narratives. My response was totally supportive. "You go, girl!"
If your primary care provider isn't listening to your verbal and nonverbal messages, is too rushed to listen or to question, writes a prescription at the first mention of a symptom --- maybe a change should be in store in your future!
Today's mail included the current issue of the publication, "Caring for the Ages." It is a journal of the American Medical Directors Association. Medical directors are physicians who, in addition to possibly attending some of the residents in a nursing home, are responsible for developing and implementing medical care policies and procedures that are based on current standards of practice. The Medical Director is also responsible, if requested by the nursing home, for supervising the care other physicians in the nursing home provide their residents to see that all medical care policies are implemented.
I was excited to see the debut of a column by Dr. Jerald Winakur and skipped quickly to that page. Dr. Winakur is a practicing geriatrician and a faculty member of the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio,TX. About this time last year he published a remarkable, moving memoir, "Memory Lessons", in which he tells his life story through the narrative of his father's stages of dementia and finally death. Each chapter is a well-told story wrapped in his professional and humanitarian understanding of the aging process and his manner of honoring that process in each of his patients and in his dad.
In this column, Dr. Winakur relates his experiences as a practitioner in the context of stories. Each person, he relates, brings a story. The doctor's task is to listen to that story. Winakur has learned to ask a few questions, he says. He believes that the "forged ability to listen" is the 'art' of medicine. "By listening to our patients' stories, good doctors glean most of the information they need not only to treat ailing bodies but also to care for our fellow humans as unique beings. He continues, "It is not necessarily what patients tell me but what they don't tell me -- what I observe from years of being alert to nonverbal cues -- that is often even more important than words."
The intent of his initial column is to highlight the relational aspect of 'doctoring.' He chides those physicians who become "mere technicians" in our procedure-oriented world." Referring to the current health care 'debate,' Winakur pleads that people making public policy set in place policies that will provide reimbursement for both narrative and statistics. Otherwise, he says, "if the oft-tortured thread of a story is absent in the debate of policy makers . . . . our health care system will be sterile, unresponsive, bureaucratic, inflexible and undignified for patient and practitioner alike."
While reading this column, I was again reminded of how fortunate Dr. Winakur's patients are to have him as their primary care provider. I have a few friends in San Antonio who fit that description, and not one of them expresses less than a huge, grateful smile when this relationship is mentioned.
I was also reminded of a recent telephone conversation with my sister who lives in another city. In response to a question about her health, she told me that she and my brother-in-law are just fine. "We've changed doctors." Their previous, doctor, in their estimation, had gotten to the point that "he thought he knew more about us then we did." In other words, this 'other doctor' didn't listen to their stories. He didn't honor their narratives. My response was totally supportive. "You go, girl!"
If your primary care provider isn't listening to your verbal and nonverbal messages, is too rushed to listen or to question, writes a prescription at the first mention of a symptom --- maybe a change should be in store in your future!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Aging, Wisdom, Companioning, Spirituality
© Imelda Maurer, cdp October 8, 2009
Harry Moody publishes an e-newsletter on Human Values in Aging. His latest issue included poetry about aging.
The first poem is entitled “Alzheimer’s Patient.” Reading it we see some of the anguish of Alzheimer’s. We also see the call for those of us who know such individuals to companion them, to know that they are “ill and not insane.”
ALZHEIMER’S PATIENT
Oh, how can this be?
Harry Moody publishes an e-newsletter on Human Values in Aging. His latest issue included poetry about aging.
The first poem is entitled “Alzheimer’s Patient.” Reading it we see some of the anguish of Alzheimer’s. We also see the call for those of us who know such individuals to companion them, to know that they are “ill and not insane.”
ALZHEIMER’S PATIENT
Oh, how can this be?
You and I are losing me
Some day soon
May be morning
May be noon
I will no longer be the me
You and I know as me,
And the answer seems to be
Words, and thoughts, frequently scramble
And my conversations seem to ramble.
Oh, how can this be?
Oh, how can this be?
You and I are losing me.
What do I see when I look into your eyes?
And neighbors come just to pry?
Confusion, hurt, pity, and pain?
For I am ill and not insane.
Oh, how can this be?
Oh, how can this be?
You and I are losing me?
Oh, help me pray,
"Lord, please come to me and take me Home with you for all eternity.
"What can we do to keep from losing me?
"Nothing," say the experts.
Oh, how can this be?
Oh, how can this be?
You and I are losing me?
But in my confused and foggy state,
To You I plea,"Love me--Remember me--Help meTo be--
For as long as I can be
The me we know as me."
“The Journey” is a plea from the Alzheimer’s patient for ongoing recognition of his/her dignity and a plea that we identify them in terms of their strengths instead of their losses.
THE JOURNEY
My journey began as a child
I was told what to do"GO TO BED""DRINK YOUR MILK"
I was learning to maneuver my broad wings
Trying to soar over the world below
Dependent for my life
My journey continued through adult life
I as doing as I wanted to do
FLYING
FLYING
I was in control of my wings
Independent. Living my life.
Now my journey begins as an aged woman
I still feel I can do as I wish
But now you tell me what to do
"YOU NEED YOUR REST"
"DRINK YOUR FLUIDS"
My feathers are being plucked, slowly.
One by one
You limit my flight day by day.
Look upon me carefully
See me living
See my wings spread wider than ever before
Do not end my journey
It is not time
"I CAN FLY"
"I CAN FLY"
“Oak Tree" speaks so eloquently of the deep need for companionship, relationships, even among those who can no longer relate as they used to. At some deep, unarticulate-able level, this companioning tells them, with great joy, that they are not alone.
“Oak Tree" speaks so eloquently of the deep need for companionship, relationships, even among those who can no longer relate as they used to. At some deep, unarticulate-able level, this companioning tells them, with great joy, that they are not alone.
OAK TREE
I stand Alone
A strong Oak Tree
My Sturdy Limbs spread Wide
My leaves are Steadily Falling
A Child comes to Climb
Happiness
I am no longer Alone
Monday, September 28, 2009
What Nursing Home Residents Talk About With Their Therapists
© Imelda Maurer, cdp September 29, 2009
The following is taken from a blog: http://www.mybetternursinghome.blogspot.com/ and was posted on September 10, 2009. The blogger is a psychotherapist.
What struck me about these topics shared with a therapist is that these topics are the stuff of ordinary life. Do nursing home residents need a therapist because they have no one else to talk with? Is there any intent anywhere within the nursing home organizational structure to create community? Carter Catlett Williams, noted advocate and social worker, tells us in her book “The Red Book”: relationships are not only the heart of long-term care, they are the heart of life. And life ought to continue, wherever we live.
Directly from the article:
Have you ever wondered what nursing home residents discuss with their shrinks behind closed doors? Here I solve the mystery, revealing the types of conversations I've had with residents over the years.
-- Feelings about leaving home and being ill.
-- Issues around loss of control and being dependent on other people, with a focus on gaining control over what they can.
-- Ways to work with the staff to get their needs met.
-- Roommates, and how to cope with them.
-- The reaction of family members to their placement and illness, including ways to help adult children understand that Mom or Dad can't be there for them in the same way because Mom or Dad is sick and needs help themselves, and ways to help adult children understand that just because Mom or Dad is sick, it doesn't mean they can't go off campus every once in a while.
-- Issues around dying, including concerns about the afterlife and worries about how the family will get along without them.
-- Ways of making the most of the time they have left, including getting more involved in nursing home activities and the life of the nursing home community.
-- Their lives, choices, accomplishments, and regrets.
-- Stuff that interests them that they don't get to talk about with anyone else, just to be their regular selves again instead of being a patient.
Personal P.S.
Words reflect our concepts and form our concepts. In the case of this author, the use of the word "patient" to describe elders living in nursing homes. Defining a person as a patient, defines him/her solely in terms of physical illness or limitation. If physical needs are the only concerns being dealt with in a nursing home, it will be a dreadful experience for the resident and for the staff.
The following is taken from a blog: http://www.mybetternursinghome.blogspot.com/ and was posted on September 10, 2009. The blogger is a psychotherapist.
What struck me about these topics shared with a therapist is that these topics are the stuff of ordinary life. Do nursing home residents need a therapist because they have no one else to talk with? Is there any intent anywhere within the nursing home organizational structure to create community? Carter Catlett Williams, noted advocate and social worker, tells us in her book “The Red Book”: relationships are not only the heart of long-term care, they are the heart of life. And life ought to continue, wherever we live.
Directly from the article:
Have you ever wondered what nursing home residents discuss with their shrinks behind closed doors? Here I solve the mystery, revealing the types of conversations I've had with residents over the years.
-- Feelings about leaving home and being ill.
-- Issues around loss of control and being dependent on other people, with a focus on gaining control over what they can.
-- Ways to work with the staff to get their needs met.
-- Roommates, and how to cope with them.
-- The reaction of family members to their placement and illness, including ways to help adult children understand that Mom or Dad can't be there for them in the same way because Mom or Dad is sick and needs help themselves, and ways to help adult children understand that just because Mom or Dad is sick, it doesn't mean they can't go off campus every once in a while.
-- Issues around dying, including concerns about the afterlife and worries about how the family will get along without them.
-- Ways of making the most of the time they have left, including getting more involved in nursing home activities and the life of the nursing home community.
-- Their lives, choices, accomplishments, and regrets.
-- Stuff that interests them that they don't get to talk about with anyone else, just to be their regular selves again instead of being a patient.
Personal P.S.
Words reflect our concepts and form our concepts. In the case of this author, the use of the word "patient" to describe elders living in nursing homes. Defining a person as a patient, defines him/her solely in terms of physical illness or limitation. If physical needs are the only concerns being dealt with in a nursing home, it will be a dreadful experience for the resident and for the staff.
An analysis of the Five Star Nursing Home Rating System
© Imelda Maurer, cdp September 28, 2009
When a nursing home touts its five-star rating, it may mean something positive – or not. A five star rating may indicate that the nursing home really is a place where the residents are provided good holistic care, live in a home environment, experience person-centered care, make choices about significant issues in their day and in their care – when they get up and when they go to bed, when and how they are bathed, etc. -- and where staff are empowered and happy in their work.
That same five star rating may not reflect the reality of perhaps, institutionalization with its depersonalization of residents and staff, high turnover with its implications for continuity of good care, poor staff morale with implications for residents, etc.
The government website itself states the limitations of the rating system. (http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/static/tabHelp.asp?activeTab=6) noting that the information is for one point in time (snap shot ), that it is self-reported and that the Quality Measures and Quality Indicators measure only a few of the many aspects of care.
An article in today’s Los Angeles Times states, “Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created a website called Nursing Home Compare in 1998 . . . the site's usefulness has been criticized since its inception. “
The entire article can be read at: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nursing-homes28-2009sep28,0,5321203.story
Nationally, this article reports, 40% of persons over the age of 65 can expect to spend some time in a nursing home. Our own self-interest pushes us to learn more about these issues and to advocate for those living in nursing homes and --- for ourselves.
When a nursing home touts its five-star rating, it may mean something positive – or not. A five star rating may indicate that the nursing home really is a place where the residents are provided good holistic care, live in a home environment, experience person-centered care, make choices about significant issues in their day and in their care – when they get up and when they go to bed, when and how they are bathed, etc. -- and where staff are empowered and happy in their work.
That same five star rating may not reflect the reality of perhaps, institutionalization with its depersonalization of residents and staff, high turnover with its implications for continuity of good care, poor staff morale with implications for residents, etc.
The government website itself states the limitations of the rating system. (http://www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/static/tabHelp.asp?activeTab=6) noting that the information is for one point in time (snap shot ), that it is self-reported and that the Quality Measures and Quality Indicators measure only a few of the many aspects of care.
An article in today’s Los Angeles Times states, “Although the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services created a website called Nursing Home Compare in 1998 . . . the site's usefulness has been criticized since its inception. “
The entire article can be read at: http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-nursing-homes28-2009sep28,0,5321203.story
Nationally, this article reports, 40% of persons over the age of 65 can expect to spend some time in a nursing home. Our own self-interest pushes us to learn more about these issues and to advocate for those living in nursing homes and --- for ourselves.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Drugs and Dementia Care: Unnecessary, Ineffective and Costly
© Imelda Maurer, cdp September 25, 2009
Isn’t it amazing how often compassion and common sense aren’t validated until there is an official study or series of studies that address the issue involved.
Within the past year or so there has been one news report after another indicating the prevalence of nursing home residents with dementia being prescribed anti-psychotics. This exists in the face of Black Box Warnings by the FDA indicating that elderly residents with dementia are at an increased risk of death when certain anti-psychotics (Seroquel is a big one) are part of the drug regimen.
Recent Research
A study in Australia was reported in the September issue of Caring for the Ages. The residents in that study all had progressive dementia “with persistent behaviors that made it difficult for staff to care for them.” One group of caregivers was provided two-day training in person-centered care with dementia residents. The residents were tested with scientifically valid check lists to indicate their level of agitation at the beginning of the study and then at four and at eight months after the beginning of the study.
Results
After four months, those residents with dementia receiving “usual care” showed an increase of agitation of almost 9 points on the scales that were used. By contrast, those residents who were cared for in the person-centered care model, showed a decrease of 9 points on the same agitation scale.
So there’s the scientific proof --- medical professionals refer to it as “evidence-based” approach to care –
Drugs prescribed for patients with dementia are not always unnecessary. But it is clear that reaching for a prescription pad the moment a symptom is noted is not good medicine even though it is a prevalent practice in too many nursing homes. Dr. Al Power is a geriatrician and certified medical director who practiced at St. John’s Home in Rochester, NY. He has a book that will be published in the early part of 2010 on this very topic of non-pharmacological approach to dementia care. In his own nursing home practice, Dr. Power told me, an average of 6% of his dementia patients at St. John’s were on anti-psychotics. That’s a wonderful contrast to the national average among nursing home residents with dementia of 28%
The call to liberate our elders
When this evidence-based, person-centered approach is used, these elderly residents have been set free from the shackles of unnecessary drugs. Let the work go on!
Isn’t it amazing how often compassion and common sense aren’t validated until there is an official study or series of studies that address the issue involved.
Within the past year or so there has been one news report after another indicating the prevalence of nursing home residents with dementia being prescribed anti-psychotics. This exists in the face of Black Box Warnings by the FDA indicating that elderly residents with dementia are at an increased risk of death when certain anti-psychotics (Seroquel is a big one) are part of the drug regimen.
Recent Research
A study in Australia was reported in the September issue of Caring for the Ages. The residents in that study all had progressive dementia “with persistent behaviors that made it difficult for staff to care for them.” One group of caregivers was provided two-day training in person-centered care with dementia residents. The residents were tested with scientifically valid check lists to indicate their level of agitation at the beginning of the study and then at four and at eight months after the beginning of the study.
Results
After four months, those residents with dementia receiving “usual care” showed an increase of agitation of almost 9 points on the scales that were used. By contrast, those residents who were cared for in the person-centered care model, showed a decrease of 9 points on the same agitation scale.
So there’s the scientific proof --- medical professionals refer to it as “evidence-based” approach to care –
Drugs prescribed for patients with dementia are not always unnecessary. But it is clear that reaching for a prescription pad the moment a symptom is noted is not good medicine even though it is a prevalent practice in too many nursing homes. Dr. Al Power is a geriatrician and certified medical director who practiced at St. John’s Home in Rochester, NY. He has a book that will be published in the early part of 2010 on this very topic of non-pharmacological approach to dementia care. In his own nursing home practice, Dr. Power told me, an average of 6% of his dementia patients at St. John’s were on anti-psychotics. That’s a wonderful contrast to the national average among nursing home residents with dementia of 28%
The call to liberate our elders
When this evidence-based, person-centered approach is used, these elderly residents have been set free from the shackles of unnecessary drugs. Let the work go on!
Monday, August 10, 2009
News from the Front: Culture Change in Action
© Imelda Maurer, cdp August 10, 2009
ilmcdp@yahoo.com
My work day started on a great note and I want to provide you the same delight.
Across the country Coalitions on Culture Change are deepening and broadening the involvement of nursing homes in transformational culture change within their State. The link I’m sharing this morning is from the Louisiana Coalition Newsletter, Leader.
KaraLe Causey, President of LEADER (Louisiana Enhancing Aging with Dignity Through Empowerment and Respect) writes on page 1 about the place and importance of choice in her life and how this translates to elders in long-term care settings. You will find the article stimulating and motivating. KaraLe would be as great a novelist as she is administrator. You'll enjoy the article!
On page 2, a Certified Medical Director writes about meaningful and effective activities with residents with dementia.
Page 3 includes descriptions of how some nursing home communities honor the death and dying experience of a resident and the resident’s family by particular practices and rituals. One ritual noted includes leaving a single rose on the bed for 24 hours following the death of a resident. How touching that is, in contrast to the traditional, institutional model in which the bed and room are stripped as soon as the body is removed.
Full disclosure: I have been gifted to know KaraLe since August, 2005 when I volunteered time in her nursing home following Katrina. KaraLe opened a vacant wing at Haven Nursing Center to receive 44 residents from a nursing home in New Orleans. Many of these residents lived at Haven for three or more months before they were able to return to their nursing home in New Orleans.
Thanks, KaraLe, for the wonderful work you and the Louisiana Coalition are doing! See you soon at the Pioneer Network Conference!
Here’s the link. Enjoy!
http://laculturechangecoalition.org/userfiles/Newsletters/2009%20August.pdf
ilmcdp@yahoo.com
My work day started on a great note and I want to provide you the same delight.
Across the country Coalitions on Culture Change are deepening and broadening the involvement of nursing homes in transformational culture change within their State. The link I’m sharing this morning is from the Louisiana Coalition Newsletter, Leader.
KaraLe Causey, President of LEADER (Louisiana Enhancing Aging with Dignity Through Empowerment and Respect) writes on page 1 about the place and importance of choice in her life and how this translates to elders in long-term care settings. You will find the article stimulating and motivating. KaraLe would be as great a novelist as she is administrator. You'll enjoy the article!
On page 2, a Certified Medical Director writes about meaningful and effective activities with residents with dementia.
Page 3 includes descriptions of how some nursing home communities honor the death and dying experience of a resident and the resident’s family by particular practices and rituals. One ritual noted includes leaving a single rose on the bed for 24 hours following the death of a resident. How touching that is, in contrast to the traditional, institutional model in which the bed and room are stripped as soon as the body is removed.
Full disclosure: I have been gifted to know KaraLe since August, 2005 when I volunteered time in her nursing home following Katrina. KaraLe opened a vacant wing at Haven Nursing Center to receive 44 residents from a nursing home in New Orleans. Many of these residents lived at Haven for three or more months before they were able to return to their nursing home in New Orleans.
Thanks, KaraLe, for the wonderful work you and the Louisiana Coalition are doing! See you soon at the Pioneer Network Conference!
Here’s the link. Enjoy!
http://laculturechangecoalition.org/userfiles/Newsletters/2009%20August.pdf
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
"I am richer being able to be with them and serve them."
© Imelda Maurer, cdp July 15, 2009
ilmcdp@yahoo.com
Yesterday I wrote to Sister Mary Lou Mitchell, President of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Rochester, NY regarding the July 9th article in The New York Times featuring their Sisters living in their retirement setting. Below is the response I received from Sister Mary Lou, printed here with her permission.
Dear Sr. Imelda,
Thanks for your note and the wonderful piece you did on your blog. This has truly been a humbling experience for me and for the Congregation. Health promotion across the life span and gerontology has been a passion of mine for many years and I am grateful that the community has allowed me to work on improving the quality of care for our elders. They are such wonderful beautiful women and I am richer being able to be with them and serve them in this fashion.
Let us pray that together we can continue to help our culture know that our elderly are a gift to us and not a burden.
In peace,
Mary Lou
Indeed, we are all and always gift to one another. That reality does not become invalid because of chronological age and/or frailty. All of us who are care-ers for others, through a formal workplace position or from the relationship of sisterhood or friendship can validate Sister Mary Lou’s experience of being “richer” because we are “able to be with them and serve them.”
To all those who, by your conscious and intentional actions, honor our aging members by your care and service – blessings to you. You are the joyfully visible sign of God’s Providential love for all of creation.
ilmcdp@yahoo.com
Yesterday I wrote to Sister Mary Lou Mitchell, President of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Rochester, NY regarding the July 9th article in The New York Times featuring their Sisters living in their retirement setting. Below is the response I received from Sister Mary Lou, printed here with her permission.
Dear Sr. Imelda,
Thanks for your note and the wonderful piece you did on your blog. This has truly been a humbling experience for me and for the Congregation. Health promotion across the life span and gerontology has been a passion of mine for many years and I am grateful that the community has allowed me to work on improving the quality of care for our elders. They are such wonderful beautiful women and I am richer being able to be with them and serve them in this fashion.
Let us pray that together we can continue to help our culture know that our elderly are a gift to us and not a burden.
In peace,
Mary Lou
Indeed, we are all and always gift to one another. That reality does not become invalid because of chronological age and/or frailty. All of us who are care-ers for others, through a formal workplace position or from the relationship of sisterhood or friendship can validate Sister Mary Lou’s experience of being “richer” because we are “able to be with them and serve them.”
To all those who, by your conscious and intentional actions, honor our aging members by your care and service – blessings to you. You are the joyfully visible sign of God’s Providential love for all of creation.
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