I read with great interest the letter regarding the isolation of residents in long-term care facilities. I am a nurse in a facility caring for the elderly, and the pandemic has been devastating for our elderly population and also for the entire population of this country. To say our residents have been isolated is true in the sense of protecting their health. This was not a decision made by the facility.
To use the word imprisonment is harsh and not at all realistic.This is not a prison. You made the choice to put your loved ones in our care. And care is what we are provIding every single day under conditions the likes of which I have never seen in my 40-year career. We have all been isolated. We were mandated by the powers that be to take these drastic measures to protect everyone from becoming ill and dying. The unfortunate consequence of this has been a lack of socialization and with some, a decline in their cognition and functional status.Underlying conditions made this impossible to avoid in some.
The staff have gone out of its way to do what they can to keep the residents engaged. They help them keep in touch with their loved ones by phone, Skpe and even visits through the windows.
Far from the ideal, we know, but the best we have for now. When this pandemic hit, nothing was allowed to enter the building to contain the spread from the outside.
We are now allowing food and gifts to be delivered. It does help some. There is not one person living today who has not been affected by this dreadful disease in some way. Definitely some more than others. We don’t know when this will end.
I pray every day for the strength to work one more day and for my residents whom I care for deeply and their families. We need not pin blame on others for things we have no control over.
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