Living in a residence during the pandemic

We’re now into the second year of the new COVID era. The year 2020 was a long one, spent learning about this new virus, which has become part of our global reality, and trying to control it. Marked by restrictions and loss, 2020 taught us how important community life and human contact are for optimal mental and physical health—especially when it comes to seniors and vulnerable people. The older we get, the harder it is to maintain this balance. Loneliness and a loss of routines can easily send us on a downward spiral that is hard to recover from. This is called deconditioning, which can quickly lead to a loss of functional autonomy. Simple daily tasks like washing, walking, cleaning and preparing meals can become very difficult or even impossible.

Many people delayed moving into a residence last year. The lockdown and telework meant that some families were able to adapt and kindly have their parents stay with them. In some cases, things went well. But in others, this decision was catastrophic and resulted in a hospitalization—something we really want to avoid, especially now. This is why it’s important to make the right decisions at the right time.

I understand why those families made that decision when the pandemic hit. It was total chaos and we knew nothing about the virus.

I would have done the same thing.

But now that measures have been put in place and we know more about how to protect ourselves, it’s often better to go ahead and not give in to fear. I’m more concerned about isolation among seniors, together with lack of help, attention and care, than the risk of living in a residence, especially since CLSCs often have to step in and help seniors at home. So what’s the difference in risk? I’m really not sure.

But I think there’s a clear benefit to living in a private residence. Seniors are safer and have more contact with others. And friends and family get peace of mind. Families can take comfort in seeing a parent be given lots of support, washed, looked after, provided three meals a day and given their medication at the right time, in a clean and tidy environment.

If the vaccination campaign could speed up a little, that would help too!

Let’s stay hopeful.

Nellie Létourneau, Private Residence Advisor Montréal, is a private residence specialist working mostly in north-central Montréal.