Common COVID-19 Memory Care Concerns
As the family member of a loved one who may benefit from our care, we understand the pandemic may have raised concerns about the safety of placing your loved one in a Memory Care Community at the current time.
To help you understand how care has evolved during this crisis, we have collected answers to the most commonly asked questions raised by family members when considering memory care during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Visitation
Q: Will lockdowns and safety protocols prevent me from being able to visit my loved one? How can I be sure the proper care is being delivered if I am unable to visit regularly?
A: Visitation is a priority to maintain residents’ quality of life, and steps are taken to encourage it however possible, be it by a video chat or in an arranged in-person visit. Physical visits follow strict physical distancing protocols as established by local and federal authorities. Our associates are dedicated to open communication in our care, and these focus has been redoubled during pandemic to allow loved ones to see that their family member is receiving the best care possible.
Guilt
Q: I feel like moving my loved one into a memory care facility during a pandemic is abandoning them or giving up on them.
A: The desire to care for a loved one is a noble and loving calling, but it’s important to realize that it may not be the best option for either your loved one with dementia or yourself… Preventing caregiver burnout, limiting dementia-exacerbating isolation and having access to life-enriching engagement programming, like Nexus at Silverado, an internationally recognized evidence-based brain health program which was validated by academic research that participants in Nexus at Silverado showed a statistically significant, 60% improvement in cognition when compared to those without such treatment. These are just a few reasons that choosing a care facility may be the greatest act of love you can choose for your loved one.
Fear of a Second Wave
Q: If a second wave of the virus hits, will the health risks increase for my loved one? Will your community go back on lockdown and my loved one become trapped?
A: During the first wave of COVID-19 no community had knowledge of effective treatments, PPE protocols or even access to testing. Silverado has been the leader innovating protocols to help protect memory care communities from the virus. Some of these innovations have included the utilization of KN95 medical grade masks and cohorting staff in segregated neighborhoods, which have had an extremely positive impact on the reduction of COVID exposure in our communities.
Cost
Q: I’m concerned about the uncertainties of the economy caused by the pandemic. Is this a good time to invest in long term care for my loved one?
A: No time is a good time for memory care, and dementia doesn’t follow anyone’s timeline. While the cost of care is a factor during the best of times, times of economic turmoil make this more uncertain. It’s important to consider, when choosing care options, what is gained from it – your loved one’s wellbeing, the expertise of care professionals, the lack of stress on family caregivers and more.
Isolation
Q: Will my loved one be isolated in a room in the community?
A: Social interaction is vital to good quality of life, and an irreplaceable part of our care. That in mind, we have taken thorough steps to augment safety protocols in a way that offsets additional risks of maintaining social interactions and programming in our communities. Experts have brought attention to social isolation as a risk factor for both physical and mental health conditions, including: heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diminished immune response, depression, anxiety and cognitive decline. In fact, Former Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy shared that “During my years caring for patients, the most common pathology I saw was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness.” Loneliness is a concern in most residential homes, Board & Care group homes and other senior living communities not equipped to effectively create a safe and engaging environment for residents with dementia during this pandemic.
Waiting for a Vaccine
Q: Should I wait for a COVID-19 vaccine before moving my loved one into a memory care?
A: While scientists around the globe are working tirelessly on a vaccine and some optimistic projections place a vaccine a few months away, it is far from a certain target. When you add to that the progression of dementia and how the proper care can affect quality of life, the benefits of care outweigh the uncertainty of a vaccine.
It is prudent to consider the possibility there won’t be an effective vaccine for years to come. In fact, there is still no vaccine available today for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic which infected over 60 million Americans – more than 10 times the COVID-19 infection rate. HIV is yet another example of a deadly virus where scientists have developed effective therapies without an available vaccine.
Silverado was founded on the idea of combining world class clinical oversight with the highest levels of compassionate care, which has allowed us to meet many of the pandemic’s challenges head-on and continue to fulfill our purpose of providing comfort and dignity to those with memory impairments. To hear more from Silverado leadership about care during COVID-19 please visit our podcasts & media page.
We invite you to fill out the form below or call a dementia care specialist today directly at your local Silverado Community so we can help you process your questions and concerns. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your continued support in allowing us to change more lives.
