This is a question that haunts so many in the COVID-19 world in which we live.  Facilities can keep you safe physically, but may not be able to meet your Mom’s relational needs.  The isolation that may keep a loved one safe can jeopardize their emotional health.

Recently, the daughter of a man with dementia who resided in a facility told me that,

“...in the State of Maryland, an inmate in a Maryland prison spends more time outside than a resident in a nursing home.” 

We have seen heart-wrenching stories of seniors locked inside an assisted living facility to keep them safe while depression caused from isolation slowly strangles the life from them.

In a Baltimore Sun article on May 29 of this year, a man named Van Beall struggled with this same decision.  The article by Mary Carole McCauley details the struggle.

Beall’s greatest worry wasn’t that [his wife] Brooks would catch the virus.

“That was very, very low on my list of things to consider because the nursing home was so cautious,” he said. “But when she went back into the facility, she would be quarantined. It might be three months before I could see her again."

He feared the separation might cause Brooks’ fragile mental state to deteriorate....[1]

(Van Beall cares for his wife, Dr. Willa Brooks, who has Alzheimer's, at their home in Ellicott City. She was placed in a memory care facility but it didn't work out for her. (Barbara Haddock Taylor / Baltimore Sun)

Facilities are doing all they can to protect their residents.  However, some experts have speculated that depression will kill more facility residents that COVID-19 because of the isolation.

These are life-changing and unimaginable decisions for families.  There is no easy answer.

Home care does have options.  In a home care setting, the family can decide on the protocols of safety for an aging relative.  If a family desires to keep in-person contact going, despite the ravages of COVID-19 in the area, safe and effective measures can be implemented in a home setting.

Home Care aides can wear masks and gloves while caring for an aging relative.  Aides can be tested and maintain safe practices, even while outside the client’s home.  Other family members can also maintain safety precautions and enter the home with appropriate safety precautions to spend time with their loved ones.

Home care can allow families to stay together and to continue to see each other.  Because a home environment allows far more control over outside contacts and allows a measure of control over the environment, families can exercise control over the care of their loved ones.

Given the soaring cost of care, home care is also an affordable option as compared to the risks and costs of a facility.

At ACCfamily, we are passionate about allowing families to control the care of their loved ones.  If you are concerned about your options, feel free to call us at 1-877-549-7894 to have a nurse come to your home (at no cost) to learn more.

[1] McCauley, Mary Carole. “’What’s best for Willa?’ Maryland Families Agonize Over Nursing Home Decisions During Coronavirus Pandemic.” (Baltimore Sun, May 29,2020).