Greatest Generation 2020

The Greatest Generation is now in their 80s, 90s and even over one hundred. They are forged into our collective American consciousness. Their grit, bravery, and compassion during the Great Depression and then World War II made them our heroes. They would not have imagined today, in 2020 that they would be called upon again to face a national (Global, actually) emergency. They are not the footsoldiers of this challenge but depend on the rest of us to persevere our privileged way of life. This is our time to be the Greatest Generation moving forward.

Caring for Them

Working in-home care we are honored to assist this generation, their family and many others. We help people through illness, disease, post-surgery and with respite for primary caregivers. Clients are predominantly seniors with many in their eighties and nineties. Beyond remaining safe and independent the social aspect of home care is now very important.

It is so important to use a licensed company now so you have back-up and recourse.  Check that they follow CDC Guidelines. Consider the importance of having someone look in on your family members. Beyond doing the shopping, caregivers will spend some time with them and even share a meal. During the COVID-19 outbreak, many folks are socially isolated. Their card games, senior centers, religious organizations, classes, etc. are most now canceled or closed.

Many seniors do not use social media or apps. So they do not share in Facetime, Messenger, Skype, Zoom or other visual technology to see friends and family. This can exacerbate loneliness. Therefore, keeping in touch with loved ones, sending packages and the like are good ways to stay connected. Primary caregivers need extra attention as they are not able to get the breaks or time away they had pre-virus.  Read, do puzzles, garden, take walks, go through files, scrapbook, clean, write your memoir, anything really you can think of to keep the mind focused on something other than the current bad news.

It is hard to be at home day after day. It is more so if you are single or live alone. Make the extra phone call. An idea is if you can, do a multiple person call so that if your parent doesn’t talk much, they will hear the conversation between the others. This decreases depression and helps keep everyone in contact.