It all started with Justin Trudeau on May 27:
“I think right now, while we’re in this crisis, our responsibility is to respond to this crisis as best we can and to ensure that we’re improving, in the [COVID-19] context, care as best we can,” the prime minister said, adding the country “absolutely” needs to have “conversations about how we care for our elders” in the long-term.
Adrian Dix is our Provincial Minister of Health. After the problems in long term seniors care were revealed in Ontario and Quebec, Justin Trudeau said all provinces must start reviewing the procedures with seniors. You hear these promises, but they just get shoved on the back burner and become another promise in the next election.
Cec's first cousin, Donald, and best man at our wedding is now 89 years old. He had his leg amputated two years ago and has been in and out of hospital ever since. His 85 year old wife, Frances, wants him to stay at home. With the help of their son, Rodney and Home Health Care, he has been staying at home. They've given him a hospital bed, a lift, a wheel chair and everything thing he needs. The home care nurses come throughout the day.
Being a very bad diabetic, stabilizing his sugar has been a problem. He's on the needle and the home care people monitor and administer the correct amount of insulin. When his levels won't come down, he needs to go into hospital and be monitored 24 hours a day. I would say in the last couple of years this has happened over 20 times, probably more but no one counts. He stays in for a few days, it's not just a quick emergency visit.
On Friday morning they sent him to the hospital once more. His wife cannot go into the hospital to see him because of COVID-19. She rarely went in before as when he's in the hospital she gets some well deserved rest.
She got a call for the very first time from the hospital. Of course fearing it was bad news but no it wasn't. The voice said "my name is Brenda and I'm your husband's nurse". She told her everything they were doing, how he was doing and a complete update on his meds! She ended the call by saying "the Head Nurse's name and gave Frances her direct phone number". She can CALL AT ANY TIME. Even when he was in the hospital before, you were lucky if they ever spoke to her. Not because they were rude but because they were very busy!
I don't know what directives Adrian Dix has given the hospitals, but it was so relieving for Frances to talk to someone and even given a number to call back.
Thank you Adrian Dix and the medical community. You are doing an awesome job controlling COVID-19 in our province and the same time taking care of our very ill seniors!
