A New Wave of Elder Care on the Horizon
Janice Cain administers Care-O-sel Child Care Inc. and is the Coordinator of Early Childhood services in Virden. She has spent her life advocating for nurturing, healthful environments for young children. The closest she ever came to a nursing home was during the holidays when the preschool children visited there for singing and sharing goodies. Her mother had a stroke in 2007 and she became her sole care giver requiring 24 hour a day care. She began to contemplate nurturing and healthful environments for elders.
Janice brought her mother to Illinois from San Diego. With Maya Angelou’s words in mind “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself”. She decided to provide care at home for her mother. One day, when she came home from a break in her busy schedule her mother pulled her close and said "I'M SO LONELY."
Her mother’s words haunted her. Her mother’s depression grew. As different care settings were explored it became obvious that institutional care was not the answer. There were many benefits from nursing care but at the same time many homelike elements were missing like plants, pets and children.
A simple idea began to grow: Older people will thrive in a nursing home if it's built to resemble living in one's own house. Others have tried to make existing nursing homes more homelike. Janice decided to make the nursing home concept over from scratch, the goal being to give residents more independence, a sense of community and more control over their lives.
The simple idea for fixing a problem has grown into a reality and indications are that it works. The four bedroom, small community, shared housing home was completed in January of this year. It is located in a rural neighborhood on Otter Lake in Girard. Many of the problems found in typical nursing and retirement homes were resolved along the way. Staff turnover, resident happiness, and the satisfaction of the residents' families do not seem to be a problem when community living is small scale.
One doctor that works with elders said "I believe that . . . every year, thousands and thousands of (older) people die of a broken heart. They die not so much because their organs fail, but because their grip on life has failed." Elders need to gently reconnect with community, family, peers and nature. In so doing they connect with life.
Small community assisted living is homelike because the home is located in a neighborhood with children, pets, neighbors and community life. There is a rhythm in neighborhood life that has to do with the school bus going by, the mail man coming, the gardener stopping to chat, weather and seasonal changes. This rhythm is engaging. The neighborhood community home offers companionship and independence in a safe, caring environment.
The small community home allows staff time to enjoy their profession with fewer residents to care for. They are able to help elders seek peace, joy, dignity, independence and a deep sense of wellbeing to face the future with meaning and purpose. Rates are lower because there is less overhead. Activities are determined by the individual resident’s interests and skills and are therefore more meaningful.
Joy Englander in her new book Joy in the Elder Years says “A new wave of eldercare is on the horizon. As we lovingly guide our elders toward inner growth and healing, we help them embrace their lives as a blossoming flower in which to complete and round out the circle of years they have lived.” This is good news for us all!
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Janice Cain at 217-627-3093.
