Despite tightened visitation restrictions across the board over the last year, many senior citizens reported deeper connections with loved ones according a recent study by Home Instead Senior Care.
Home Instead, which has an Owensboro office but is based in Omaha, Neb., — is an in-home care provider.
According to their study, 29% of senior citizens are feeling deeper family connections, while 72% are excited about new technologies they’ve learned to use that they hope to continuously utilize going forward.
Home Instead’s Owensboro office also provides care to seniors in Henderson, Madisonville, and the surrounding western Kentucky areas. The company provides an alternative solution to assisted-living facilities.
Owner Stephen Bryson says that the mission of the organization is to provide personalized care, support, and education to help enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Those services help seniors with tasks such as medication management, personal care, meal preparation, and cleaning. These services enable seniors to remain safely in their homes with greater independence.
Bryson, a Glasgow native and University of Kentucky graduate, opened the Owensboro branch of the international business in 2010. He said his relationship with his grandmother played a huge role in creating quality personal care for the elderly.
“The last year has helped shape the plans many older adults have for their future,” Bryson said. “We already knew an overwhelming majority of seniors prefer to live in their home as they age, but now they are even more committed to staying home than they were a year ago. It is a safe, comfortable environment where they have more control over their life. I want seniors to know that they truly have a choice and facility placement is not their only option.”
The results of this alternative form of senior care are reflected in the relationship between Paul Brooks and his mother Wanda. Through Home Instead, Wanda is provided with round-the-clock, 24-hour care in the comfort and safety of her own home. Though Paul — a Daviess County graduate and current resident of West Chester, Pennsylvania — has not been able to visit his mother in over a year, he has kept in regular contact with her through phone calls and video interaction.
Additionally, the nurses providing care for Wanda have been able to ensure she receives proper medications and treatments while reporting changes back to her son.
“Home Instead has allowed my mother to maintain much more independence than she otherwise would have been able to experience,” Brooks said. “My mother’s caregivers from Home Instead treat my mother like family. This gives a lot of comfort to me and the rest of mom’s family.”
Bryson says the goal for the Owensboro branch is to do the same for local seniors citizens. As the pandemic continues, Bryson said it is important to know that, at least for seniors, it is possible to find a few silver linings in the struggle.
