What Are Senior Homes and How Do They Work?

Everybody knows that senior homes are meant for the elderly that need a place to live in when no one can take care of them, but it is more than that.

Maria Victoria Martinez works at Multigenerational Generational Housing and Community Centre, a senior home facility located in Skyview, Calgary. Her job is to make sure the elderly are safe and have all their needs, she also serves food for them, clean their rooms, talk to them.

The seniors living there have a specific time to do certain things like watch television, eat, have visitors, do activities, etc. They are not allowed to go out unless they are accompanied by someone that will take good care of them and they also have a particular schedule to do it, but because of the pandemic, the rules of going out remain strict.

Visitors, as well as employees, are not allowed in the facility unless they wear their masks, gowns, and shields to not only protect the people in the facility from COVID but to also protect themselves. In order for the people in the facility to have visitors, they have to schedule a time to do it so that the number of people maintains the way it is supposed to be.

Martinez explained that sometimes it can be difficult for them to follow the rules because some of them do not like to be there and they get stressed because sometimes they are not able to see their families especially now during COVID. “They can’t see their family, so they get frustrated and some of them are hard to deal with, but once you establish a conversation with them and try to get to know them, they can be quite sympathetic.”

Measuring the food before serving it to the seniors is important, they have to make sure the food isn’t too cold nor too warm, the temperature has to be in between for them to eat. A lot of the people in the facility are from India, so there are two food menus, one is for the Indian seniors which they prefer their food prepared a certain way, for example; spicy, and the other menu is meant for the rest of the seniors.

The employees have to follow the protocol of not speaking to the seniors while being on their break, they have to be outside of their rooms and not have any personal contact with them, otherwise, they have to be working “if they ask you a question during your break, you’re immediately obligated to answer because you are stealing the workplace, but if some else besides what has to do with your works, then you can’t talk to them,” Martinez stated.

The facility has a HCA (Healthcare Aide) with nurses to take care of them when they get sick or need some type of medical attention, some of them need oxygen tanks and the nurses are there to help them with them, but if they need a doctor, normally the doctor personally shows up or they go directly to the hospital but only when it is strictly necessary. The elderly are not allowed to go to any medical clinic nor hospital when their case is not urgent, especially now during the pandemic.

COVID-19 has affected the seniors living in the facility because they are not able to see their families as often as they would prefer and they are not allowed to go out as much as they used to, “sometimes it feels like chaos because they have to stay in their rooms, which means less patience, but we have to keep it professional so we try,” Martinez added.