Last week, about twenty residents of a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Greeley, Colorado, held a protest against Covid restrictions on the sidewalks outside their facility.  Their hand-made signs said things like, “Rather die of Covid than loneliness”, and “where are our rights as residents?”.

The Governor of Colorado’s statement following this protest was “We absolutely understand how difficult it has been for residents of residential care facilities and their families. Social interaction is essential to physical and mental health, and so we have provided guidance to residential care facilities that allows for that interaction while also keeping residents safe from COVID-19. Restrictions have been in place previously, but residents are now able to visit loved ones both indoors and outdoors. In addition, we are doing everything possible to help long-term care facilities mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 by working directly with facilities on proper infection control practices that have been proven to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

But the guidelines laid out by the Governor’s office and the state and county health departments continue to prevent families from really being with their loved ones in facilities.  The guidelines, from which care facilities are making their Covid visitation policies, are preventing folks in care facilities from having the kind of care they want (and need) the most.  Yes, a visit with masks on and socially distanced is better than nothing, but it’s clearly not enough when we continue to see the realities of families watching (through a window visit for those in skilled nursing facilities) their loves ones rapidly and painfully decline.

My observation is that the meaning of life changes dramatically as people move into the season of elderhood.  It becomes a time where the meaning of life has far more to do with what touches the heart than what requires the use of a physical self.  The meaning of life becomes about people, and connection, and music that brings back memories, church where they connect with their God to a deeper level than ever, a season of reflection and pondering.  Even deep into the dementia journey, the intuitive self becomes keenly aware of, and responsive to, the world around them.

So, should we take a step back, and first consider the meaning of life for folks who are older?  Should we hear more from them about their wishes and their reasons why they would take bold steps to stage a peaceful protest against Covid restrictions?  Shall we consider meaning of life versus quantity of days lived?  Shall we take a hard look at what we are protecting when we restrict visitation; are we protecting life or are we protecting liability and reputation?  

It seems the Weld County Board of Commissioners (Greeley, Colorado is in Weld County, Colorado) have said it well when they declared October as “Long-Term Care Residents Rights Month”.  They stated, “When people move into long-term care facilities, they retain their human and civil rights also known as residents’ rights. The federal Nursing Home Reform Law guarantees residents’ rights and requires nursing homes to care for residents in a fashion that promotes and enhances the quality of life for each resident while ensuring dignity, choice, and self-determination”.

There is nothing in this statement above that refers to providing care with the goal of maximizing days of life.

So maybe in our haste to physically protect folks from dying of Covid, we are instead allowing folks to die from lack of meaning in life?  

The issue is complex, to be sure, but with the increasingly narrow experience of life for folks living in facilities, it might not really be that complex.  They wish to touch their loved ones and laugh with them and cry with them and be well with them.  

Surely with all of our knowledge and ingenuity, we can quickly come up with creative and safe ways for that to happen.  We have, after all, made major and expensive adjustments to entire healthcare systems in response to Covid.  Surely, we can make adjustments to allow for the kind of visitation that gives seniors in facilities and their families the kind of visitation they need.  We owe it to them to find solutions…very soon.  

Increasingly concerned, and full of ideas that just might work,

Jill

©Jill Couch