Ban on visiting the retirement home, hooded consolation in protective clothing: Caring for the elderly and the seriously ill in the corona crisis is a major challenge.
Landkreis – The Corona crisis poses great challenges for everyone and creates immense psychological stress. The elderly suffer especially from it.
When asked what the mood was like in the home, Georg Edenhofer, head of the Heiliggeist Abbey at the city park in Erding, frankly says: “Relatively bad.” The corona crisis is nerve-wracking for both the care staff and the residents. "It can't be left without a trace."
Contact with relatives is sorely missed. They would have given help, for example to motivate the old people to eat and to keep them company. Nevertheless, the insulation is "very important" to protect the residents as a high-risk group. They are very happy that the Holy Spirit pen is corona-free and do everything they can to keep it that way.
Relatives: contact in front of the window
150 people are looked after and cared for in the monastery. From the heart, Edenhofer would welcome loosening, but the central question is the worrying question: "Are we going to bring Corona into the house?" The Heiliggeist Abbey is probably one of the few houses that still keep the dining room open so that at least some of the elderly can continue to eat together, in compliance with safety regulations and distance regulations.
Individual employment is the order of the day. "The care assistants do their utmost," says Edenhofer. One is also very grateful for encouraging offers such as penpals with young people through schools. In the meantime, relatives would sit down with their folding chair in front of the house to keep in touch with their loved ones at the window and to communicate by shouting. With this touching picture, he "got wet eyes," says Edenhofer.
All rooms in the abbey are provided with balconies. That's why the idea was born to please the residents with a small square concert by the city chapel - only three or four songs that would have been played in front of and behind the house, says Edenhofer. Unfortunately, the home office regrets that this was not approved by the regulatory office. It was feared that people would be attracted from outside and groups could form.
Edenhofer hopes that the corona crisis will soon be over. A glass container with a partition and a telephone for safe contact between the elderly and their relatives is a conceivable model if the exceptional situation lasts longer. There is already something like this in some homes across the region. One has to see that “our residents do not suffer too much damage to the soul,” emphasizes Edenhofer.
For a 47-year-old district citizen and her 87-year-old mother with dementia, who has been in a home for two years, the corona crisis is an emotionally very difficult time. The pain of separation and the worry of whether her mother can cope with the contact block unscathed cause grief. You can not only die from Corona, but also "broken heart", says the daughter.
In front of Corona, she visited her mother every week in the home, brought cakes, had coffee with her, helped with the care and went for walks in the local area with the old lady. When talking about childhood, the mother's memory returned. "It really blossomed," says the daughter.
This intensive donation is currently not possible. Her mother couldn't really understand the situation. Since the elderly woman recently also had a serious fall, she has been in a wheelchair and is pushed to the window by the nursing staff when the daughter visits her. "I am already satisfied when I can see the mom through window contact," says the 47-year-old. It was particularly painful that the mother had to be in quarantine for 14 days after her hospital stay in the home, even though she had been negative twice.
Many sad faces
For the most part, the nursing staff are sensitive and caring. There are also nice offers for the elderly. But the 47-year-old has also experienced something else. When she asked a nurse to give the mother a vitamin supplement to keep her healthy, the man asked, "Do you really want your mother to live to be 200?" It was very hurtful.
Of course, she doesn't want to be a potential virus carrier and also understand that the residents have to be protected by the isolation, the daughter assures. But one thing is an unbearable idea for her: "I don't want to be able to hug my mother only when she is dying because it is allowed."
Barbara Huber from the palliative care team in Erding reports that “sad and lost faces” can be seen in the old people's homes. The longing for the relatives is a great pain.
The Palliativ Team currently looks after around 50 people, most of them in their own four walls, some in retirement homes. Younger patients with a serious illness were also afraid of isolation and, during a hospital stay, urged them to come home quickly so that they could spend a lot of time with the family.
High stress for the palliative team Erding
In corona times, the clinics would also discharge palliative care patients faster or not at all. This poses new challenges for home care. "A lot of work is done differently," says Huber. The nursing care and “comforting attention” are done in gloves, overalls and face masks. Touches to help people in difficult hours have become difficult. Wherever possible, care is provided over the phone and the number of home visits reduced in order to protect the patients and the team. The 24-hour emergency number is an important anchor. Every patient still has the insurance: "Somebody will come if I feel bad."
For retirement homes, Huber would like at least one relative with protective clothing to be able to visit regularly. There is "a lot of despair and tears" in the elderly. The palliative team itself is currently also unable to meet for direct exchange. You communicate via video conferences.
The managing director of the palliative team, Monika Vogt, refers to the high stress that the nursing staff have to deal with. Respect and recognition would have to be increasingly reflected in the payment and care concepts. “We are working to make remuneration appropriate. We pay attention to our employees. ”(VRONI VOGEL)
