Our Home with Fred and Jolynn
The most important advice I can give someone looking for care for a family member with Alzheimer’s or dementia is to do your homework. Investigate each place carefully. Visit more than once, ask a lot of questions, and look around while you’re there. How does the staff engage with the residents? How many staff members are there and how many residents do they look after? How amenable is the staff to the things that bring joy to your family member or loved one?
This advice comes from Jolynn Hicks, whose husband Fred recently joined Our Family Home following a difficult experience at another memory care facility. Here’s what else Jolynn had to share about her journey with Fred, whom she lovingly calls her forever love.
My experience with Our Family Home has been completely different. The moment I walked in the door I knew it was the right place. It was open and airy. It felt familiar. I just loved the idea that Fred could watch people cook. Sit and eat at the dining room table. He could move around and interact with other people. Fred could also lie on the couch. This may seem like a small thing, but Fred has always been a sofa sleeper. In other centers, they wouldn’t allow him to do this.
Fred is also a wanderer. In many centers, this behavior is very challenging. However at Our Family Home, it’s accepted. Just as you would in your own home, there’s more freedom and ease to move around.
The staff at Our Family Home is a blessing. I enjoy getting to know them and appreciate the way they treat Fred. Since coming to Our Family Home, we’ve been able to reduce most of Fred’s medications from the hospital and he seems a little more Fred every day.
I used to feel a strong urgency to go check on Fred daily, but now I find myself pulling back a little bit. I know the staff at Our Family Home is committed to doing what they can to give Fred more good days. I know Fred will be OK.
