[speaker001:] well
[speaker002:] do you do you have uh some strong feelings one way or the other about about the care of the elderly
[speaker001:] well yes I do um this is a a question that hit pretty close to home uh I had to go through this with my dad about four years ago he was his health was failing
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and uh he was adamant about two things one was that I take care of my mother and two that he not be put into a home
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and we talked about some length and I respected his wishes he uh stayed at home as long as he could and then uh he died in a hospital but um
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] I think that my position was is that uh you you need to find one that you can really have confidence that they are taking care of the of their uh of their clients
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and um because I've heard about the many abuses and because he had heard of so many abuses he just didn't want that
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] how about you
[speaker002:] well my graduate work is in speech pathology and uh so so uh I've thought about this more than once uh you know dealing with uh you know I'm concerned we're gonna have a geriatric uh population in in twenty years it's gonna be you know phenomenal
[speaker001:] yeah almost thirty all all over thirty percent isn't it
[speaker002:] yeah yeah yeah uh and um but I have been amazed and and in talking with uh some of my fellow students it looks as though um nursing homes are not going to be the only option anymore and uh in twenty years uh where a lot of students are hoping uh to work as an in the home type uh uh approach approach where where the uh where there's the speech you know the speech therapist or whether it's a nursing uh specialist or someone plans to uh work out of a family's home and take the responsibility away from the family but yet allow the the loved one to stay you know at home with the family members uh
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] it it's it's difficult for many families especially in the case of uh of of Alzheimer's and and uh some of the more degenerative diseases to uh say uh uh leave them to to have them at home because then the family becomes completely uh
[speaker001:] they're captives
[speaker002:] exactly yeah and and did did you experience that with your with your father or not
[speaker001:] uh we had a at one stage we had care somewhat like like what you're talking about we had the Visiting Nurses Program
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and they sent somebody in and it it was a a nominal charge that this uh it started out the lady would come in I think three times a week and eventually got up to the point where they were coming by every day
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] they would try to get him to exercise they would try to uh you know they would check him over temperature you know the basic checks try to get him to talk and be motivated and uh that's what we went through
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] uh up to a points things seemed to be working and then I I think he he became discouraged
[speaker002:] right
[speaker001:] and they did not know how to take care of that and then um at that point I think it mostly a psychological problem
[speaker002:] uh-huh oh
[speaker001:] and uh but yes I agree there's a lot of options there could be a lot of options
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] I think it's time that uh we decide to do something about it
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] um
[speaker002:] definitely you know uh one of the other subjects on the on the switchboard and this is one that I've that I've been thinking applies here uh where where uh young ones young kids uh graduating from high school whether they should do a community service type work this would be an excellent example of somewhere uh someplace where um the community could be more involved you know more than just leaving it only to professionals there is a lot the communiky the community can do to uh enhance the or or assist the lives of those who are keeping a loved one at home
[speaker001:] I suppose at one time the church would fulfill this need
[speaker002:] possibly before I don't know now
[speaker001:] yeah the church or synagogue whatever because typically these were close-knit groups at one time but in today's large metropolitan areas or even
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] in most even even the rural areas now people are not quite as close as they once were
[speaker002:] hum-um
[speaker001:] uh the mobility factor the factor that uh oh we're living longer and people are less trusting all these things tend to destroy this type of system but I agree with you it it might be some possibilities there although dealing with geriatrics is something a lot of young people just aren't emotionally prepared to do
[speaker002:] oh I agree that's a that's a good point
[speaker001:] I think they would have to have some training some