[speaker001:] Well.
[speaker002:] [Throat clearing] Do you have, uh, some strong feelings one way or the other about, about the care of the elderly?
[speaker001:] Well, yes, I do. Uh, this is a, a question that hit pretty close to home. I had to go through this with my dad about four years ago. He was, his health was failing
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[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:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] And we talked, uh, 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, I think that, my position wa-, is that, uh, you need to find one that you can really have confidence that they are taking care of the, of the, uh, of their clients
[speaker002:] Yes.
[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, [throat clearing] 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 [throat clearing] uh, you know, I'm concerned, we're going to have a geriatric, uh, population, in in twenty years it's going to be, you know, phenomenal.
[speaker001:] Yeah, almost thirty, all over thirty percent, isn't it.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah. Uh, [throat clearing] 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 any more and, uh, [throat clearing] in twenty years. Uh, where a lot of students are hoping, uh, to work as an in the home type, uh, uh, approach, where, where the, uh, where there's, you know, the speech therapist, or whether it's a nursing 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
[speaker001:] Uh-huh.
[speaker002:] with the family members. Uh, it's, it's difficult for many families, especially in the case of, uh, of Alzheimer's and, and, uh, some of the more degenerative diseases to, uh, say, uh, uh, leave them, to have them at home, because then the family becomes completely, uh
[speaker001:] They're captive.
[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:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and they sent somebody in, and it, it was a, a nominal charge that this, uh, it started out that 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 to, to, you know, the basic checks. Try to get him to talk and be motivated
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] and, uh, that's what we went through. Uh, up to a point things seemed to be working, and then, uh, 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's mostly a psychological problem.
[speaker002:] 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, one of the other subjects on the switchboard, and this is one that I've been thinking applies here, uh, [throat clearing] where, where, uh, young, young kids, uh, graduating from high school, whether they should do a community service type work. This would be an excellent example of some where, uh, some place where, um, the community could be more involved, you know, more than just leaving it only to professionals. There is a lot the community, 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
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] because typically these were close knit groups at one time, but in today's large metropolitan areas, or even in most, even, even the rural areas now, people are not quite as close as they once were.
[speaker002:] Huh-uh.
[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, there might be some possibilities there.
[speaker002:] Uh-huh.
[speaker001:] Although dealing with geriatrics is something a lot of young people just aren't emotionally prepared to do.
[speaker002:] I agree. That's a, that's a good point.
[speaker001:] I think they would have to have some training.