We’re All Family
Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them, for the test of a civilization is in the way that it cares for its helpless members.
Pearl S. Buck wrote those powerful words in 1954. More than 55 years later, Loretta DiLorenzo paraphrased that belief when talking about the care her 96-year-old mother, Nettie, received at Menorah Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing Care:
“I’ve often heard that you judge a society by how it cares for its elderly, not just its children. Helping our elders helps us too; they are our own future, our own families.”
Nettie first came to Menorah for our short-term rehab services. She’d been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and had recently recovered from pneumonia. During rehab sessions, she learned how to use a walker, how to sit and stand properly … how to regain control of her life. A social lady, she also made a number of new friends.
Eventually, she felt well enough to go home. But after being re-hospitalized because of new congestive heart failure complications, Nettie soon realized it was becoming too hard to live on her own and decided to live at Menorah full-time.
Once here, she “blossomed”. She got involved with arts and crafts and never missed the Kaffee Klatsch discussion group. She also read the newspaper and socialized with staff about current and historical events. Considered a very fine cook by her family, Nettie got involved with Menorah’s cooking activities for residents; salad was her specialty.
But it was the compassionate, community-based, around-the-clock care that mattered most to Nettie and her family. As she often said, everyone at Menorah treated her like family … like a beloved, respected and admired matriarch. Several Menorah staffers called themselves Nettie’s adopted daughters.
When Nettie was at the end of her life, she was admitted to Metropolitan Jewish Hospice. Rather than move her to a different room or different bed, our hospice interdisciplinary team kept Nettie in the same room and bed that she’d had for the past year. Her pain was managed by specially trained doctors and nurses. And our social workers and bereavement counselors helped Nettie’s family prepare for the final goodbye.
“At Menorah, my mom felt safe, cared for, clean, respected, valued … loved. And each day was a pleasant experience. I witnessed it and my mom experienced it.”
