SARASOTA – Michael Juceam owns Right at Home, a senior home health agency. He says while we fight germs, we also need to fight loneliness.
“My mother is in a memory care assisted living here in Sarasota, so the first thing I did was I called and said, ‘What protocols are you following?'” Juceam said. “They said anyone who is not showing symptoms is still welcome to visit.”
When he visited his mother this week he says his temperature was taken at the door.
“While I was there I followed some basic common sense things. First of all I washed my hands with disinfectant; I didn’t make physical contact with anybody other than giving my mom a kiss,” Juceam said.
Juceam says to avoid shaking hands or using retirement home restrooms.
“The fewer surfaces you touch the better,” he said.
But as long as you and your older loved one are healthy, it’s important to go see them.
“When a senior feels isolated it can lead to depression, and that leads to a breakdown in health. So you don’t want to isolate somebody, especially unnecessarily,” Juceam said.
If one of you isn’t feeling well, there are still ways to prevent loneliness.
“You can certainly make a phone call,” Juceam said.
He says it’s important to stay calm around the elderly, who are more susceptible to illness.
“Common sense is really the thing that’ll keep everybody the healthiest,” Juceam said. “You wanna do what’s right for yourself right for your loved one and everyone around you.”
