"When I went to Hearthstone Care, they were extremely nice and helpful. They wanted to know what my needs are, and so I began bringing my mother-in-law there three days a week for five hours a day. My mother-in-law is 85 with dementia and she's a very social person. Before coronavirus, we would take her everywhere, but during coronavirus, she was just home, so she needed more stimulation than now. On Thursdays, they give her a shower, which they do for other clients too, but they have aides also that can do that. Everybody that works there is professional, kind, helpful, and they keep me posted if anything happens during the day. There are probably eight to ten people that are attending daily, or it might be a little more than that. Some are younger with maybe either a brain injury or early-onset dementia while some are wheelchair-bound. My mother-in-law can go to the bathroom by herself and can feed herself, so less physical care is required for her, but they give everybody the same level of care.
They have a routine where they make breakfast for everybody, while lunch is delivered by The Green County community program. Sometimes there are blueberry waffles, eggs, or omelets. The staff there is making the morning breakfast and they make different things, like scrambled eggs and toast. She is diabetic, so I was a little concerned about the meals, but they said that everybody there is diabetic except for one person. So, everybody eats the same and they requested the diabetic menu right now. Also, I've tasted the meal before and it has always been very good.
They have exercises, she plays the piano every day, plays games, there are books, and they listen to music. Another thing is they have transportation where they can pick you up at home and bring you there. It's also a place that does home health care, so, if you need that, you can be in touch with them and they'll come to your home.
It's a very clean facility too. Currently, you're not allowed to come in unless you have a mask on. Everyone that is staying there gets their temperature taken to make sure they're OK, even though I know they've told me that everybody there is vaccinated. That's another reason I felt safe enough to send her there. Before coronavirus, there were large tables that everybody sat at, but now they have small desks for everybody. As soon as they come in, they usually have music on in the morning or they have their TV on, then they serve breakfast. There's a side room where there's a pool table, a library, some couches, and a table where they play bingo sometimes. There are recliners so if they need to rest, they'll put them in there to take a nap. Then they do crafts, coloring, and dominoes. So, there's a lot of socialization."
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