Golden Age

Deborah

My dad is at Golden Age. They have 10 homes, and they're residential homes. He is at the one in Effingham. They can hold six residents. The place is great. It's a small setting. In the larger communities, my worry was that my dad would get forgotten because there are so many people in there. With Golden Age, it is a residential home. It's like a family. All six residents come and sit at the dining room table together and have their breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You get a more warm and fuzzy feeling. They're not going to get lost in the crowd of other patients. Plus, they have hospice that comes in there. If the resident qualifies for hospice, they come to the house. There's a medical service where a doctor comes to the home to see the residents. I don't know how many times a week, but there's a nurse that comes in and make sure that the medications are fine. They check the patients over there, so they don't have to transport anybody from the home to a doctor's office because it's just not good to be taking them out. My dad has been there for about two weeks now. The staff are great. Food is fresh and cooked every day. The kitchen is right there, so the residents can watch the cooking going on. They're all together in the dining room and the kitchen. For the patients that are in there, they really don't have the mental capacity to do activities. I was there at lunchtime the other day. If they're having a sandwich or watermelon or whatever for their lunch, the girl will cut their sandwich up in squares. At least they're getting that hand-eye coordination because these people, their minds are gone so much that they can't do much. They can't do crossword puzzles because their brain is sick, so they do what they can. They do their best.