On a surface level, the Catholic faith and the Vatican has very little to do with senior care. But if you think about what religious faith means for how we live our lives, it suddenly makes a lot more sense that the Pope has weighed in on senior care and how it should be applied to our lives.
Religion isn’t just about spirituality and what happens after we die. It’s also about how we live life right now. And the Catholic Church is one of the most powerful religious institutions in the world. With about 51 million people in the U.S. affiliated with the Catholic faith, and more than one billion people in the world, the Catholic Church has a lot of sway over a lot of people. So when the Vatican (where the head of the church–the Pope–resides) gets involved with something, people listen.
Recently, the Vatican issued a statement calling for elder care to be rethought. The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted the elderly, and the traditional nursing home model has been largely to blame for this. Part of this statement emphasized that the elderly should not be institutionalized as a first resort, but rather only when it is a last resort or in the individual’s best interests. Too often, people rush to place older loved ones in a nursing home setting for various reasons. Sometimes this is the right move, but more often than not, it isn’t. It’s not the only choice.
Your family is important. It’s likely that you have heard advice from a whole lot of sources about what you should do to help those that you love. And while this is all done in a loving spirit, ultimately, no one is able to give your family blanket statements of advice better than those that know your family and your specific situation.. It’s important to seek out the wisdom of professionals who understand the things that make your family unique. This can be doctors, other family members, and even close friends. It’s important to remember that what works for one person might not always work for another.
This is one of the reasons why we are such big fans of in-home care. This type of care allows us to customize how we approach each individual that we work with. There’s a lot more to care than what we think of when we think of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. These things do play a very important role in care, but like you’ve probably concluded, they aren’t ideal for everyone.
Perhaps you’ve spent a lot of time thinking about senior care. Maybe you haven’t. Maybe you just are looking for another opinion. Regardless of what stage you find yourself, please know that we can be a valuable resource for you. Our free consultation service is designed not to push you toward one type of care or another, but to help you find what is going to be the best type of care for your unique situation. Give us a call today to get started.
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