Berkshire Eagle: In nursing homes, heartbreak as some are more isolated than others
June 16, 2020
Berkshire Eagle: In nursing homes, heartbreak as some are more isolated than others
by Heather Bellow
“There are people who come every day to feed their loved one, like a spouse or a daughter,” said Alison Weingartner, executive director of Massachusetts Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, a nonprofit industry watchdog. “When those people were not allowed to see their person for weeks, they stopped eating. They do know that you’re there.”
Weingartner says the nonprofit receives numerous calls on their 800 numbers about this and the inability of those with dementia to communicate with technology.
Many nursing homes in the Berkshires and beyond solved the visitation problem by accessing state grants for multiple smart tablets to make it easier for video conferencing.
“That was a solution,” Weingartner said. “It didn’t help those without cognition.”