Valentine's Day

It's been more than a month since I posted on Alma’s blog. I was hoping that I would be continuing to update everyone on what's going on with Alma but it looks like blog posts will be on a more intermittent schedule now that she is no longer living in our home. While much of my focus has been on getting Alma settled at Pheasant Ridge, I have also been keeping busy trying to get our house back in order and looking for a new job.

Things are going fairly well where Alma is. I have a few concerns and am working on getting those straightened out as quickly as possible. The director that was there when we first moved Alma in has been replaced. Due to the fact that there is so much flux, there are many inconsistencies and that concerns me. One big issue for me is that they keep the resident’s rooms locked at all times. I have a key but Alma has no way to go in and out of her room freely. The only thing that concerns me about that is I do not feel confident that the three nurses on staff can safely unlock the door to thirty resident’s rooms and evacuate all of them in the case of an emergency. I met with the new director today and while she was a very pleasant person, she really had no answer for me other than “we keep the resident’s rooms locked for the privacy and protection of each resident”. It just really concerns me that they do not seem to have a cohesive plan for evacuation. Fortunately, I am a big enough nerd to look up the state standards and regulations for assisted living facilities in Virginia and learned that these procedures should be in place. However, there was no reference to residents who are incapable of self evacuation and locks on doors.

I know I’m being pretty picky and I’m okay with that. Alma pays a lot of money to be there and I believe that she should have the best care possible. I am trying to be aware of my tendency for bulldozing and am working on being mindful of the way I come across. Therefore, I am working on finding a balance between that and getting Alma’s needs met in the best way possible.

On a more positive note; I learned today that Alma might have a little romance growing at Pheasant Ridge with one of the four male residents. The new director shared with me that he went over to her the other night and asked her to go walking with him. Then they held hands while making several laps around the building. Afterwards, the director overheard them discussing the possibility of farming together. The whole thing is especially sweet considering Valentines Day is tomorrow. When I asked Alma what she would like for Valentines Day, she replied, “Oh, I really need some of those really good brownies”. I’ll take those to her tomorrow.In the meantime, check out these sweet pictures from Alma's first couple of months at Pheasant Ridge.