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Copper Ridge care is amazing

Copper Ridge care is amazing We recently heard a report from Nancy Thompson on CBC radio regarding a local family's dissatisfaction with the care their mother is receiving at the Copper Ridge Place care facility. Recently our mother was cared for at Copp

We recently heard a report from Nancy Thompson on CBC radio regarding a local family’s dissatisfaction with the care their mother is receiving at the Copper Ridge Place care facility.

Recently our mother was cared for at Copper Ridge Place for two years.

One or more family members visited her almost daily, usually spending an hour per visit at the facility, sometimes more.

We became very familiar with the staff and resident members of the sometimes ‘quirky’ and loving community that developed there.

Getting old and losing the ability to look after one’s self is difficult to accept. One often doesn’t remember if they’ve eaten, or where their bedroom is, or that it’s not polite to “borrow” articles from other peoples’ rooms, or how to feed one’s self or that it’s not socially acceptable to keep removing all your clothes.

In our opinion, the attendants and nurses at Copper Ridge were amazing. We were often in awe with how they dealt positively with whatever situation came their way. And we witnessed many situations during our visits: some odd, some amazing, some funny, some just plain weird and some that would, in other circumstances, be very embarrassing. The attendants would deal with it all É and in a very professional, caring and even loving manner.

We were very appreciative our mom was in such good hands. She was always well fed, bathed, her clothes were always clean, her hair was “done” weekly, she even received manicures and pedicures.

Like many people in their final stages of life, she could get quite stubborn and ornery at times, but the attendants always dealt with her in a very positive manner; we were always impressed.

In the wing where she stayed, there were anywhere from eight to 10 other residents and usually one nurse and a few attendants on duty.

Some days or nights were busier than others, depending on the residents’ needs, but all the residents we saw on a regular basis were well cared for.

Sometimes attendants had to prioritize what they had to deal with at the time, so one resident may have had to wait a little longer for care if another resident’s needs were greater, but we were always impressed with the overall care the attendants gave and how much ‘ground they covered’ during their shift.

Life is not perfect. We all have to deal with uncomfortable conditions at times and we give full marks to Copper Ridge staff.

Although some shifts were extremely busy and demanding, depending on needs, it would still not be feasible to offer one-on-one care in such a facility.

Perhaps the family that Nancy Thompson interviewed should consider hiring private care in their own home to ensure the level of care they desire for their mother.

Lorrie and Bill Greer

Whitehorse