Safety and security
By Lesliey Fernow
We live in an era of sound bites and catchy phrases, but do we know what they all mean? Lately we have been reading and hearing a lot about a “grey tsunami” and how to make our communities and lives better for older adults. We have heard about “thriving in place,” “senior-friendly communities,” “healthy aging,” “aging in place,” and I have used some of these phrases in this column. I recently realized that these phrases may be just heard as slogans without real meaning by some listeners, so I am writing the next three columns to explore the ideas behind the words.
As a geriatrics specialist who sees mostly old and very old patients in their homes I have seen first-hand some of the components of aging that need to be addressed to help people to stay at home and live well as they age. “Healthy aging” requires safety, security, maintenance of good health, support from friends, family and community, and connectedness.
Safety and security are basic to all the other elements. Without them who can be said to be “thriving?” Safety refers not only to personal circumstances and behaviors that avoid injury such as driving only as long as you can see, respond and make appropriate decisions, or not climbing on stools in your home, but also to having adequate heat in your home, adequate food and not being exploited by others or abused. When safety is not assured, health and well-being are impossible. Likewise, security refers to a person’s ability to count on personal, physical and financial safety.
In Piscataquis County over 20 percent of people over age 65 live in poverty. If Mary, my 93-year-old patient, is living in a cold, two-room apartment wrapped in blankets with only wilting vegetables and cereal to eat (despite having a daughter who is her POA providing food), it does no good for me to try to treat her high blood pressure or recommend she have therapy or exercise.
While medical professionals, community services for the elderly and social service providers work to identify and remedy unsafe situations for older adults, politicians continue to discuss “cutting” supports for home heating assistance, nutritional programs, payment for in home services, and elder law attorney services, and many of the most unsafe elders in our communities remain unidentified and unsupported.
If we are to have healthy, aging communities, it is imperative that our social and political structures continue to place high priority on safety. Mary needs heat and adequate nutrition or the best intentions of the community to “engage her in living” will be unsuccessful.
As previously mentioned in this column, the Thriving in Place project is working to identify people who lack the safety and security to be able to “thrive” and to find solutions to such problems. We are depending on the partnership of neighbors, friends and others in the community to make these efforts successful. If you are interested in helping or if you know someone in need, please contact us.
We invite readers to offer feedback about this column and to suggest topics for future articles. You may do so by contacting Meg Callaway of the Charlotte White Center at (207) 947-1410 or meg.callaway@charlottewhite.org or Lesley Fernow at (207) 992-6822 and lmfernow@rcn.com.