Post 173–doschicos–I can’t like this post enough. It is SO true. And 40 isn’t old.
I learned this long ago as a “newbie” in a medical profession. Fresh out of school, I was probably the smartest “book learned” person in the room. Man, I was so smart! It took me time to realize “book learning” isn’t all that I needed to learn to succeed. “Seniors” (10-40 years older than me) became mentors and imparted experiences which there was no way I could have incorporated any other way into my practice. Fortunately back then “new” wasn’t always equated with “better”.
The seniors who use our services get a lot of colds and infections from watching their grandkids. The grandkids bounce back after a day or few while grandparents MAY end up in ER followed by rehab and nursing home. Some interaction is great for everyone but the germs are very problematic for older folks, some of whom have multiple chronic health issues and catch infections very easily with devastating effects.
The kids may not even know they are ill or whether it is an allergy or may just be carriers and never get sick. Some elders get so nervous they avoid crowds and limit their interaction among young “germ factories,” even beloved kin. The winter is especially difficult since most folks spend a lot of time indoors with windows closed so heat and warmth don’t escape.
Regular insurance plans these days are basically just catastrophic plans. With such high deductibles, normal pretty healthy people are never going to “dip into” the plan. So you pay a small fortune for it and then pretty much still can’t use it unless you have something major happen. crazy.
My kids went to a daycare that was also a senior center. It never worked to have the seniors (who were not there for daycare but for activities, exercise, companionship) to interact with the kids. There were too many forms, health tests, criminal background checks needed. Kids changed, seniors changed. They tried it several times, but it just didn’t work.