Program returns calm to this four-generation San Bruno home
With 80 years separating the oldest and youngest member of a four-generation household, there’s bound to be an occasional squabble.
Yet, since great grandmother Isabel Baro began attending the Senior Focus Alzheimer’s Dementia Care Resource Center in 2006, things are a little calmer at her San Bruno home.
“There used to be more struggles over toys between grandma and the children,” said Marika Pullen, 34. She lives with her mother, grandmother, husband and her two children. Her brother’s two children come every morning when he goes to work. All four kids are between the ages of 5 and 12.
“The program has helped out a lot. It has stabilized things and become a part of our routine,” Pullen said.
Her mother, Margarita Gepalaga, 65, agrees. While her children go to their workplaces each day, it’s her job to get everyone else ready for school and pick them up in the afternoon.
“Three days a week grandma ‘goes to school’ just like the children,” she said, referring to the days her mother attends Senior Focus. The program provides day health services for frail and disabled adults allowing them to stay at home while giving respite to the families who care for them.
And although 85-year-old Baro has dementia and cannot describe her day – her tranquility tells family members she’s enjoyed it.
According to Mike Grimes, a Senior Focus social worker, improvement in mood is one of the common benefits that families of participants report.
“People with dementia may not be able to remember and tell you what they did that day in the program, but families may notice they become more cheerful, sleep better and eat better.”
By providing an opportunity to be active and among other people, the program helps give elders a renewed sense of purpose, Grimes says.
Participants attend two to five days a week for four hours.
“Every day we offer exercises in a chair, games to stimulate memory, a nutritious lunch and enjoyable activities such as listening to music or singing,” he said.
“But sometimes the biggest difference is just having people to talk to, making connections and caring relationships.”
Social workers do an assessment with every participant for cognitive ability, home safety, mobility and nutrition and offer families support in connecting with other community resources, Grimes said.
“Our goal is to help keep older adults at home with their families and give caregivers a break so they can care for themselves.”
These days Baros and her great grandchildren like to listen to music together.
“She has always loved music,” Gepalaga said of her mother. “Now when she hears it, she’ll start to dance and the kids will get up and dance with her.”
Senior Focus dementia care and Adult Day Health programs also provide nursing and physical, occupational and speech therapies to participants with conditions including Parkinson’s, stroke, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.