Date the Weekly Reflection was first submitted: 02/16/2020

Name: Lauren

Nursing Home: Signature Health Care Center

Date of visit:

Length of visit: 1

1. Do you feel overwhelmed sometimes by all the loneliness at the nursing home? If so, what helps you to deal with this?

It is disheartening that most of the residents have limited interaction with people besides our weekly visits. However, it helps knowing that something a simple as listening to a person talk for a few minutes can actually improve their lives. Seeing how much the residents enjoy talking during our visits lets me know that what we're doing can help.

2. What do you think about the way we treat people who are elderly in America? What concrete steps can we as a society take to reach out to those who are elderly and/or disabled?

As a society, we often dismiss the elderly and forget that they are people with the same needs of companionship and fulfillment as the rest of us. Culturally, we need to stop viewing the elderly as burdens and instead recognize they are people deserving of our time and compassion. Our society can work to improve our healthcare system and nursing homes for elderly patients. Individually, we can make an effort to reach out to the elderly, whether they are our own relatives or members of our community.