The Blame Game | News, Sports, Jobs

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If more energy was focused on offering support and encouragement rather than pointing fingers and pontificating the fault, we would all be better off. I refuse to defend our work with people who are outside our walls. I will explain and continue to be transparent, but defending as if we have done something wrong? No.

Long-term care plays a vital role in our health care system, yet we are often treated unfairly. The media would lead you to believe that we are super diffusers of COVID-19; however, new research suggests just the opposite. According to a recent study highlighted in the Kaiser Health News, more seniors who lived outside nursing homes died from COVID-19 than those who lived in long-term care facilities. This may be surprising to most because of the attention paid to nursing homes; they see us in the long term care industry as the enemy.

It’s easy to play chair quarterback, especially now where so much information is contradicting each other. For now, we must continue to rely on known information, common sense and instincts. I firmly believe in doing the best you can with the information you have in front of you. We may not always make the best decisions, but there is no doubt that our decisions are always made with the best intentions. Quick responses can make the difference in the fight against COVID, we know that.

Currently, we are in an outbreak (defined as three or more cases) in one of our assisted living quarters. We’ll never know how it came about and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is that we are working hard to control the spread and take care of our residents who are positive. Criticism or blame undermines the armor we have donned for the past 18 months. All of us in long term care come to work every day with this invisible armor. The caregivers, nurses and all the employees who support the work we do are always in the fight. We don’t need to be questioned; we need to be supported. Even during times when we don’t have positive cases, uncertainty still hangs over us.

The current workforce crisis has not bypassed long-term care. We are at a critical need for employees. During this period when the pandemic continues, long-term care survives. Those of us who have remained in the arena deserve your respect and admiration. Let’s be clear, it’s not about me, it’s about the thousands of long-term care workers who have followed their passion to serve the people who are arguably the most vulnerable to this virus. Many have chosen to leave the field. We have seen this locally and across the country. The war is still going on despite what you can hear or see. We are still fighting.

The stakes are still high. The vaccine has been a great weapon, but the fight remains. Symptoms may not be as severe as they were before vaccination; however, there is still a threat and we must react. If you want to know how you can help, I would say stop asking questions and offering your unsolicited opinion and start encouraging. Connect with your friends who work in long-term care and register. Although life in some ways has returned to “normal”, expectations for long-term care remain extremely high.

Protecting, serving and caring for this population is an honor, which few people understand unless they live it. The silver lining continues to be when the history books are written about the pandemic, long-term care workers will not be to blame but will be respected and revered.

Julie Thorson is President and CEO of Friendship Haven

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