REFLECTIONS : A Witness to Progress
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD Year 2024 ( now ):
Year 1975 ( 49 years ago ):
It is lunchtime at an assisted living facility . The residents walk in , either unassisted or with walking canes and rollators . Some are wheeled in as they take their places in a restaurant-style dining room . Some have caretakers or guests join them .
At age 95 , I am one of these residents .
The times and care for the infirm and the aged have changed over the years . A scant 50 or so years ago , as an older psychiatric resident training for a second career , a visit to a similar facility as above brought compassion and sadness .
Lined up in wheelchairs , the patients seemed to be craving things to do ; gone were their productive lives . Hampered by waning physical and intellectual capacities , they could no longer care for themselves in a competitive world . Programs were still being developed to alleviate their conditions .
Year 1959 ( 65 years ago ):
After a residency in pediatrics at the University of Louisville , I worked briefly at a state hospital before going back to practice in my then native Philippines . At the state facility for the mentally ill , antipsychotic medicines , medications having been discovered and used , many chronically ill patients regained their sanity . Unfortunately , they had been given up by their significant caretakers or families and no longer had homes to go to . New ways had to be found to house them and reinstate them to society .
Year 2024 ( the present ):
We have come a long way since . Science is keeping up with new research in preventing and treating old and new mental and physical ailments that disable the populace . Social and activity directors try to keep up with programs as well . We have worship services for various faiths , all sorts of musical offerings , and exercise ranging from light chair movements to more active mat and gym classes . We have excursions : shopping , the Broadway Series , the occasional museum visit . We have bingo , cards , word games and board games – and don ’ t forget Happy Hour !
Best of all , of course , are visits from our younger generations .
Would that we have the courage , patience and tenacity to promote a fruitful life ‘ til it ends !
Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist . April 2024 35