Taking Care of the Elderly
by Mary Ballesteros-Coronel

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Taking care of an elderly and sick family member is not easy. Gloria de León and her mother, both residents of Los Angeles, know that very well.

Ever since Blanca, Gloria's grandmother became seriously ill, the young woman has had to radically change her lifestyle. "I even had to move (to an apartment next door) to be near her and to be certain that she is okay. I feel a responsibility to take care of her because that is what I have learned from my family," she says.

Gloria's mother, who has the same name, shares the responsibility of caring for Blanca, her mother-in-law, who at 82 has difficulty managing on her own. Every morning she comes to her mother-in-law's apartment to clean and cook.

"It is not an obligation, I do it from my heart," says Gloria. In spite of that, she admits that it leaves little time for herself. Her only rest is in the mornings, when a driver picks Blanca up to take her to a senior center.

This difficult situation is shared by many of the families of the 2.5 million Latino senior citizens living in the United States.

“I even had to move (to an apartment next door) in order to be near her and to be certain that she is okay.”

Alejandro García is the president of the National Hispanic Council on Aging in Washington and a professor at the School of Social Work at Syracuse University in New York. He explains that — given their culture — most Hispanic families prefer to take care of their elderly, although many times circumstances do not allow it.

The main problem: seriously ill or incapacitated elders often need attention 24-hours-a day. This creates a serious conflict. Often there is no one to take care of them, due to school or work obligations. The situation becomes more complicated when small children are involved. Even so, many Latinos resist sending their family members to nursing homes.

"The majority of Hispanic families do everything possible to help their elderly family members and view a nursing home as the last option," says Teresa Peña, who monitors elder care cases for the Department of Social Services in Yolo County in Northern California.

Frequently the responsibility unfairly falls on only one family member. The situation of Sandra Irigoyen of El Paso, Texas, is a good example. Her life came to halt a year ago when her mother Elvira, age 66, became seriously ill.

With the support of only one of her brothers and sisters, Irigoyen quit her job to devote herself completely to caring for her mother. She learned to use sophisticated medical equipment and to clean Elvira's feeding tube as well as the tube inserted into the trachea.

"It is a 24-hour job, seven days a week," declares Irigoyen, who has been affected physically as well as emotionally by her mother's situation.

Fortunately, a few months ago she found some relief. A hospital social worker referred her to the Department of Social Services in El Paso to find out about assistance programs she might qualify for.

"Now," says Irigoyen, "someone comes to help me six hours a week from Monday to Saturday and two hours on Sundays. They bathe her, wash her clothes, and take care of her for a while, which gives me time to go shopping and take care of other errands."

Many Hispanics do not take full advantage of social services for the elderly and their families. This, experts emphasize, is against the best interests of the sick person and the person who takes care of them.

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