Hola, My name is Iris
I’ve been in the home health business for over 25 years. My first 13 years was in New York City. There I had the opportunity to learn and grow with our seniors. I worked for an agency that provided home attendants to people in need. The agency also had a senior center that was part of the program. Seniors came everyday and enjoyed their time there with lunch served daily. The seniors had all kinds of activities going on; they put on plays, formed a musical band, and had dancing, bingo, arts & craft just to name a few. I even remember weddings being performed. The seniors were very happy there. Some of them also volunteered to assist new seniors who were often lonely when they came in for the first time. After 2 weeks of hanging out at the center, they loved it. It truly became their second home. I could tell by their smiles.
I moved to Florida, in the Tampa Bay/Clearwater area. I continued to work in the home health business. I’ve been here for over 12 years and most of our patients/seniors are lonely, bored or alone and suffering with depression. Some have lost their spouse and friends. The seniors tell me that their children live up north with their own families and have very busy lives so they don’t want to be a burden to them. After listening to their stories, I realized many of them don’t share this information with their families because they are afraid of being placed in a nursing home. Then after hearing about how one of our seniors went missing in their vehicle, (Silver alert happens quite often here) I felt worried and concerned, so I decided to help our seniors here like we did back in New York. I did a little research and I couldn’t find a center in our community for our senior that fulfills their needs and provides the environment that they need on a daily basis. It’s our turn to take care of our parents.
I found this beautiful center, in Tarpon Springs, Florida. A perfect location for our seniors in Pinellas, Pasco, & Hillsborough counties. It is a safe environment where I can provide crafts, walks, gardening , painting, shuffle board, physical therapy, exercise, a pool table, card games, dominos, trips to baseball games, bowling and all the activities we had back in New York. I’m certain the seniors here will love to put on a play or be a member of a band and perform for their family and friends. I remember back in New York former first Lady Hillary Clinton stopped by for a visit and attended one of the seniors’ performances and remarked, “When I get to be their age this is the place where I would love to come too”. (Hopefully she will visit us here too.) I have a full staff ready to come aboard including nurses, social workers and therapists once we accomplish this center for our seniors. I believe once we purchase this property with the supplies, furniture and food we need, our senior will have their second home.
Transportation will also be provided for the seniors who can no longer drive or don’t drive. We also will take them to and from their doctor appointments and remind them of their upcoming appointments, which they often miss. I plan to provide lunch at the center. There will also be a Meals on Wheels program for the seniors who sign up and are unable to cook. We have this program here in Florida, but ours will be a little different. The center will be open for the employees to prepare lunch for our seniors to have on Saturdays and Sundays. We will have teenagers volunteer to help with the deliveries of the food and with the help of our drivers for transportation. This will benefit our children to grow and learn how important our seniors are to us, and it will provide community service for them.
Some of our seniors live in ALF or ILF (assisted or independent living facilities) which provide some activities but, they do get bored and lonely living there full time. I know in my heart that this center will help build and develop new relationships for our seniors and definitely see less depression, loneliness and most important less silver alerts. This is my life’s passion and I will see it through.
