NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The leadership of Wesley Towers in Hutchinson, Sunshine Meadows in Buhler and Mennonite Friendship Communities in South Hutchinson all want to make sure that those who need to discuss long-term care arrangements with their families don't put it off. It's much easier to make decisions ahead, because time gives you options, being in a hurry leaves you none.
"We see that frequently where one spouse has become the caregiver and the support for the other spouse, and sometimes, you know, it takes both of them to kind of be one person, and we see that quite a bit," said Mark Mains with Wesley Towers. "When you start to notice that, and holidays are a good time to notice that, it's a good idea to get a hold of one of us and start talking about what options are there."
New facilities like the Selah Memory Care Center at Sunshine Meadows can help when one spouse maybe is farther along the deterioration path than the other one is.
"Much of the time what we see is that when they do make a move and have one of them move into the facility or both move in the facility, how much pressure is then alleviated from the one that's caregiving," said Nathan Spencer with Sunshine Meadows. "It's like they get their life back, and they're thinking that they're not doing right by their spouse or loved one, but reality is when they actually make that move, there's such freedom that's created for them, and then they get to focus on the relationship and not the caregiving."
Dawn Veh with Mennonite Friendship Communities told her story.
"I, in fact, just moved my mom, or she came to our campus," Veh said. "Part of the attraction was the different levels of care that are available to her in this location, and it's good to have her close by. We were able to have a family Christmas gathering at the community and grandkids have been able to stop in great grandkids to see her while they were in town, so it's important to have them near family."
The three homes would love to have you contact each of them for a tour to find out which is the best option for your family.