Response to health emergencies in Nana Nani

Almost every senior citizen home claims that it has systems & facilities in place to respond to health emergencies of its residents. As a new resident of Nana Nani, I decided  to find out what happens in case of an emergency for  a widower like me or any single man or woman staying in the community. 

Whenever anyone presses the emergency red button in the bedroom or the toilet, an alarm bell rings on the security counter. One of the guards calls the resident on the intercom to find out the problem and, depending on the nature of the complaint, refers the case to the head of the resident nurses. A team of nurses rush to the room which is expected to be kept unlocked by the resident. They use a duplicate key to open the door in case the door is locked but the latch has not been used inside. If it is a simple crisis they administer the first aid and handle the crisis themselves with the help of the resident doctor. Suppose it is a heart attack or any other major crisis like a bad fall  they alert the  ambulance service and rush the affected resident to a hospital of  his \her choice, while simultaneously informing the family member whose name is registered in the medical record diary in  the room. They do not wait for the family's arrival to admit the patient in the hospital. They ensure that the case is referred to the right specialist and the resident is attended to immediately. In case the resident has no local guardian and the son or daughter has to come from abroad, they ensure a trained attender from  their staff  is available to attend to the resident 24 x 7 until the family member comes and takes charge. The family member is also informed by phone of the progress made in the case.

A similar procedure is followed in case the apartment has an old couple with a full-time attender and one of them needs hospitalization and the other partner is not in a condition to be a caregiver.

What happens if the door is locked from inside and the resident is not in a condition to open the door? In such cases they have no choice but to break the side glass panel of  the door ( so thoughtfully designed) and undo the latch and enter the room and do the needful. There   have been cases where the nursing team finds that the resident is not responding to their routine calls in the morning  to check if he/she is ok and is not seen coming out of the room for his meals  by neighbours or friends, they break open the door to find that the  resident is seriously ill and take necessary steps to give him the necessary medical attention.

Many residents use the services of the vsiting senior  doctor who comes  to the clinic during fixed times every day.  Recommended by the visiting doctor or on their own they consult specialists  for specific ailments  working in the many Hospitals located in Coimbatore. The clinic in the campus does not have a testing laboratory. There are many reputed diagnostic laboratories available in  the city where the residents can get the tests done.

In case of death of a resident inside the apartment due to natural causes, or  if the resident dies in the hospital  and the body is brought to the apartment, it is allowed to be kept for only for four hours in the room. The family is expected to  make the funeral arrangements immediately.  Management provides the necessary contacts to make the arrangements. In case the funeral has  to await the arrival of a son or daughter from abroad, then the body is shifted to a mortuary in a hospital where is it kept until the arrival of the family member. Some family members prefer not to bring the body to the apartment  but  take it  to the crematorium directly.

To check if the emergency bell really works I once pressed the  red button in my bed room. Within two minutes I got a call from the security to know what was my problem and if I need any help. I apologized and told him that I had pressed the bell by mistake. I also get regular calls every morning from one of the nursing staff to check if I am ok. Besides, many residents have told me that the team of nurses headed by an experienced senior nurse residing on campus are very helpful and they respond to emergency calls 24 x 7. As already mentioned they are equipped to provide first aid and if necessary supply medicines needed to give immediate relief from some common complaints of the resident.

I pray to god to take me with my shoes nay sandals on and spare me the ordeal of facing a health emergency that will require the services of the friendly nursing staff in Nana Nani.

Bouquets and Brickbats

 I was attending a meeting of a Tamil literary circle where writer/author Sivasankari was the chief guest. She was giving away prizes to the winners of a short story contest. In the course of her talk, she said creative people should not expect only praise for their efforts. They must be willing to accept both bouquets and brickbats.

 As a person associated with the creative field of advertising for over 45 years, I believe in this philosophy. In fact, when somebody criticizes my effort, it sure does hurt. But after the initial hard feelings, I try to analyse the criticism and try to learn a lesson or two from it. A friend who is a regular reader of my articles once told me that my articles have too many `I`s. I took up the criticism seriously and tried to analyse my articles to see if the criticism was justified. Most of my articles revolve around my own experiences connected with the topic . I am using personal anecdotes where I cannot avoid using the letter `I` often.

 I have used the same policy when it comes to my good friends. My closest friends have been those who tell me to my face if they don`t agree with me on an issue or criticize something I have done- that applies to my creative efforts . I always believe that people who openly criticize you on your face are your well-wishers. Those who praise you on your face but talk bad about you behind your back are better to be kept at a distance.

 These thoughts came to my mind because of an incident involving a close friend recently. I could call him my bosom pal whom I used to meet every day or at least was in touch with him every other day on the phone. Both freely exchanged our problems and also shared the happy tidings in our families. One of the reasons why I had him as a close friend was because he was always frank in his opinions. We were there for each other in our good times and bad times. Though he moved his base out of Chennai sometime ago, I was in regular touch with him over the phone.

Suddenly I found that he had stopped calling me. Irked, when I asked him the reason for his silence I got a note from him saying that he was upset with my frank opinion on one of his creative effort. He also recalled a couple of instances where I had criticized his work in the past.

 I was shocked beyond words. Because he was always generous with his criticisms of my creative efforts. And I always believed that among close friends you don`t talk to please but share your genuine feelings/opinions. I wrote to him and apologized for my indiscretion. We both decided to forgive and forget. However, I wonder if our relationship will be the same.

 Though he may choose to forget me, I can never forget the great times I had with him and the wonderful hospitality I have enjoyed in their beautiful home. Just as I decided not to mourn my wife`s death but celebrate her memory, I would continue to cherish the wonderful memories of our friendship instead of sulking and feeling miserable!