God's Waiting Room

Sometime during the year of 1977 when I was 30 years old, I wrote a play entitled: God's Waiting Room that was mainly dialogue between between half a dozen elderly friends whose children had placed them in a Rest Home (as it was called back then) in lieu of having to take care of their parents themselves which I thought then and still do think is tragic. 

But, these self-centered children all of whom also went to school and worked together and sometimes played together could not be bothered.

The play was mainly dialogue between these senior citizens discussing and describing their lives but not so much their accomplishments and how sad it was that their children had abandoned them but at the same time if they had not been abandoned they would have never have found each other,

The play did not really address nor was it intended to address the living conditions of those Rest Homes and how the employees of those Rest Homes treated the residents; although, it was mentioned from time-to-time just to give more substance to the play itself.

The past weekend at age 67, I visited my 95 year old mother who is living at The Cedars in NC but instead of it being called a Rest Home, it is referred to as RETIREMENT COMMUNITY. I have always thought it peculiar how we manipulate mundane words so that they appear different to those who read or see them.

What is below has been lifted from their website...

Getting older does not necessarily mean being put out to pasture. In fact, The Cedars was designed for a more active, independent lifestyle, so it’s fitting that we are a part of the Meadowmont community with its idyllic Main Street and bustling Town Square just a short stroll away. 

Nearby is historic downtown Chapel Hill and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, providing a wealth of educational and cultural opportunities for Cedars Members. 
 
Chapel Hill is located in The Research Triangle area of North Carolina, which provides a quality of life that attracts the nation’s best and brightest. 

With three major universities, world-class health care facilities, fine dining from around the world, a vibrant cultural scene, exciting sporting events at both the college and professional levels, and a moderate climate, the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area is an exciting place for resort retirement living. 

With the beach and the mountains within a couple hours drive, the Cedars members truly have it all.

Fortunately, my father left his wife (my mother) well off, otherwise she could not have afforded to live in this nice of a Retirement Community. A one bedroom apartment is over a quarter of a million dollars and the monthly fees are twice what the average person would receive each month on Social Security but each resident is assured that for the rest of their lives, they we live inside this bubble of protective quality.

You do not need a vehicle as transportation is part of the service and will not only provide round trip service too and from the dinning facilities but will do so if you would to leave the retirement campus and go shopping or to a doctor's appointment as long as you are willing to wait for a limited amount of drivers. However, it has been my mother's experience that she has never had to wait more than an hour.

So, it is completely self-contained which is very attracted to those who are finally aging out of society.

There is even a special medical unit that residents can be taken to at no additional charge and there is a quality doctor on call to provide oversight to those living in that unit. However, if you are sent to that medical unit, you still have to paid the monthly security & cleaning fees for you owned apartment even though you are not living there.

My mother has been in this special medical unit for almost a year now and while she has been cleared by the doctor to return to her unit, she has decided to stay because of the around-the-clock care that she is receiving, plus we as her family, are also providing (as required by this facility) aides that are with our mother 12 hours each day, 7 days a week from 8am until 8pm.

But, why wouldn't you want to do that for your mother?

Anyway, so my wife and I visited my mother this weekend and were able to have our meal together in the small dining area of about 6 tables with 4 chairs each. Our food was prepared in the main complex kitchen and then special handlers would transport it in heated containers which was a distance of about 5 minutes away by vehicle.

Once inside the special medical unit, this transported would then deliver it to the different rooms of the various residents who happened to be living there... and, this medical unit (at least every time we visited during the last year) was always about ¾ full.

However, this time we noticed that the menu that we received for Sat/Sun meals was considerably smaller in the sense of fewer selections than were available at the club house in the main dining area and yet my mother's fees for her meals remained the same.

It did not bother my wife and I because we did not visit my mother to eat specially prepared restaurant food, but in principle she was getting “ripped off,” by those who managed/owned the retirement community from the standpoint of being penalized with food selections for being sick and having to live temporarily in a different facility.

But, more importantly is the fact that the employees in general at this facility do not seem to really care any more about their work that employees in general that we all see everyday working at other establishments. It is almost like they dislike having to work there. Most of the drivers who transport my mother around when she needs to be taken somewhere are polite but not friendly and are listening to a radio station that plays what they like not what their passengers might like.



The waiters and the waitresses are polite but not friendly as well and the nurses at the special medical unit are also polite and will tell you how great your mother is if they are having to stand next to you for some reason but will never look you in the eyes when talking about my mother... usually an indication that people are hiding something or not telling the truth.



When I was fortunate a few years ago to visit the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta, EVERY employee treated me in all situations as if I was royalty and I have never gotten that same type of treatment even when taking a Caribbean Cruise; but, one would think that those people that have been hired by management to take care of our senior citizens, especially those who are relative wealthy, would provide the same level of treatment as those employed by the Ritz Carlton.



These people are in God's Waiting Room so why are they being treated in such an average way? Is it the fault of management for not spending enough time to hire the “right” kind of people?