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At the Abbey nursing home, “we must stop looking at the old as sick”

The scorching sun hits hard on the facade of the Abbey residence, in a silent dead end in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés (Val-de-Marne). With his yellow sweatshirt and his apparent good humor, Diogo, a 29-year-old animator, passes by the residents of the nursing home to make sure that the heat does not make them suffer too much. The major difficulty lies in the length of the episode. “When it lasts six, eight or even ten days, organisms have difficulty recovering» explains the director of the Association of Directors in the Service of the Elderly (AD-PA), Romain Gizolme.

“You need a little fresh air”

In the Saint-Maurien establishment, fans operate in the accommodation when residents are alone, but are stopped when a person enters to prevent transmission of the virus. Only the common areas (restaurant, performance hall, etc.) are equipped with air conditioning. And the mask is mandatory to move around the building.

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The times are difficult, but Yvette, 93, is holding on. In her chair in front of the television on, she defends the confinement decided by the government to fight against the coronavirus. The one who knew the pension from the age of 10 measures her luck: “For others it was more complicated, some still haven’t recovered.” When she’s not watching TV, Yvette reads the News from the world in the press. On his bedroom table: la Croix, Courrier international, le Monde … She refreshes herself with a fan and damp cloths. “I can stand the heat but you need a little fresh air”, she concedes, smiling. She has found the solution: she opens her window between 6 and 8 o’clock, to freshen up.

At the residence of the Abbey in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés on Sunday. Photo Marie Rouge for Liberation

Despite the precautions, Romain Gizolme fears that this heat wave will cause excess mortality among the elderly. The fault, according to him, at “Crying lack of staff in French retirement homes”. What Diogo confirms: “We are not enough, whether on the social or medical side. It’s very complicated. It’s the compliments of the residents that keep us going. ”

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Feati, a nurse in her thirties at the Abbey residence, was marked by the lack of masks and gowns during the first month of the coronavirus crisis. And now we have to deal with hostile weather: “We have no respite.” In the building where she works, only three nurses take care of the approximately 110 residents, assisted by three orderlies in the morning and two in the evening. “I sometimes work more than my scheduled hours”, she assures. “In normal times it’s complicated but then it’s even worse”, adds Diogo. Solicited more than usual, the staff was partly heard by Pascal Champvert, the director of the nursing home who “Strengthened the teams” those last weeks.

“Autonomy and freedom”

In the light of the crises which follow one another, an idea is gaining ground: the place of the elderly must change. “In our society, the elderly are never a priority. Today, the elderly are locked up in institutions or at home. We must stop looking at them as sick ”, recommends Romain Gizolme. He regrets that the majority of nursing home staff are confined to medico-technical acts: helping to “Wash, get dressed, take your medicine, eat and then nothing”. Listening to it, it is a social construction that should be overcome: “We have to talk about autonomy and freedom. Let’s stop talking about addiction. ”


Johan Maviert photos Marie Rouge

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