LifeSpan

House Call in Peru
Santa Cruz Sentinel
Name Dropping Column, Oct. 19, 2008

On a recent trip to Peru, Becky Peters and Pam Goodman, owners of Lifespan, a home-care agency here in Santa Cruz, spent some time learning about Peru's eldercare both in the rural areas around Cusco and in the city of Arequipa. While trekking 40 miles in the Andes, Peters and Goodman, who are both nurses, met Señora Yolanda, an 85-year-old widow living with her son along with his wife and children. Tan and toothless, she sat outside her mud-brick hut under its thatched roof.
At 12,500 feet above sea level, the nights are cold, and the family uses alpaca wool to ward off the chill. Pigs and goats wander around the house. Yolanda's son was warm and welcoming. Yolanda told the nurses that she has no pain but repeatedly motioned that her eyes are a problem.
"Older people in rural Peru have little access to health care, and we suspect that dense cataracts are affecting her vision, but surgery is not an option," said Peters. Yolanda will live the rest of her life with her family, who are respectful and caring. In rural areas and in cities, families care for their elders at home.
Arequipa is the second largest city in Peru with an elevation of 8,000 feet. There are two asilos facilities for elder care there. Goodman and Peters visited Asilo Lisa in a suburb near the city center. This 97-year-old facility houses 215 elders who, for the most part, have no family to care for them.
The Asilo Lisa is administered by a group of 13 Catholic nuns. Goodman and Peters toured the facility and met a group of residents who were sitting around a large sunny courtyard socializing. "We were impressed by the dedication of the staff who reported that the Asilo is a happy place," said Goodman.
The community supports Asilo Lisa. Local high school girls assist with care after their school day, hotels donate food, pharmacists donate medication and clothing and personal care supplies are brought to Asilo. Otherwise there is no routine health care.
Goodman and Peters came away from Peru believing that its elders are respected and cared for by families, the church, and the community, and were honored to meet some of Peru's oldest generation.