![]() ![]() More than a few times after a resident's death, bereaved family have conveyed to Perez their gratitude for her help in ensuring their loved one could spend their twilight years in grace and dignity. In the two assisted living facilities she's started since 2012, Perez has attended to dozens of seniors. ![]() Perez says the gesture keeps the mood light and residents' spirits up. Geloy Concepcion for NPR Perez sings to one of the residents at Hillcrest Care, the small assisted-living facility she owns in El Dorado Hills, Calif., first thing in the morning. She proudly recounts an incident in which a patient was rushed to the hospital in need of urgent care and, feeling overlooked while under observation, loudly complained, "Get me back (to the care home) I'm treated like a king there!" She finds the trick to dealing with patients' mental and emotional swings and quirks essential to enhancing their overall well-being. Perez underscores the importance of keeping the mood on the sunny side, even to the point of flattery. Occasionally served are Asian dishes that always excite senior palates numbed by continental tastes.Īn important rule of the house is to never engage in a verbal joust with the patients, some of whom are experiencing dementia or sheer memory regression. When Filipino fare is on the day's menu, Perez says she often does the cooking herself.Įveryone is freshened up and garbed in comfy casual wear before taking meals, oftentimes as a group, giving them a chance to engage in a little lively banter every day. Geloy Concepcion for NPR Perez prepares food for residents of Hillcrest Care, the small assisted-living facility she owns in El Dorado Hills, Calif., on July 14, 2022. Helping frail seniors perform even the most basic chores may be easier said than done, but Perez - who goes by "Lita" to friends and family and "Angel" to a grateful patient's family - mastered the work with a natural ease. With most assisted living facilities and nursing homes tending to at least 20 wards, Hillcrest Care is a much smaller operation.īut what it lacks in size, it makes up for in better care and homelier ambience - Perez says that, in such an intimate setting, seniors' needs are more easily monitored and served. What looks like a middle-class residence perched on the elevated suburban outskirts of El Dorado Hills - which lies 30 miles to the east of California's capital of Sacramento - is actually a haven for six male seniors, five aged 85-97 and a 52-year-old Navy veteran under hospice care. She owns and still opts to be an active caregiver at Hillcrest Care, a small assisted living facility she founded in 2014 in El Dorado Hills, Calif. Seventy-eight-year-old Angelita Perez is a working senior who truly cares about the men and women of her generation as they walk through the sunset of their lives. ![]()
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