Senior citizens are very nostalgic people. They like to sit around sharing stories about the past, and remembering the good old times.
(prHWY.com) May 5, 2012 - Seattle, WA -- Senior citizens are very nostalgic people. They like to sit around sharing stories about the past, and remembering the good old times. While this type of behavior makes them fun to talk to, it can make it difficult for friends and family members to help them get the care that they need.
"We find that most elderly people are resistant to change", said senior home care director Betsy Monroe. "This can make it difficult for us to come in the home and administer to their health needs because they don't want us around."
Betsy Monroe and a colleague came up with the perfect solution. They decided to pair celebrity impersonators up with registered nurses to create a home health care service that makes elderly patients feel right at home, while making sure their needs are met.
"Our patients love people like Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope", said Betsy Monroe. "They love Elvis and all those people. We hire people who can impersonate them, but they have to have the knowledge to administer to their healthcare needs at the same time."
Celebrity impersonators are encouraged to apply for a job at "Bring the Old Times Back Health Center". The
senior home care center is offering celebrity impersonators the chance to attend home health aide classes free of charge if they sign a contract to work for the company for two years.
"We had to offer some incentive to get these celebrity impersonators in the door", said Monroe. "We knew we could get the people who looked like the celebrities but to get them to look like them and have the medical knowledge just wasn't going to happen. So we had to come up with a solution."
"Bring the Old Times Back Health Center" has become extremely popular over the past two years. They went from having only 50 regular patients to having 300 patients. The patients range in age from 40 to 101, and all love seeing these celebrities in person.
"Seeing these people's faces light up is the highlight of my day", said Elvis impersonator Aaron. "You really make these people's day, and let's face it who wouldn't want to be administered to by the King? I love all my patients like they were family members."
"Bring the Old Times Back Health Center" is planning on expanding their fleet of registered nurses to 200 to accommodate the waiting list of patients who want to be administered to by celebrities.
"It's amazing to see what this turned into", said Monroe. "And in the words of the King 'thank you, thank you very much'".
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