Communications and Marketing Intern - (Richmond, VA)

YOUR DEPARTMENT HEAD S STORY The reason I m so passionate about starting the long-term care conversation in America is because this is something that touches us all. For me, it was the family story about my grandmother. She suffered rheumatic fever when she was younger and at age 40, her heart began to enlarge. My grandfather was from very modest means, but he d worked very hard and was able to take her to the Cleveland Clinic to have surgery. It worked, but the medications she was on for the rest of her life likely accelerated the onset of dementia. My grandmother, who loved walking and used to walk 10mis a day, gradually, because of dementia, became a wanderer, frequently becoming lost and confused. In what had to be the toughest decision of his life, my grandfather put her in a nursing home. It was the right decision. But my grandmother s care needs emptied out most of their savings. Caring for her meant losing everything.