Today will be a special day in the Virgin of Candelaria Shelter Housealthough every day is, remember Maria Jose de Ara, director of the center that the Dominican fathers built between Las Caletillas and Igueste de Candelaria and which is managed by the Gerón Foundation. More than 80% of the 91 residents currently in the center – it has capacity for 94 – suffer from Alzheimer’sthe most widespread disease among our elders that today celebrates its International Day.
Alzheimer’s is a long brain disease caused by pathological changes that alter the functioning of neurons. It is when signs of cognitive impairment begin to appear, usually with memory problems, that it ends up becoming dementia, typical of these times when life expectancy exceeds eighty years in our country. “Here -María José tells us- the average age of our residents is 87 years, ranging from 65 to 101 years; the vast majority suffer from Alzheimer’s. Perhaps for this reason, among the many actions carried out at the Virgen de Candelaria Shelter, the innovative bets on technology to curb the progress of this disease stand out, without forgetting that “more than a center for the elderly, our intention is for it to be a great home, that they feel like family, that they don’t lose their dignity”, emphasizes Rosa, one of the 60 workers at the center.
Thanks to the support of the Government of the Canary Islands, with IRPF-subsidized projects, since 2020, almost coinciding with the start of the pandemic, the center has had a unique sensory room in nursing homes in Tenerife. The Snoezelen room mixes sensations of light, sounds, smells, tastes and varied tactile experiences, in which residents are helped to recover part of their memory. In this regard, both María José and Rosa, as well as the physiotherapist Diego, state that “it is gratifying to see how they do not remember what they had for breakfast and when you play a song, they remember it and hum”, thus highlighting the benefit of music -therapy.
For a few years, the residents of the center of Candelaria have received almost daily therapy with animals, in this case with a Labrador retriever, but the great novelty for a few years has been the Nuka seal, a robot equipped with extremely high technology that It allows you to interact with any person, showing your feelings and emitting sounds, moving your tail and your eyes and responding to the stimuli transmitted by the person who has you in his arms. It barely weighs three kilos and has a cost of 6,000 euros. It is impressive to see how Erasmo and Luis, the only two deaf-blind residents, relate to the seal, as do Piluca and Andrés, who do not miss an opportunity to visit the sensory room or put on their 3D glasses to travel to the Picos de Europa and remember Piluca’s native Asturias. “Our mission is that they continue to have hope, that there are things still to be done in life,” says Alfredo, the center’s veteran psychologist, who despite his age seems like a youth “enthusiastic about technology,” he acknowledges.
The director of the Virgen de Candelaria Reception Center highlights that of the 94 places, 82 are arranged with the Cabildo and 12 private, noting that “most of our residents are from the Güímar Valley, La Laguna, Santa Cruz and El Rosario”. He regrets that complete normality has not yet arrived in nursing homes, as is the case on the street, “to resume all the activities that we did before with our elders”, emphasizing that “during COVID we had some outbreaks, but none serious, the The fact of being a well-ventilated center helped us a lot”, valuing “all the effort and care carried out by our 60 workers”.
