Welcome to the United Church of Sun City 

Greetings from your Parish Nurse!

Doesn’t it feel good to have a little chill in the air as we prepare for Christmas and New Year’s Day? I need the temperature change in order to motivate me to prepare for this next season. It is all going to come so quickly since Thanksgiving was so late in the month.

We have been talking about next steps for being willing to look at transitions to needing additional help before we require it. It is always difficult to accept the fact that as we age, our capability to accomplish certain tasks may diminish and we require more help with chores and tasks that we did energetically before. It may be with cleaning, or organizing, upkeep on the house and yard, or keeping up with appointments and medications. But there comes a time when we begin to struggle with some of these things.

Most of us would like to choose to stay in our home and have someone come help us. This can work if you have a family member or another friend or trusted contact that can assist you. It gets trickier if you have to rely on a housekeeping service or home health organization as they can be very expensive and are not always consistent in providing staff that one feels comfortable with.

Talk with your family about this and decide together what your resources are and what you need assistance with. If I can be of help with this process, I would be glad to do so.

The reality is that at some point, for safety and health concerns, we may not be able to stay in our own home but consider instead a move to a residence that provides the care we need. This may be an independent unit that provides services like cleaning and meals as well as assistance in situations like falls or other medically urgent situations. In this area, there are lots of residence options to choose from.

The next level of care is assisted living which provides more hands-on care. Assistance with tasks like medication, transportation, even assisting in mobility concerns—like providing help to get out of chairs and ambulate with a walker. There are both large facilities that offer this assistance and smaller residential homes that are licensed as Assisted Living if you prefer a more homelike setting as opposed to an apartment type of living. 

Beyond that, of course, are Skilled Nursing and Rehab Facilities as well as Memory Care units. As you can see, there are a lot of options to meet individual needs and desires. Take some time to think through what you would like in a new home. Is it good meals? Or transportation to shopping and Dr. appointments? Is it lots of activities to participate in? Or a place that provides privacy.

You are encouraged to consider contacting a placement organization like “A Place for Mom.” These organizations work with you to find out what your needs are, what you are looking for, and then try to match you with several alternatives that may fit you best. This input is at no cost to you as the fee is covered by the residence you may choose. They can also provide information to you about financial resources that may be available to you.

There are a great number of options so take your time, visit different places, speak with some of the residents as well as the staff to get a read on their comfort level and enjoyment of the residence. Don’t put off looking at options, if you don’t have a plan, someone else will make it for you. If I can be of help, please contact me.

Upcoming events include Sun Health Presents on Tuesday, December 10 at 10:30 am in the Beehive. The presenter will talk about ways to Conserve Energy as we head into the holiday season. “A Matter of Balance Class” will begin on Friday, January 17 and finish on March 7, 2025. Talk with some of the class members from last year. I, for one, found it very helpful to be a part of this class and talk about ways to prevent falls as well as
doing some balance exercise. Come join the fun! (Reserve a spot at the sign-up table).

Merry Christmas!

Lisa Dunbar, Parish Nurse

Dispelling Some of the Information About the COVID-19 Vaccine

As a Parish Nurse, the pandemic of COVID-19 has certainly brought many challenges in focusing on the health of our congregation. Currently, the challenge is to help our congregation members to understand, to make an educated decision, and to receive the vaccination.

I have found that the first hurdle is in educating our congregation. I have been able to put short articles in the church newsletter, and to send an all-church email that gave information about the vaccine. It focused on dispelling some of the misinformation being disseminated on the web. For instance:

Concerns have been expressed about the vaccine being developed so quickly. Is it safe?
Although we don’t have years of research, the companies developing the vaccines tested it on the usual number of people that they have tested before with any new drug or vaccine. The difference in the timing is because much of the governmental bureaucracy that slows down the process after the test is finished was mitigated. The testing itself was still completed in a manner similar to other vaccines. As with any new treatment, vaccine or drug, there are potential side effects, but for the vast majority of recipients, the benefit far outweighs the risk.

I have heard about people reacting to the vaccine and becoming very ill, or even dying. Is this true? 
As with anything that we put into our body, we run a risk of being allergic to a substance in the medication or vaccine. At times, this may be a severe reaction called anaphylactic shock. In this case, the allergy may cause the body to swell tissues especially of the neck and trachea that may result in shortness of breath, a racing heart, and at its worse, a cardiac arrest. This is the reason that any recipient of the vaccine is required to remain at the site for 30 minutes after the injection as this is the time period where an anaphylactic reaction would take place. Each site is equipped with medical personnel and supplies to deal with this type of allergic reaction.

This happens very, very rarely. The current numbers are 11 reactions like this in 1 million recipients. These reactions may also occur after an influenza vaccination injection at a slightly lower rate. Although very serious for the 11, the 999,989 other recipients had no serious problems. A recipient of the vaccine may commonly have minor symptoms – a sore arm, muscle or joint pain, a low grade fever – similar to symptoms following other vaccinations. These are from an inflammatory response our body produces after a foreign substance has been introduced and usually only lasts 24-48 hours.

I have heard this vaccine may change my DNA. Is that true?
There is nothing in the vaccine to change our DNA. This vaccine is a new technology. In the past, vaccinations have carried in them a weakened amount of virus, which immediately stimulated our bodies to make antibodies to fight off the infection, The new Covid 19 vaccine has no weakened virus in it. Instead, it carries a message to our RNA to watch for an identifying factor on the virus – in this case a “spike” on the virus body. When our body recognizes that factor, it then begins very rapidly producing antibodies to fight the virus.

So a recipient may in fact “have the virus” for a short time before the antibodies are produced. It fights the virus before serious symptoms develop so one does not become ill. But it does raise the question of whether someone who has been vaccinated may still “spread” the virus even though they may have no symptoms. Studies continue to focus on this question. This is why even after vaccination, we may be required to wear masks in public places where social distancing is not possible.

Are fetal cells used in the production of the vaccine?
Fetal cell lines from fetuses in the 1960s and 1970s continue to be used in much of the early testing of many of our vaccines and other drugs. These tissues are registered and reported as the testing takes place. But no recent fetal tissue has been used in developing the Moderna or Pfizer Vaccinations. Other vaccines, notably the one from Johnson and Johnson, do continue to use more recently harvested fetal tissue in their development. There may be other companies as well.

After educating our congregation, the next step has been to identify those who are most vulnerable and require help in registering for the vaccination.

I began to make phone calls on those over 75, and those with chronic illnesses. Many had family or friends who were working with them to register for an appointment and who were willing to transport them to the appointment.

However, some of our congregants did not have access to a computer or were not able to complete the process on their own. I was able to assist them over the phone, at times registering them as my “family members” (after all, we are a church family!). I also helped to arrange transportation for those needing assistance.

Finally, I have continued to follow up with those registering – reminding them to take their ID and insurance card, walking them through the process at the sites, and informing them of the possibility of minor discomfort after that could be treated with Tylenol. I also continue to remind everyone to continue their social distancing precautions, handwashing, and wearing a mask.

Some in our congregation have chosen to wait to receive the vaccine. Some because of concern of long-term effects of the vaccine, others wish to wait for the vaccines with only 1 injection. I continue to share information with them, and to support them as they continue to follow the social distancing precautions and choose to remain limited in their social activities.