A heat wave affects all of France with peaks of up to 35 degrees expected locally this Tuesday. Ehpad adapt to protect seniors, as in this residence in Croix in the North.
From the reception of this residence for the elderly in Croix, in the Nord department, there is everything to cool off: misters, lemon water… but also the weather forecast. “When we exceed 30 degrees, we take out the ice cream”smiles Maxence Benezit, the director of the “Domaine des Diamants Blancs”. “In all the elevators and in the common areas, we set the rules to follow: get our bodies wet, close the shutters, favor gentle activities… The activity schedule is also adapting. Today, we are rather on a pool day”he explains.
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Calm, relaxation and relaxation in the swimming pool: this is the program of Luc and Annette, under the watchful eye of Pierre, the sports coach of the residence. “Here, I come to swim, do movements in the water, we stretch, it feels good!”, explains Luc. And Annette to add with a smile: “Being in the water is enough. Do you want to try it?”
“As you get older, you can bear it less easily”
When you leave the pool, head for the reception room for Brigitte and her husband, soon to be a hundred years old, who have found refuge in the reception room. “It’s air-conditioned here.breathes Brigitte. We support in relation to what is outside. It is very, very hot. It’s called climate change and it’sIt’s true that as we get older, we bear it less easily.”
To check that all is well, Nicolas Lefebvre, head of “health watch”, visits each apartment. “I go to see them to make sure that some, especially the most fragile, the most vulnerable, are hydrating well, since some of them have lost the feeling of thirst. I insist on drinking eight glasses of water a day, two glasses of water in the morning, two at noon, two more in the afternoon and finally two in the evening.
These simple instructions are crucial to protect the elderly: last summer, high temperatures killed nearly 5,000 people in France.
The report by Laura Lavenne in Croix, in the North
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