Home Health Care

The Rose of Ames is decorated for the Christmas season with trees wrapped in strings of lights and ornaments.

For resident Regina Williams, this year's holidays will be bittersweet as one special person will be absent from her family's celebrations.

Regina's husband Bob passed away this October after the couple had been married for 56 years.

"Bob was a people person," Regina said. "He would always walk around and talk to everyone. I always told him he married me so he could do all the talking."

Bob's cheerful and friendly personality is missed at The Rose, an affordable independent assisted living facility, where he and Regina have lived for the past two and half years.

"We used to live in Nevada, but it was getting harder for me to take care of Bob with his health problems," said Regina. "He had his hip replaced three times. We just needed help, so it's been very nice and we met a lot of friends."

Through LSI's home health care services provided to residents of The Rose, Bob received help with bathing and getting dressed. LSI also helped the couple with homemaking services in their apartment.

Earlier this fall, Bob and Regina learned he had cancer. He didn't want to enter hospice care, so LSI's nursing staff at The Rose helped make him as comfortable as possible as he spent his final days surrounded by family and loved ones in their Rose of Ames apartment.

"His last few days the family was staying here with him at night," she said. "The nurses would check his vitals, make him more comfortable and turn him two to three times a day. The ones who took care of him were all so nice."

"He didn't want to go to hospice. He wanted to stay here because he really loved it here."

Regina will spend Christmas with some of her children and her many grandchildren, who are spread out from Iowa to Texas to Alabama.

She said she plans to continue living at The Rose.

"Everyone asks me if I'm going to leave, but I wouldn't think of moving. I like it here too," she said. "Right now I can do everything for myself, but you never know what can happen. All the people in the office are so friendly. I've met some friends here that I enjoy. It's like a big family."