“I so appreciated your professional eyes on the safety of my home. Besides being 75, I’ve been diagnosed with CIDP where symptoms are similar to MS. So the full home safety check is even more important. You were thorough. I was in pretty good shape, but you made some suggestions that I never would have thought of. I’m so glad you checked out my full home and I feel safe and comfortable here.”
Ginny M.
Waltham, MA
“Una did a very thorough assessment of our house to understand all the factors that could potentially cause my father to fall. She talked to him and my mother, inspected all the places he usually moves and pointed out immediate things we could do and also longer term issues. She also gave me the name of a contractor who could help make some of the modifications. Thank you Una!”
Imran S.
Belmont, MA
“We discovered Una Barrett and Positive Living Solutions LLC while doing research to help some close family of ours who had some recent health related events. She performed a complete home assessment and modification plan. This included a detailed report noting findings based on her expertise and training in Gerontology, Aging in Place, and Home Modification and methods such as universal design. This was supported by their HCPs including OT/PT/nursing. Areas of change included ergonomics/environment such as a stair lift, grab bars, single floor living, footwear, mobility devices such as walkers. She delivered the advice with humor and emotional intelligence which improved user acceptance. The end result was a reduction in risk of falls and other accidents and improved health markers and the family member said they found this very helpful.”
T.B. in Sherborn
“As ‘away children’ Úna was absolutely key to our understanding of how our mother was faring. She became our trusted eyes on the ground, visiting regularly, brightening Mum’s days, and letting us know how Mum was doing. Mum lived her last five years in an assisted living facility with a special wing for dementia residents. There was no regular feedback from them. My sister and I lived thousands of miles away from our mother (diagnosed in 2011 with Alzheimer’s) and could visit only monthly. We wanted to know that her physical needs were met but also that she was doing well emotionally. Families in the area can visit and assess more regularly but for us this was impossible.
Úna paid short visits to Mum twice a week. She was a master at finding topics and a vocabulary level which Mum could appreciate even as Mum’s abilities declined. We knew that each time she visited, Mum would have a positive experience and that we would hear if there were problems.
She provided support in many other ways as well. Úna read our letters to Mum, drove her to Dr. appointments, spent time with her when she was sent to emergency departments, and sent us weekly reports on what they had done and how Mum had seemed during her visits. When we suspected during our phone calls to Mum that Mum was having difficulties Úna investigated this a bit for us and could even advocate a bit. And she met with us when we visited.
As a gerontologist Úna was very experienced and helped us understand the changes Mum was going through. She also shared her knowledge re extra services we occasionally needed. Úna has much to offer to any family needing help caring for elders. For us in particular, as we could not be there frequently, Úna was an incredibly important part of Mum’s care. She meant a great deal to both Mum and to us. We highly recommend her as valuable family support.
— M.M.
“Úna Barrett was a tremendous help in making our house safe before my husband returned from rehab. In my first call to her, I explained that my time frame was short, and she scheduled me very promptly. After she arrived punctually, she surveyed every room carefully, making helpful comments and suggestions along the way — often noting potential hazards that would never have occurred to me. Her post-visit written evaluation was just as thorough, giving me guidance for modifications and equipment purchases that I needed to make. I would highly recommend using her services to ensure that your loved one will be comfortable and safe in your home.”
— M.E.
“Just wanted to let you know that Úna Barrett has provided incredible services for my client. She has been so helpful, super responsive and very respectful of the client’s budget. Our client would truly be at a loss if wasn’t for the work that Positive Living Solutions has done. We are so appreciative of the time and effort she has spent on this case and her involvement has had an enormously positive impacted the quality of life for our elderly client. I’m looking forward to working with her on many more cases!”
— D.R.
“All of us at FirstLight Home Care enjoyed working closely with Úna to provide care for a client with a variety of needs. Úna was very dedicated to her client and always willing to help the client in any way possible. Also a great advocate!”
— W.A.
“As you know, although my brother and I often wished we could have chucked our careers and family lives to be by Mom’s side simply because she needed us, it just wasn’t possible often enough. Fortunately, we found you. I say fortunate, because, as it turned out, you were often the next best thing and, quite probably, sometimes the best thing.
You had the right touch with Mom. You were able to comfort her in her worst moments and share a smile and a laugh with her in her best. Even though, as it turned out, Mom was unable to recover from losing Dad, you helped make the best of the infrequent moments when she could be temporarily distracted from her great loss.
You unfailingly and cheerfully pitched in whenever we needed you and showed up wherever we needed you to be. You spent hours sitting and standing by Mom’s side and holding her hand in the hospital emergency rooms waiting for the staff to get around to admitting or testing her. Once she was admitted, you visited her in those hospitals. You went out of your way to pick up prescriptions, the Boston Globe and even, now and then, a bit of chocolate. Equally important, you became a fixture at Mom’s bedside or “puffy chair.”
You met those challenges with a smile and fierce sense of advocacy. Also, it didn’t hurt that you delivered your gentle and caring personal service with such a pleasant brogue. These, of course, are just words. What might be the highest tribute (and more than words), however, is that I’m certain Mom came to love and trust you like a daughter or trusted friend. I can think of no greater praise.”
— C.H.
“My family employed Positive Living Solutions to help my 90 year old father manage his medical appointments as he was losing capabilities following a stroke. Úna Barrett is a consummate professional, but also a warm, caring, sensitive and very intelligent person. She is attentive to details and kept scrupulous track of all my father’s appointments, accompanied him to them and took detailed notes at the doctor’s when I could not be present. She tracked all kinds of issues with the pharmacy and with physical therapy. She advocated for him at three different assisted living communities and helped me visit all of them and determine which of them would be the most suitable location for him as his needs changed.
She was particularly useful in helping organize his apartments to help make them comfortable and navigable as he lost mobility. This is her specific training and she is excellent at it.
We employed a number of personal aides for my father, and Úna helped interview new ones, established a notebook for them to record what happened during their shifts in order to best communicate between them and with us, and kept track of who was scheduled when. She communicated with me almost daily about the aides, their relationship with my father and also with the atmosphere at the assisted living communities at which he was living.
She was available to help in almost every situation that was needed including accompanying my father to the Emergency Room when no family member was available and advocating for him when ER staff wanted to admit him to a sub par psychiatric unit.
My father, usually a sceptic and not one to suffer fools, took to Úna immediately and they formed a close bond that really helped relieve the burden for me, his health care proxy, of caring for him as he declined in mental and physical capacity, and was with us right up to the end. I cannot recommend the services of Positive Living Solutions highly enough.”
— E.W.
“Úna is professional, cordial, and very knowledgeable. We were impressed with her insight and understanding of our situation, and very pleased with the assessment report she provided. She has been instrumental as a source of information and reassurance as we seek to determine the best future course for our living situation.”
— A.F.
“Úna helped me ensure my 89 year old Mom’s safety by going through the family home and recommending modifications to continue to live independently. This was a huge load off my mind. Úna found a contractor and followed the project through to completion. She has the wonderful gift of understanding and appreciating both the need for seniors to maintain their dignity, desire for independence and the concerns of us children to do the best by our elderly parents. Úna also helped me assess assisted living placements, which will be the next step for my mother. She can access resources we don’t even know are there. I feel lucky to have found her.”
— B.C.
“Úna not only helped my sister through the final phase of a terminal illness, she provided our entire family with knowledgeable, compassionate guidance throughout this painful process. She allowed our sister to have the dignity and degree of independence that was so important to her during her struggle. I cannot recommend Úna highly enough in any of her many capacities to provide needed services.”
— D.B.
“When my 90-year-old grandmother broke her shoulder she had professional health care workers help her recover. But none of her providers performed a safety check of her home to minimize the chances of another accident. Úna assessed her home for safety and mobility. My grandmother has not stopped talking about how lovely and helpful she is.”
— K.G.M.
“Úna was instrumental in helping me relocate from Massachusetts to Miami FL. I have been struggling with metastatic cancer for 7 years and decided that the time was right in 2013 to sell my large house (where I lived alone) in New England, and move to Florida where I could be close to my family for their support and love. I had never sold a property before this time. Úna was a dynamo in helping me to get my house ready to put on the market, became my real estate agent, and navigated me through the entire difficult process of showing, closing the sale, and ultimately selling my house so that I gained the freedom to move that I so desired. She is not only intelligent, but thoroughly committed to helping people to make the correct decisions in difficult times under stressful situations. I would not be here today with my family if it were not for her.”
— D.B., Florida