First Sunday after Labor Day Celebrated as National Grandparents Day
[Patchogue, New York] — Sunday, September 11 — the first Sunday after Labor Day — will mark National Grandparents Day, a special day to honor the families’ elders and celebrate the familial bonds between the young and old. The holiday’s beginnings can be traced back to 1956 — the same year that McPeak’s Assisted Living was founded.
Back then, Marian McQuade, a West Virginia resident, was helping put together a celebration for seniors over the age of 80 when she noticed that the local nursing home residents were alone and had no one to visit them. From there, she sought to establish a holiday for all grandparents and those seniors who may have been forgotten by their families.
In 1973, West Virginia became the first state to establish Grandparents Day. Five years later, Congress passed a bill declaring the first Sunday after Labor Day to be Grandparents Day. The bill was signed into law by then-President Jimmy Carter.
As the population has aged, National Grandparents Day has grown in importance as more seniors become grandparents. According to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), there are 70 million grandparents in the U.S., an increase of 24% since 2001. The Legacy Project estimated that, in 2020, the number increased to 80 million, with 75,000 older adults ages 49-65 becoming grandparents this month.
When the pandemic spread across the U.S., assisted living facilities were on lockdown and families were not allowed to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Now that the infection rate has dropped significantly, New York State has loosened its requirements. McPeak’s also lifted most of its restrictions; however, the facility still requires temperature checks at the front desk, scheduling visits in advance, and wearing a mask when walking through the facility. For more information regarding visits at McPeak’s, go to https://www.mcpeaks.com/covid-19-visitation-policy.
“The pandemic and social restrictions were hard on everyone but most difficult for our seniors who were most at risk for serious infection and often self-isolation,” says James McPeak, Owner, McPeak’s Assisted Living. “There’s no better time than this year to fully embrace National Grandparents Day and spend time with our grandparents.”
For more information about McPeak’s Assisted Living, call (631) 475-0445 or visit www.mcpeaks.com.
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About McPeak’s Assisted Living
Founded in 1956 by James and Katherine McPeak, both Registered Nurses, McPeak’s is an assisted living facility that provides outstanding service, at reasonable cost, to adults and the elderly based on the philosophy that it is our community responsibility to preserve the health, safety, comfort and general welfare of our elderly and infirm residents. Residents live in a comfortable homelike setting in a former mansion first built in 1924 that has been updated to include numerous safety features and modern amenities. Smoke and fire protection systems and a new elevator provide a safe alternative to living alone. A trained staff handles supervision for 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Activities, specialized diets and medication management are also provided.
