Susan Lucci Shares About Mom in Assisted Living Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply.

Susan Lucci Connects With Mom Virtually During Assisted Living Lockdown

Soap opera star will share her caregiving experience at AARP tele-town hall

Susan Lucci with her mother, Jeanette, celebrating her 100th birthday. Courtesy Susan Lucci

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Susan Lucci joined an AARP tele-town hall an t
Susan Lucci's mother, Jeanette, remains a blessing at age 103. She's unfazed by coronavirus talk, taking the lockdown in her South Florida assisted living community in stride and embracing with her daughter and son-in-law with a smile. Her attitude and resilience are a consolation to Lucci, the Emmy-winning actress famous for her 41-year stint as the iconic Erica Kane on ABC's hit daytime drama All My Children. In normal times, Lucci, an only daughter, would make frequent trips from New York so they could spend time together. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. The two have always been close, Lucci said, though they've had their moments, as mothers and daughters do. They'd watch early episodes of All My Children and laugh together knowingly when a 15-year-old Erica went at it with her mother, Mona. To protect her mother's privacy, Lucci, 73, won't identify where Jeanette lives. But her experience has been positive, and Lucci is happy to sing the facility's praises, especially in light of the pandemic: the vigilance with which the health of staff is monitored (temperatures taken daily); the seamless introduction of virtual visits, which she and her husband never had to request. The head physician and nurses remain accessible. Only one person, a staff member, tested positive for the coronavirus but has not been there for more than two weeks, Lucci said. She knows her experience doesn't reflect the experiences of everyone with loved ones in long-term care. “,” she said. “But mine has been the opposite, and I think it's good to know that the opposite exists."

Finding the right assisted living community

Jeanette, whom Lucci described as “beautiful” and “spunky,” was an operating room nurse who became a stay-at-home mom once she had children. She threw herself into charitable work in their Long Island community and taught her two kids (Lucci's older brother passed away in January) about giving back by example. Lucci's father died in 2002, and Jeanette lived on her own until age 98. “I never wanted to be the daughter or the child who dragged my mother out of her home kicking and screaming to assisted living,” Lucci said. Fortunately, it never came to that. The pandemic’s death toll in long-term care facilities is surging toward 30,000, accounting for roughly a third of COVID-19 deaths in the United States. AARP is , for requiring the facilities to , and . , but Jeanette balked. “She fired everyone,” Lucci said. “She wanted to do everything herself." The one exception turned out to be “a godsend,” Lucci said: a geriatric nurse who happened to be the daughter of one of Jeanette's friends. She gained Jeanette's trust and eventually recommended the perfect assisted living community, one rich with music and performances. Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > The transition proved an adjustment. At the beginning, Lucci checked in daily. Sometimes her phone calls were simple reminders to turn on The Voice (Jeanette had a thing for Blake Shelton) or flip to Dancing with the Stars, another favorite, on which Lucci appeared in 2008. But it didn't take long for the community to feel like home. Until Lucci and her husband can be with her mother in person, they're grateful for what they have, including the virtual visits by video that allow them to see her and feel reassured by her sweet smile. "She's not as sharp as a tack as she used to be, and that's OK at 103,” Lucci said. “But she is still present and remembers us. ... She has not forgotten us or forgotten our relationships, so she's happy.” AARP NEWSLETTERS %{ newsLetterPromoText }% %{ description }% Subscribe AARP VALUE & MEMBER BENEFITS See more Health & Wellness offers > See more Flights & Vacation Packages offers > See more Finances offers > See more Health & Wellness offers > SAVE MONEY WITH THESE LIMITED-TIME OFFERS