As the COVID-19 pandemic continues with record-breaking numbers of hospitalizations at Northeast Georgia Health System facilities, the holiday season may look a little less festive than normal. That is especially the case for those living in assisted living and memory care facilities, where strict precautions are still in place to keep residents safe.
“Yes, they miss seeing their families,” Drema Thompson, Executive Director with Manor Lake Assisted Living and Memory Care, said. “The families miss them; they miss their families. But we’re trying to make it as pleasant for them as we can with what we can do within the guidelines.”
Thompson said they have “hallway activities” for the residents, such as bingo and trivia, so they can still have some interaction. For Christmas, residents’ families can bring gifts to the door and Manor Lake staff members will deliver them to their room.
To get face-to-face interaction with their families, they rely heavily on Zoom or FaceTime.
“Some of them are very good with [the new technology] and others need somebody in there, a staff member, to get it set up,” Thompson said. “Some of them have been doing it already anyway because they got family out of the country.”
Some facilities, such as the Gardens of Gainesville, acknowledge that FaceTime and Zoom are not the same as seeing a family member in person. The CDC advised long-term care facilities to permit visitation only during select hours and restrict the visit to a designated location at the facility.
Five Star Senior Living facilities, like the Gardens of Gainesville, have created conversation areas outdoors where residents can have “sunshine visits” with their families where everyone wears a face mask and maintains social distancing.
Thompson said that one staff member in particular is excellent at keeping the residents’ spirits up at Manor Lake.
“Our activity director is very good with some comic relief, I guess I could say.” Thompson said. “She has different costumes. Like, every day she’s in a different costume and delivers mail, delivers packages. She’s Santa Claus [on Christmas Eve], delivering gifts to their door from Manor Lake. We’ll make sure every resident has a gift… So far, it’s worked.”
For those with a loved one in an assisted living facility this holiday season, Thompson said the best thing to do is “stay in touch with them via phone, write them cards, do window visits, whatever they’re able to do. Just be visible as much as they can.”
State and local coronavirus data can be found on AccessWDUN.com/coronavirus.
