Two children share their art with Cordell Christian Home residents during lockdown. Photo courtesy of Cordell Christian Home.
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit every community and its members in some way. It’s impacted businesses, schools, hospital, and organizations of every kind. But aside from health care workers, perhaps no population has been hit harder than the residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities that have been locked down since the early stages of the response.
The management and staff of the Cordell Christian Home have been going above and beyond the call of duty to minimize those impacts on the home’s residents.
The home’s top priority, of course, is the health and safety of its residents, said administrator Gail Wilcox. She said the home is in full compliance with all federal and state guidance for the pandemic response. All staff are sanitized upon entry to the facility and masks are required at all times. Vendors and suppliers are only allowed entry through the back door and are not allowed access to the residential areas of the facility. Only medical service providers and hospice care staff are allowed contact with the home’s residents.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep our residents safe,” Wilcox said. “The situation is fluid. Requirements come down from the federal government and they change frequently. Updates are coming daily, and we’re following them.”
One of those requirements restricts visitation at the home, which can adversely impact the mental and emotional health of the residents.
Wilcox and her team are continually finding new and creative ways to address that potential impact, while working within the guidelines.
They’ve overcome the restriction on visitation by helping all of their residents set up and hold video calls with their friends and families. Young visitors have also come to the home to visit from outside closed windows, showing colorful drawings and greeting cards to the residents. In addition, Wilcox and the staff are also making “house calls” to all of the residents’ rooms on a daily basis, dropping in to chat with them and make sure they’re doing well during this difficult situation.
The restrictions have also impacted the home’s activities. Requirements for distancing and prohibiting gatherings has forced staff to deliver meals to patient rooms and to discontinue many of their social activities, but the staff is always working on new and creative ways to keep the residents active and engaged. Staff members have begun taking residents for individual outside strolls on the home’s property and they’re organizing group sitting exercises where space allows for proper distancing. When weather permits, they’re even taking those activities outside.
One of Cordell Christian Home’s biggest hits has been “hallway bingo.” Because the restrictions prohibit getting the residents all together for activities, the staff has adapted bingo to be played in the home’s halls. Each player is set up at the entrance to their room, and staff go between them to conduct the game. Hallway bingo was shared on the home’s social media and immediately became an internet sensation. Wilcox said the idea was shared far and wide and she’s heard from several other facilities that have adopted the idea.
One thing that’s certain in this new environment is that the situation is always changing, but Wilcox said that her team is always ready to respond to whatever changes come their way.
“We love our residents,” she said. “And we’re going to keep doing everything we can for them.”