This past year with COVID has drastically impacted the way the department ran in the past. All guidelines and infection control precautions need to be considered, examined, and implemented when selecting activities. The restrictions have led to our team stretching our creativity to run resident-favorite programs and holiday activities.
Hallway activities have become routine and are always a huge hit. Our facility had a St. Patrick’s Day hallway party- staff dressed in green & costumes and went floor to floor delivering goodies and playing Irish music. The Easter Bunny made an appearance on Easter delivering each resident their basket.
Because our facility could not host our annual community trick-or-treat, staff dressed up in costumes, and we did a reverse trick-or-treat, which was a huge hit. We will not let COVID get in the way of fun for our residents!
Senior Living and Community Involvement
Maintaining contact and interaction with the community is an essential aspect of a person’s well-being and facilitates feelings of connectedness and self-esteem. Our residents are transported via our facility bus to local shopping stores, county fairs, and places such as White House Fruit Farms. At this time, our residents have not been able to attend community events due to the pandemic. However, many local organizations have adapted, such as our local library that delivers books for our residents to enjoy. At Christmas time, our local 4H community brought handmade Christmas cards for our residents to enjoy.
How has COVID-19 Impacted Family Visitation Activities?
On March 15, 2020, all visitations from outside of the facility were put on hold, meaning families, entertainers, and non-employees were not permitted to enter the building. When outdoor visits were permitted in July, we did a total of 192 outdoor visits. The activities team has innovated by adapting alternative communication to our facility with video calls and window visits.
*Appointments are required for all of these* currently, we can only offer video calls due to COVID restrictions.
To keep up with activities at Salem Circle of Care, follow us on our Facebook page for photos!