By
DAVE ALTIMARI
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HARTFORD COURANT, MAR 30, 2020
As nursing homes restrict visitors, family members connect with residents in creative ways
Leeanne Griffin | HARTFORD COURANT | MAR 29, 2020
When Connecticut's Department of Health recently directed nursing homes to restrict visitors amid coronavirus concerns, it meant Dot Dixon couldn't easily see her husband of nearly 64 years. The 85-year-old Farmington resident normally visits her 90-year-old spouse at Cherry Brook Health Care Center in Canton every other day.
"The week was going by and I couldn't go see him," Dixon said. "I'm getting very sad and very lonely and just very confused with the whole situation. So I said, 'I've got to make myself happy.' I want to tell him I love him."
Using nine colored sheets of 8x11 paper, Dixon spelled out "I LOVE YOU!" and arranged to tape the paper message on the outside of the glass window overlooking Cherry Brook's lobby. When Wally came into view and saw the loving message, he smiled, Dot said, and then the two placed their hands "together" on each side of the window.
"We held hands for a few minutes," she said. "And that's the closest we can get."
Scenes like this are playing out at nursing homes and assisted living facilities around the state, as staff members take every possible measure to keep a vulnerable elderly population safe. On March 9, the Department of Health directed nursing homes to restrict visitors, limiting them unless there are special circumstances, such as end-of-life or hospice care.
Staff members are now finding additional ways to connect residents to their loved ones. Many local facilities are using technology like FaceTime and Skype, setting up video chats on cellphones, iPads and computers. At Jerome Home in New Britain, administrator Lori Toombs said the staff was able to buy additional iPads to keep more residents in touch with their families.
"Technology is not the forte of this generation," Toombs said, but staffers are on hand to help set up the connections. "Once they see their loved one, it's very positive and they need it. They're missing their families."
"It is tough, especially in our memory care unit," said Diana Hamilton, director of nursing at Stonebrook Village in Windsor Locks. With residents who may have dementia, "it's constantly reassuring. They're asking for their family members. ... If we're able to show a picture, or do FaceTime, it helps, at least for a little while. It helps both the residents and the family members."
Stonebrook has also regularly posted photos to its Facebook page of residents holding dry erase boards featuring messages to their families.
Facilities are also encouraging "window visits," where residents can meet face-to-face with their loved ones. At Glastonbury Health Care Center, they've decorated a designated window space with cheery balloons.
"This is just another way to have them connect without the physical connection," said administrator Nickeisha Bewry-Clarke. One resident receives regular visits from her husband and daughter, and her husband sings to her through the window.
Bewry-Clarke said the window visits are available seven days a week, and they've accommodated guests well into the evening. "We want to make it flexible for the families." Recent cold and snowy weather hasn't stopped visitors, either.
The window visits have become a new normal for Stonebrook resident Joe LaPierre. The former Windsor Locks fire chief used to receive regular drop-ins from family, but now they gather outside his first-floor window, sitting in chairs while they talk through the screen or on the phone.
Gale LaPierre, Joe's daughter-in-law, said it's been tough to go without traditional visits, but as her husband is a firefighter and her daughter is an EMT studying to be a nurse, they understand the severity of the situation.
"They're taking care of him, which is comforting," she said of the facility. "The staff there thinks of them like their parents. ... And he's safe. That's what we keep saying, he's safe."
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