News

Care partners ‘Beat the COVID Blues’

June 22nd, 2021

We’re all weary of COVID, but it is still a real threat we need to guard against. A recent outbreak at PWL Stettler drove that point home, with five care partners and three residents testing positive for the virus. The mandated room-isolation order that resulted for residents could have been disheartening, but employee care partners embraced it as a challenge to ‘Beat the COVID Blues’.

Could have been very bleak

“This scenario could have resulted in overpowering negativity,” says Recreation Therapist, Lisa Smith. “Instead, I would go on a cottage and witness Health Care Aides doing something special for their residents. Care partners were taking their creativity to the next level to serve residents and keep spirits up. I felt a need to celebrate it, and so began the ‘Beat the COVID Blues’ challenge.

“As care partners went out of their way to do something special for a resident or group, they were asked to take a picture and submit it to the recreation team. We then printed the picture with a description and displayed it on a panel in the care partner lounge,” says Lisa. “At the end of 3 weeks, names of care partners who were involved were put into a draw for some cash prizes.”

Heart-lifting acts of generosity

Some of special care given included writing jokes and messages on lunch trays to be delivered to rooms, making crafty gifts for residents to remind them they are loved, fixing hair for residents who were missing the hairdresser, playing a socially distanced full-PPE card game with a resident, and going out to the public library to borrow a special DVD for a resident.

“An outbreak often shows people's true colours,” says General Manager Carol Dyck. “I was so happy to see EDEN so alive in our community with many of our PWL Stettler care partners rising to the challenge and uplifting our residents during a difficult time. Everyone who tested positive is fully recovered and enjoying their lives, just waiting for everything to open up completely.”

Photo: Resident Lynda Forsyth and employee care partners Tav Fuller and Emily Morrison play a distanced full-PPE card game. During a COVID outbreak in early May 2021, employee care partners at PWL Stettler stepped up to encourage and delight residents who were confined to their suites. Their efforts were celebrated with the community’s ‘Beat the COVID Blues’ challenge. 

More photos at Flickr: Care partners ‘Beat the COVID Blues’