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Staying active and social has become a challenge for most during the pandemic. But for seniors who are staying in long-term care homes, this has become a lot more difficult.
Before the pandemic, Amica London had lots of organized activities for the residents to partake in. Adam Leckie, Amica’s Life Enrichment Coordinator says every morning, each floor has an exercise program. And every afternoon, the floors get an activity program for residents to stay balanced and engaged for at least an hour each day.
“Exercises in the morning have now been lead on the floors. So residents stand in their doorway, and an instructor is in the middle of the hall instructing the class from standing or seated exercises for the residents” Leckie says.
Leckie says he’s proud of the home’s engagement with technology and how much it has helped them. A new program that the Amica team has created is the Travel Log. Where they help residents create a slideshow presentation of a trip that they remember fondly, to present to the other residents.
Technology has also helped connect the residents with loved ones, now that stricter protocols have made visitations more difficult.
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“For family members who aren’t able to come in, they’re able to FaceTime, Zoom call, or Skype,” Leckie explains. “We even had one call setup where we connected one resident with their family in British Columbia, Toronto, and Greece.”
Leckie reports that some of the residents have even taken it upon themselves to create their own programs to keep themselves busy.
“I’m absolutely amazed with the ingenuity and eagerness of some of the residents,” Adam remarks. “One gentleman has knitted about 10 full-sized blankets over the past year. And he’s just donating them to charity. I’ve had a lot more participation in our monthly book club. And a group of residents even created a COVID friendly pool tournament in our games room.”
The coordinator says that this year, they are trying to engage the residents in more creative ways. Amica holds a monthly activity planning meeting with the residents to hear their feedback and what they want to see. But overall, Leckie says that he is proud of the resilience of the residents, and how far they have come.
“I know how much routine means to me. And it means so much more to them. Because their daily routine can change on a dime, just by some of the regulations that are implemented by public health. But I’m really really happy with the way that they’re able to roll with the punches.”
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