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Seniors connecting in quarantine

Staying socially connected despite distancing

The pandemic has been a time to make adjustments, adapt to change, and learn new things. Many retirement homes and seniors have taken this as an opportunity to learn or improve virtual communication and grow in other new ways. Over the past year, we’ve been delighted by stories of how communities and seniors have adapted, made the best of things, and celebrated the way life goes on.

Below, we offer a collection of noteworthy (sometimes newsworthy) innovations in technology and care that helped seniors stay connected with the outside world and made this past year just a little bit brighter.

Schlegel Villages celebrates seniors' wisdom

The Wisdom of the Elder, a signature program within Schlegel Villages was started several years ago. Residents of Schlegel communities from across Ontario are honoured with presentation on Stories from the Green Bench. In these, they share advice they’ve acquired from life or share interesting stories from their history.

In October, the series expanded to a podcast reaching a broader world, with hosts Erin Davis, one-time radio host with 98.1 CHFI, and Lloyd Hetherington, of The Village of Riverside Glen in Guelph. Davis says, “Physically or virtually, the bench invites us all to sit alongside a senior, share a conversation or give and offer advice. [It] helps restore them to a place of reverence.”

Some stories featured in the podcast include Louise Joliffe discussing the struggle to find work in the 1950’s or Patricia Bayley reading her poem about life in quarantine, called “Stay the Course.” The series, set to continue to the end of 2021, implicitly values the experience of elders featured, and they feel renewed through the joy of sharing their stories with a worldwide audience.

George Shepherd’s video is a good example of Stories from the Green Bench.

Subscribe to the podcast here: ElderWisdom.ca/podcast

PARC Retirement Living Innovates Family Visiting

The early pandemic was an extremely difficult time for families of seniors, as they not only worried about their loved ones in isolation in retirement homes, but they also could not see them except through technologies like FaceTime and Zoom, which not all seniors were amenable to using. PARC Family Meetup Centres, launched in May, were a first in Canada, a safe way for residents to meet face-to-face with their loved ones. "There is no replacement for a face-to-face conversation with your loved one," acknowledged Westerleigh PARC's GM in a Facebook post.

This timely, responsive innovation was featured in local news outlets like Burnaby Now and Powell River Peak, as well as CTV News. The video below shows both family members' and seniors' delight in safe face-to-face meetings. One family member loves the way it allowed them to "just focus on visiting [instead of whether] the technology is [working or not]."

Other companies followed suit with similar structures, including Delmanor and St. Elizabeth Village.

Local schools connect with Bria Communities in Greater Vancouver

Social isolation affected everyone in different ways, but when we were at our best, we used it as an invitation to try new things, and to reach out to new friends since it was not always possible to see family.  At The Waterford in Tsawwassen, residents were surprised to receive the gift of thoughtfully-created friendship bracelets from students at nearby Beach Grove Elementary School. This grew out of a relationship started when students visited the community, before the pandemic. They’ve since begun to exchange letters with the students, which the students have found valuable, as they learn to write their own stories. Students were especially interested by seniors’ descriptions of “their childhoods and their memories growing up during World War II,” said teacher Joanne Calder. At The Wexford nearby, a similar story had earlier unfolded with a community pen-pal project started by the owner of a local pet store, during the early days of the pandemic.

Read the heartwarming full story of how Beach Grove school students bonded with The  Waterford's seniors.

Greenwood Retirement Communities keeps seniors safe and social

Greenwood Retirement Communities (now Lev Senior Living) had protocols in place that kept many locations COVID-free during the pandemic, earning extensive praise from families. You can see this praise in reviews for Harmony Hill Retirement Community (as just one example). The company has also kept seniors pleased as possible during the pandemic, with virtual offerings like a concert from the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in January.

At Retirement Suites by the Lake, also part of Greenwood, seniors stayed positive through the pandemic, thanks in part to their dogs, who helped them stay socially and physically active. Seniors here embrace the freedom to keep exploring life with the confidence gained by their trust in being safe, thanks to great care from staff there.

Optima offers virtual yoga sessions to seniors

Optima Living, with locations across western Canada, has done an excellent of keeping seniors safe from the virus while also nurturing their spirit. Case in point: they're offering online yoga sessions through their recently purchased Wild Rose location. The program, featuring Certified Yoga Instructor Erin, is viewed by seniors throughout western provinces who get break their isolation.