Tiffany Steiner, a Concordia Lutheran Ministries activities assistant, hands 95-year-old resident Eleanor Mangus an ice cream treat at the Lund Care Center on the Concordia at Cabot campus. Concordia resident Bud Sears made a homemade ice-cream truck from a scooter, which comes equipped with music.

The coronavirus pandemic changed the way residents in long-term care facilities communicate and socialize, and staff at those facilities are finding creative solutions.

During the peak of the pandemic, Concordia Lutheran Ministries locations largely relied on staff interacting one-on-one with residents and avoiding risky social settings that could have worsened potential outbreaks.

“It's been really nice for residents and staff to get to know each other better,” said Brandy Muth, who serves as skilled activities director for the Concordia at Cabot Skilled Nursing facility.

When COVID-19 was at its most dangerous, the facilities were in one of three codes: red, yellow or green, the latter being the mildest and allowing for small group activates.

Muth said everyone recognizes the importance of socializing and being around one another, and she has been asked many times how the residents in her facilities are doing.

“We have 100-year-olds,” Muth said. “They've been through wars and really bad things that have happened globally. They're better than people are thinking they are because they're so resilient.”

All nursing homes and long-term care facilities operate under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

In the green zone guideline, facilities may have some small-scale social activities with 10 residents or less involved at a given time, according to Mary Susan Yuerk, chief quality officer of Quality Life Services, which has locations in Chicora and Sarver, among others outside the county.“It's not the same that perhaps it once was,” Yuerk said. “Bingo is popular. We've done hallway Bingos where residents are seated in the doorway of their rooms.”Yuerk said there have been other ways to keep residents engaged in their isolated community, too. She said resident-picked meal days are one way they break up the monotony of pandemic-forced isolation.She said the facility's nonprofit partner, Don't Stop Dreaming, has also helped find ways to improve the quality of life for the residents.“The dream application we've been getting as of late are requests for televisions, laptop and tablets,” Yuerk said. “They want the use of their own laptop to be able to play games or surf the internet.”

As the pandemic dragged on longer, technology became a larger focal point in life around many long-term care facilities, both for recreation and communication, according to Jaime White, who serves as personal care activities director for Concordia at Cabot Personal Care.“Zoom Bible studies, Zoom bingo,” White said. “It's more options for them to engage in an activity.”Yuerk said her residents have access to multiple iPads and tablets for FaceTiming family and friends.“We can't have visitors come into the buildings,” she said. “Overall, we're keeping residents as engaged as we can.”Some residents aren't able to leave their homes, regardless of the pandemic, so the use of technology is really connecting them to their families in a meaningful way, according to White.“One lady has been able to attend three major events for her family: A baby shower, a bridal shower and a graduation party, all while staying safe,” she said.Concordia also invested in virtual reality technology to help some escape to a desert, to the skies and to many other destinations, without leaving the safety of their home, according to Huth.“We say: where do you want to go?” Huth said. “One gentleman went to the Sahara Desert for the day.”

While creativity has prevailed in many instances, there is still no denying the problems with mental health, which always exist in these types of facilities, according to Yuerk.She said depression and anxiety are still realities for residents, and there are more cases of those ailments since the pandemic began. She said while many of their activities fight hard to avoid those mental problems, there's still something missing from the equation.“I think it's human nature that, when you can't see your family for that many months, it's human nature,” Yuerk said. “We're not going to say we can completely eliminate that, because we can't.”Yuerk said with the need for in-person interaction, the staff stepped up to the plate in ways they have always performed but now at higher levels and with further connection to the patients through one-on-one interaction.“The staff have largely been their caregivers, their family and their friends,” she said. “They're their constants. The relationships have taken on a whole different level because they've had to.”While these address resident needs, these connections are mutually beneficial because staff members also have felt the strain of isolating during the pandemic, according to Muth.“It's been really nice for residents and staff to get to know each other,” she said.

Hope exists in the form of glass vial, in vaccines that have a high rate of success.Frank Skrip, director of public relations for Concordia Lutheran Ministries, said clinics at both Cabot locations are happening this week. Concordia of Cranberry starts Monday, and Concordia at the Orchard starts Thursday.“We are fighting and advocating every day to get as many residents, patients and staff members vaccinated as possible,” he said.But Skrip also said nothing will change immediately regarding their visitation policy because they have to follow state and federal guidance, which has not accounted for homes where residents have been fully vaccinated.“The current visitation practice is that, when we're in a green zone, all visitation is scheduled to be held in a neutral location, and it is typically supervised by a staff member to ensure that proper PPE (personal protective equipment) and social distance rules are being followed,” Skrip said. “We also do a thorough cleaning before and after each visit.”Quality Life Services residents will find the same problem, but Yuerk said there will be some form of relief.“It is our stance, per our corporate medical director's blessing, that once a resident is fully vaccinated, they'll have the liberty to go outside the building,” she said. “They'll be able to go out and have dinner at a restaurant, or if they want to go out and visit with their family, then we will make that happen.”Quality Life Services completed its first vaccine clinics at its Butler County locations in early January, and they completed the second clinic, three weeks later. The second clinic offered second doses to many residents and first doses for those who were unable to get vaccinated at the first clinic.Those locations will have a third clinic, likely next week, for the second doses for those who received their first dose at the second clinic.Yuerk said about 80% of residents had participated in vaccinations. She said many did so out of concern for health, but the added hope of leaving the building was a nice bonus.“I know a lot of people are really excited about that,” she said. “It's something to look forward to.”