Category: Psychological

10 Ways to Help Isolated Residents in Long-Term Care Homes

Posted on by Reagan Morgan

Since the beginning of 2020, Long-Term Care homes around the world have been largely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, homes continue to be affected as new waves and variants spontaneously spread. The Omicron variant is proven to spread more frequently, thus numerous residents, staff and health care workers have recently tested positive for COVID-19 all throughout Ontario.

Due to the rise of Omicron, general visitors and social absences for residents have been banned. These restrictions have brought feelings of social isolation, loneliness, and rejection to those residents confined to their rooms. Though mandated isolation keeps residents safer, companionship, emotional support, in-person contact and social engagement – the human elements – are currently near to non-existent. Combined with poor health, cognitive impairment, and psychological distress, the risk of social isolation and loneliness is painful and can lead to other detrimental health outcomes.

Here are 10 ways to help isolated residents not feel lonely.

  1. Get in touch with the Recreation Department to let them know what kind of music, TV shows, or movies your loved one enjoys. Number 705-445-6501 ext 222 (Long-Term Care) or 229 (Retirement Home)
  2. Drop off a smartphone, iPad, tablet, or portable DVD player so your loved one can stay connected and entertained.
  3. Contact the Recreation Department to schedule a video call with your loved one using FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom.
  4. Write your loved one a letter to offer some words of affirmation and encouragement. Remind them how resilient they are and that better days are coming.
  5. Call your loved one over the phone to have a conversation with them.
  6. If you are an Essential Designated Caregiver, you can book a visit to see your loved one through our online portal on our website. If you would like to become an Essential Designated Caregiver, please contact us directly to set you up for it. Number 705-445-6501 ext 222 (Long-Term Care) or 229 (Retirement Home)
  7. Drop off your loved one’s favourite snacks, books, pop, candy, essentials, or even fast food like McDonalds or Tim Hortons.
  8. Send your loved one photo’s of you and your entire family so they can see and have a physical copy of the photo in their room. Photos of grandkids, great grandkids, and pets always put a smile on their face.
  9. Include your loved ones on special occasions. Call them on their birthday or include them while having Thanksgiving Dinner or Christmas via video call so they feel like they are there with you.
  10. Schedule an appointment with Rogers or Bell to set up cable TV in their rooms. Live TV is always a great source of entertainment.

Communication and your presences are very important for the residents during these challenging times. A simple gesture or phone call can go a long way in helping the resident not feel lonely and isolated in their rooms. More than ever, this is crucial, and we encourage everyone to do their part in making our residents feel included in your lives.

 

Resident in isolation due to COVID-19 Pandemic.

Self-Care: Practices for a Healthy Body & Mind

Posted on by Reagan Morgan

Sounds simple right? But when we really think about it, do we consciously and actively take good care of ourselves? For many, the answer is no.

Initially it can be challenging to find the time as we can overthink self-care and make it this “big thing” to achieve, however it can be quite simple, it comes down to small, daily decisions that add up to big rewards when you look at the big picture.

Here are 8 pillars of self-care that you can be focus on:

Physical: This involves movement of the body, your health, nutrition, sleep/rest touch and sexual needs. Some ways you can focus on physical self-care are 1) take a walk and connect with nature whenever possible 2) eat health nourishing foods, 3) get adequate sleep, aim for 8 hours a night on average, and 4) drink plenty of water.

Psychological: This involves learning new things, showing creativity, practicing mindfulness, using consequential thinking, engaging intrinsic motivation.  Some ways you can focus on physical self-care are journaling and self-reflection, practicing mindfulness and an awareness of the present moment and cultivate a feeling of acceptance of what is. Master a new skill that feels good to you-crafting or drawing or learning something new and expanding your knowledge, just make sure it does not cause stress.

Emotional: This involves exercising compassion for yourself and others and seeing negative emotions arise and not letting it control you. Finding ways to focus on emotional self-care are watching your thoughts, developing a better emotionally supportive dialogue in your mind, and become aware of your feelings. Manage stress through therapeutic activities like listing to music, create art, or engage with nature.

Social: This involves your connection with your community, your co-workers, your friends and family, the world, and humanity. With social distancing and lockdowns, this can put a strain on your social connections.  It makes it more important to make the time to connect with loved ones any way you can safely. Ways you can focus on social self-care include recognizing and keeping away from toxic people in your life. When we join a group, community or volunteer our time to help others, we fill our own happiness cup up too. Meet new people and connect on a deeper level. Realizing we are all connected and all unique.

Professional: This involves loving what you do for a profession. Having a clear understanding of your role and responsibilities and feeling that your work makes an impact every day. Ways too focus on professional self-care are- attending professional development courses and get involved at work in committees etc. Set clear healthy boundaries and have a good work-life balance, negotiate your needs and benefits in a clear assertive way.

Financial: This involves a healthy relationship with your money. How do you see money? Ways to focus on financial self-care are include being conscious of spending habits and debts that may be outstanding. Manage your money wisely, plan a budget that suits you and get help from a planner if needed. Keep mindful of what bills need to be paid and do it on time. It will make you feel relieved and focus on having a good relationship and purpose for your money.

Spiritual: This involves connecting with your higher consciousness, feeling the life and connectedness to all living beings within all of us. Ways you can focus on spiritual self-care are – making a list of personal beliefs and guiding values but its best to not have a fixed, rigid mental state that must be defended – accept what is. Spend time connecting with nature and feel its essence. Ensure to allow for adequate spiritual practices or religious activities, what makes you feel connected with others and feels good to you.

Environmental: This involves your space you live in, your connection with the earth and all living things. Ways to focus on your environmental self-care are to keeping your living and workspaces clean, neat, and organized. This will help you focus, gain clarity, and comfort when needed. Complete seasonal cleaning and organizing and allow for that time to regenerate and change things up. If it is not working seek out a feng shui approach to help. Consider your direct impact on the health of Mother Earth and do whatever you can to reduce your impact. For example, reuse, reduce and recycle when possible. Plant trees and plants that help heal the earth and reduce chemical use in the home and in the garden. Healthy soils equal healthy life.

Remember everyone’s self-care plan will look so different and be totally personal. Start by making small goals and feel joyful about self-care try to reduce and overwhelmed feelings related to it! I hope this helps everyone’s self-care journey! Lots of love to you all!


Lillian Kelly
RN Director of Nursing