The COVID-19 pandemic is a challenging time for all of us. Some people having the hardest time are seniors living in long-term communities.

Seniors are considered a high-risk category and a vulnerable population for contracting COVID-19. As leaders in providing senior and young-adult residential care services in western Canada, we would like in this blog article to give you some tips on how we recommend helping seniors find comfort during these challenging times.

Keeping in Touch

We encourage our seniors and the families of seniors to try to communicate regularly using any technology currently available. Aside from phone, there is instant messaging, email, and video conferencing that all allow seniors to speak with their families on a regular basis. We encourage regular communication while senior communities are locked down.

Meditation

For seniors who are willing and able, learning meditation is a great idea. Mindfulness meditation is easy to learn, easy to implement, and has no associated cost. Meditation can reduce stress, improve sleep habits, lower blood pressure and heart rate, and generally improve quality of life in exchange for practicing it a few minutes per day.

Taking Advantage of the Internet

For those seniors with WIFI access and who are tech savvy enough to use a computer or tablet, there are some really interesting things available on the internet. It’s possible to take classes, take virtual tours of museums, watch orchestras practice, and participate in many interactive ways.

There are online discussion groups, clubs, and forums where one can pursue pretty much any kind of interest that’s intellectual or artistic or related to a hobby.

Journaling

It’s also a good idea to encourage seniors to write down their feelings about their daily life. The practice of journaling is known to have many therapeutic benefits. What may begin as an activity to comfort a senior can evolve into writing one’s memoirs or creating a valuable scrapbook.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving. British Columbia is fortunate to be doing better than a long list of other places including most of North America. We have entered Phase 2 of the BC response, and before long we hope that many of the restrictions for seniors will lift.

H&H Total Care Services is committed to doing the very best that we can to protect our residents from COVID-19 as much as we are able.

H&H Total Care Services is a privately held company based in Surrey, BC, that is a leader in providing senior and young adult residential care services. With communities in both British Columbia and Alberta, H&H Total Care Services offers a wide range of compassionate care services from independent living to residential complex care.