Rand Aid remains connected through communication
The majority of care centre residents are very frail and the no-visitor rule has been especially difficult on loved ones.
Rand Aid’s Community Care Coordination Team, village nursing staff, occupational therapists, social workers and office staff have done considerable work in addressing the emotional and psycho-social challenges emanating from the Covid-19 crisis.
Core to Rand Aid, CEO Peter Quinn said response has been constant communication with all stakeholders.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure residents, their families and our employees are kept informed about relevant Covid-19 matters and the support mechanisms in place to ensure they suffer as little hardship as possible during this time,” said Peter.
Written communication includes weekly updates to village residents via newsletters or bulletins from the managers, as per Peter.
He added letters from himself and the Community Care Coordination Team are sent via bulk email to residents and family members.
“The letters contain information about Rand Aid’s Covid-19 response and share tips about coping with all the uncertainty and change.”
According to Peter, the majority of care centre residents are very frail and the no-visitor rule has been especially difficult on loved ones.
“To overcome this, Ron Smith Care Centre has taken photos of residents and sent these to family members, along with a short note on how their loved one is doing,” said Peter.
In addition, Peter said WhatsApp groups have been established for each of the wings at the care centre to facilitate the sharing of photos and video clips with families.
Sue Prior, Rand Aid’s Community Care Coordinator, agreed the appreciation from the family members is incredibly touching.
At Thembalami Care Centre, as per Sue, incorporates the Max Ordman Deaf Association, contact with loved ones is also facilitated via telephone and WhatsApp video calls.
Inyoni Creek manager Jenny Tonkin raised Inyoni Creek retirement village office staff phone residents on their birthdays and sing happy birthday to them, which the residents love.
She said these small gestures make a huge difference.
“We assist residents who are challenged by technology to learn how to video call on WhatsApp.”.
Jenny said one resident couldn’t believe she could actually see her family in Australia.
“To keep the spirits of staff members up, we took individual photos of all of them and put them up on our noticeboard in reception, alongside a sign saying ‘We are here for you’. They absolutely love it,” said Jenny.
To facilitate greater contact with residents in the retirement villages, Phyllis Phillips, Elphin Lodge retirement village’s liaison manager, said sisters and management teams reach out to residents via phone calls and house calls.
Although with the latter, she said the visit takes place on the doorstep and social distancing protocols are maintained.
While she is working from home, Phyllis said she phones village residents to keep in touch and see how they are doing.
“Those living on their own particularly appreciate this contact. I even had an email from a son living in America to say how much his mother enjoyed our talk,” said Phyllis.
