Keeping Our Seniors Safe and Connected
Hillcrest Residents Share Words of Encouragement During the Crisis
During this challenging time, Hillcrest Health Services is working toward preventing the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) by following best practices to limit exposure to residents and team members. While internal group activities have been suspended and all external resident outings have been postponed until further notice, Hillcrest’s recreation teams are constantly coming up with creative activities for residents to stay engaged and connected. These activities include:
- Facetime/Skype calls with families
- Doing activity packets with puzzles, word searches, Sudoku, letter writing materials, etc.
- Trivia worksheets (with a timeframe to complete) that they can work on with team members and family members over the phone
- Making bracelets and other crafts
- Running a snack cart with food and drinks
- Doing chocolate runs for residents who love chocolate
- One-on-one visits, including spa days with manicures, hand massages, warm towels and hair care
- Streamed church services on tablets and iPads
- One-on-one fitness sessions to include dance therapy, balloon toss, and basketball toss, as well as anxiety-reducing activities like yoga, meditation, and aromatherapy
- In-house TV channel to live stream directly to resident rooms at a few of the Hillcrest locations
- Live concerts by talented Hillcrest team members
- Community-wide virtual Bingo
- TED talks with reflection questions to follow
- Exercise classes
- University lectures
- Virtual tours (one week residents took a virtual tour of the Joslyn Art Museum)
- Library on wheels for residents to check out books, puzzles, and movies
- ZOOM discussion conversations with Bellevue University for Grand Lodge residents (a professor is going to host a political discussion on the upcoming election)
- Pen Pal Program!
It’s these types of programs and activities that lift spirits during this time, so much so that these seniors have become a source of encouragement to the rest of us.
Hillcrest Health Services meets the needs and goals of aging adults by offering the region’s largest continuum of senior health services, with devoted team members who deliver care to customers as if they were their own family members. Hillcrest has campuses in Bellevue, Papillion, Omaha, Gretna and Lincoln. Skilled home health services are offered in 11 counties in Nebraska and Iowa, hospice services are provided in 7 counties in Nebraska, and in-home personal care services are available in Douglas and Sarpy counties.
