South-west aged care facilities adapt to isolation

Warrnambool's Mercy Place resident Mary Mason has gladly taken to video calls with the help of staff and sent a photo of herself with a heartfelt message to her family.

"I was thrilled at that photo," she said

"Video has been more difficult as I'm not a video person as much.

"The staff are relaying my messages to the kids and my dear friends Lindsay and Gordon.

"Cases need to come down before people can come in but a short visit through the phone is better than no visit at all."

Service manager Helen Paris said she was in awe of the understanding residents had shown towards the isolation restrictions and many were adapting to getting in touch with their families in different ways.

"We still have regular phone calls and we purchased five tablets with the money from our fundraising," she said.

"We've set up a dedicated mobile number accepting messages and sending them back as well as an email where we're getting long letters. Our Google Duo allows for FaceTime through iPhone and Android devices and we have zoom meetings that we do for groups.

"I think the residents are doing OK; a small group are really noticing the difference and those are the ones who were visited every day.

"But the majority are understanding of the situation and getting into smaller groups themselves and chatting longer at the dining tables and playing cards."

Lyndoch Living has taken advantage of Zoom meetings to connect families and lifestyle coordinator Joan Hose continues to bring her two cavalier therapy dogs Jax and Oscar to brighten residents' days.

"We have people who can get quite anxious or have dementia and when the dogs come in they become totally relaxed," she said.

"We even take them in to palliative care patients and the dogs will jump up for a pat.They relieve stresses and provide comfort for the residents. They're just part of the family up here."

Dennis Saunders has formed a great bond with the dogs.

"The dogs make this place for me," he said.

"They're the first thing I look for. They're just beautiful."

Ms Hose has also seen the positive effect lockdown measures have had on residents.

"A lot of residents used to rely on their families for engagement and not come out of rooms," she said.

"Now we've become a family. Residents sit in their little groups and give each other support."

Hamilton Base Hospital recently secured an AGL grant and bought four iPads for its four aged care facilities.

Chief executive Rohan Fitzgerald said their aged care residents were categorised as "vulnerable" and visitor restrictions were in place, separating people from loved ones.

"These iPads provide more virtual visiting opportunities for residents and their families," he said.

"Although residents are quite supportive of the restrictions, many have found it challenging and we want to do everything we can to support them to stay connected with their loved ones.

"The iPads are already in use and are making a real difference in difficult times."

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