Nursing Home Staff Find Creative Ways to Make Holidays Fun for Residents on Lockdown

A resident at Continental Manor in Blanchester, Ohio, gears up for a reindeer hunt, one of many games designed to help seniors get in the holiday spirit.
Credit: Continental Manor via Facebook

Continental Manor, a nursing home in Blanchester, Ohio, recently made big waves in the social media world when it shared on Facebook a video of staff members engaged in a lively activity with residents during the holidays — a move that has been widely praised at a time when care facilities find themselves at the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the November 30 video, employees recreated a winter wonderland forest with decorated fir trees and then, dressed as reindeer, darted in between the trees as seniors armed with toy guns shot foam darts at them. The game allowed everyone to participate while complying with health and safety protocols pertaining to mask-wearing and social distancing.

“Residents had fun deer hunting today,” read the post, which inspired hundreds of thousands of people to comment, like and share the video throughout their own social networks.

On the surface, such games seem like just a rollicking good time. But, given what scientists know about loneliness and aging — especially as the nation’s care facilities undergo a prolonged lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic — nursing home activities held during the holidays bring far more benefits to patients than meet the eye.

Gerontologists and those who study loneliness in older adults believe seniors tend to report higher levels of isolation and sadness, which can negatively affect health outcomes, overall feelings of well-being and, ultimately, longevity.

A 2020 study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found 24% of all Americans over age 65 are socially isolated. In that study, 43% of participants over age 60 reported experiencing feelings of loneliness.

Researchers have determined social isolation has been associated with a significantly increased risk of premature mortality from all causes and at least a 40% increased risk of dementia. Loneliness has also been linked to an increased risk of death among those living with heart failure, while links between poor social relationships and heart disease have also been recorded.

In that light, activities like the “reindeer hunt” at Continental Manor can help maintain important social connections between nursing home staff members and those in their care, while also helping residents exercise motor skills, feelings of competency and inclusion — during the holidays or anytime.

Life Care Assn. of America shares on its website what care facilities and nursing homes across the country are doing to help seniors feel less lonely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For example, Life Care Center of the North Shore in Lynn, Massachusetts, helped residents create “memes” about what they were most grateful for this Thanksgiving, while Westside Village Nursing Center in Indianapolis lets residents share their personal stories on social media and had residents go on magazine “scavenger hunts.”

Golden Carers, an online resource that provides care plans, activities and tips for caregivers and their loved ones, has compiled a list for seniors forced to shelter in place, “50 Activities for Elderly in Lockdown and Isolation.”

Credit: Life Care Center of the North Shore via Facebook

Sorted by the benefits they bring, from spiritual connection to enhancing motor skills, recommendations include creative forms of storytelling, drawing and coloring and other artistic endeavors.

“The coronavirus pandemic is causing chaos worldwide and this is a hard time for so many,” Golden Carers says on its website. “We need to hang in there — these crazy times will pass.”