How seniors and their loved ones are staying connected with window talks amid COVID-19

St. Albert resident Jordan Dore sits on a ledge outside of his great-grandmother's ground-floor window at the Chateau Mission Court retirement home, leaning in closer to see her through the glass.

His great-grandmother Theresa Charest sits in a wheelchair inside her room right by the window, a phone pressed against her ear. 

"How are you doing? Do you ever get bored?" Dore asks into his cellphone. 

"Oh no, I don't have time for that," the 102-year-old replies, who just celebrated a birthday on April 13. "Life is too short to complain."

Though her family wasn’t allowed inside the facility to celebrate, Dore said they surprised her for a socially distant celebration, holding up signs outside her window close enough so she could read them. 

This is the new normal for nursing home residents and their families, as long-term care facilities and retirement homes in Alberta shut their doors to visitors to protect residents from the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this month. 

That's because the Public Health Agency of Canada considers older adults more vulnerable to potentially fatal complications from contracting COVID-19, a new strain of coronavirus linked to respiratory illness. 

To date, 307 cases have been confirmed at continuing care facilities in Alberta and 36 residents at these facilities have died.

Having lived through the Spanish Flu pandemic that took the life of her mother when she was just six months old, Charest said she wasn't exactly expecting to see another pandemic in her lifetime.  

"I hope it goes away for everybody because it's a very bad thing. During the Spanish influenza in 1918, my mother told my father in the morning, 'I'm feeling sick, you take care of the girls.' By six o'clock, she was gone – she was 23 years old," Charest said.

"That's crazy," Dore replied. "You know, I never knew that until today."   

Dore said before COVID-19, it was difficult to find the time to visit his great-grandmother as much as he wanted to. Now that he's not working because of the pandemic, Dore said he has these "window visits" with Charest two times a week. 

"I'm really grateful to have this extra time to spend with her," Dore said.

"We're having to slow down now, and she's from a different time. She doesn't come from a place of, 'I have a problem, how do I solve it?' She's just content with her existence. It feels really good to learn different things about her, to have a new appreciation for her. These visits are something I will always be glad that I had."

New ways to connect

While not being able to see each other in person can be difficult, families and care staff at facilities across St. Albert have come up with creative ways to make sure people can stay in touch with their loved ones amid the pandemic.

Violet Anderson, area manager at Chateau Mission Court, said the retirement home has seen others connect through window visits.

Being able to find new ways to socialize means "everything" to their residents, she said. Even spending a few minutes on the telephone can go a long way toward reducing feelings of loneliness, isolation, and anxiety.

"It means that they matter; it means that their families care. It's everything."

The home is expecting to get a new laptop this week so people can connect with each other online, through apps like Facetime and Skype. Anyone is also welcome to participate in their new letter-writing program.

Nicole Collyer, director of recreation at Revera River Ridge retirement home, said "it's been really wonderful" to see how people are finding new ways to connect.

"We're asking the families right now with the window talks to be a 'pane in the glass,'" Collyer joked.

Laptops can be set up on TV trays with their dinner so residents can have a meal with their families over Zoom and other video calling applications. Last Friday, the facility's management team took up balloons, colouring books, games and chocolate bars up for residents to put a smile on their faces. 

"We just had a group on Friday come by for one hour to do chalk art outside, and then other family members have been bringing out their guitars outside their resident's windows to start singing to their loved ones," Collyer said. 

These self-isolation measures are put in place to keep residents safe, but the lack of interaction can be especially harmful for residents with cognitive conditions like dementia, she said.

"The more we can continue to keep the energy up, the more we can get them to some form of normality that is better for their health."

Dana Schnepf, director of care and site manager at the Citadel Care Centre, said their letter-writing campaign has seen a lot of response since it first launched. One anonymous writer dropped off 130 cards for staff to hand out to all of their residents.

"Staff had tears in their eyes because they saw how special these letters were for them," Schnepf said. 

"We're trying to put residents in a protective bubble here to keep them alive and safe, but even in the social bubble they still need interaction with people in the outside world. That's what makes life worth living."

The Shepherd's Care Foundation Kensington Village seniors home in north Edmonton is asking the public to send letters to residents there as well to try and lift their spirits. To date, two people at the facility have died from COVID-19. Twenty-four residents and staff members have tested positive for the virus, and the 600 seniors living there have been essentially locked down since April 7.

Health care aide Lindsey Wallace said people are encouraged to send letters or drawings to any room number at the centre's address, just to say hello, ask how they are doing – anything to brighten up their day.

"I thought it would be a bit of a surprise for them to just let them know they aren't alone. If they got a letter from someone in the community, it would be a great way to lift their spirits," Wallace said.