By Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
After losing her mother in December, Mary Lou Primeau is especially heartened helping seniors stay connected to family while in lockdown at the Mariposa Gardens care home in Osoyoos.
“Just from knowing how much it meant to my mom, to have people around her, for me I just have a deeper heart seeing that,” Primeau said.
Just last week Primeau helped connect a senior living at Mariposa with their family, who were able to visit three times before the resident passed away.
“That day, I just went home and cried. It still feels so fresh in my heart. It’s been not even three months, so for me to be able to give that to somebody it’s just incredible, and a great team to be a part of,” Primeau said.
A volunteer who conducts musical activities for residents at Mariposa, Primeau came back from a year off to join staff helping to connect residents through phone calls, emails, written messages on hearts, actual conversations between windows.
“I’m seeing how special it is that they can connect, whether it’s through the window, or Facetime,” Primeau said.
She volunteered to play piano and lead music-based activities with seniors after moving to Osoyoos five years ago to be with her mother. Now the groups are smaller, and she uses fewer instruments, but the programs are still keeping seniors active and connected.
Front line care workers
On March 30 a parade of honking cars toured through the Mariposa parking lot to support frontline workers and isolated seniors. The lockdown has been tough on some staff as well, said Janine Rennie, director of resident programs at Mariposa.
“They are missing being in there with those folks,” Rennie said.
Residents decorated their windows with rainbows and signs and watched from their windows waving at supporters honking their cars.
Carrie-Ann Danbrowitz, a Registered Care Aid (RCA) at Mariposa Gardens for eight years, going on nine, is still conducting activities for seniors on lockdown in the facility albeit in much smaller groups.
“Residents have pitched in to do things like take temperatures, everybody is helping everybody else survive. We just have to keep our spirits up and keep doing what we’re doing,” Danbrowitz said.
She was on her way home after a shift following the parade and was happy to see the support from the community.
“I had a hard week,” said Danbrowitz, who is working 12-hour shifts. “So (the parade) was pretty good. We’re safe here though nobody is sick. We are blessed we don’t have any (COVID-19 cases) here because we’re doing a great job.”
The message from care aids and healthcare workers to the rest of the world is still simple: stay home, wash your hands.
“I go home and I hibernate and stay at home. I try to stay as clean as I can for these guys. it’s not just the lifestyle here it’s the lifestyle at home. Everybody needs to stay home. Go shopping once a week,” Danbrowitz said.
Companionship
Sherry Mallach has been a private companion hired for seniors living at care homes for 23 years, visiting and usually going for a walk, however that’s no longer an option.
“Basically anything that is going to bring a smile to their face, if it’s taking them for a walk, right now it’s inside walks, playing games, things to keep their minds active,” Mallach said.
“I think more and more people now, with isolation, are realizing that ‘hey, when you have nobody to visit with life gets a little boring,” Mallach said.
Mallach is busy as ever, and no longer able to take on clients.
“There is a huge demand for the services. There are so many people out there that need some extra help or just having a person come by and spend time with them,” Mallach said.
