Altercare hosts family and friends parade for residents
The weather was perfect, and the excitement was obvious at Altercare on June 12 as residents sat outside and waited for the parade of family and friends to begin. Many residents held signs and most of the more than 30 vehicles, including a Coshocton City Fire truck, were decorated with signs and balloons.
Susan Conkle, admission coordinator at Altercare, said other facilities had held parades and they wanted to find a way for their residents to see family and friends safely. The facility asked parade participants to put signs on their cars so the residents could easily find them. “We wanted to add some brightness to our residents’ day. A few family members have done ‘window’ visits, but most haven’t seen family since the crisis started in March.”
“We have to follow all the state’s guidelines to keep our residents safe. Staff is checked three times a day and we wear masks and goggles. We have masks from Rose of Sharon and Mercantile on Main volunteers,” said Conkle. “We worry about our residents all the time. Closing to visitors has been difficult on everyone – you just can’t be sure that the residents really understand why their family isn’t coming to see them.”
Family and friends were even coming from out of town to be part of the parade. Dogs, kittens and small children were held up in the cars so the residents could get a look at them. Residents waved and cheered as they spotted their family. Many of the staff at Altercare had tears of happiness in their eyes when they saw the happiness on the residents’ faces.
“We hope this is the start of something fun and that we are able to do it again,” said Conkle.
April Reidenbach, director of nursing, said, “We can’t thank the families and our community enough for the support we have been shown, especially over the last few months. We are truly blessed to have the residents, families and staff that we do.”
Residents Bill Roof and Jerry Hunter were eager to see the parade. Roof was especially excited to see the fire truck as he remembers visiting the fire department often in his younger days.
Category: Business
