Nursing facilities have been hit hard by coronavirus outbreaks, and have changed visitor policies to reduce the spread of the disease. So how can older adults still maintain social connections? Helen Miltiades, director of Fresno State’s Gerontology Program, says families are visiting their older relatives at nursing homes by standing outside and waving at them through the safety of a window. Nursing home staff will take residents “to a special room where there is a huge window, and they have a set time where the family members can be on the outside, and they can see each other through that window,” said Miltiades. While the concept might seem strange, Miltiades said it can be reassuring. Miltiades added, elders are feeling cooped up and missing friends. It’s something nursing facilities are dealing with on a large scale. “How do you keep people active, especially when you have to have social distancing, especially when the regulations are, ‘You really shouldn’t come out of your room’?
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