By Elizabeth Jenkins
Nursing homes are often a hot spot for Christmas service, but the holidays are not when caretakers worry about their patients being visited. The weeks following Christmas often leave the hallways baron at nursing homes.
Lisa Starr, recreation manager for East lake Care Center in Provo, said patients need interaction with caring people all year long.
'The greatest need of our patients is service to continue after Christmas,' Starr said. 'Visits just stop. The week between Christmas and the new-year is when we have the greatest need for volunteers. The residents feel left out.'
Nurses and caretakers can see how young faces bring joy to the elderly in the nursing homes.
'Seeing younger people helps them to think back to what it was like when they were young,' Starr said,. 'Seeing youth helps the patients enjoy the youth of the world.'
There are 37 patients at the Art City Nursing and Rehab Center. Monica Arnold, the director of nursing there said that a lot of the patients go without visits.
'We can use volunteers for anything,' Arnold said. 'Some of the residents like to play games and others just like to sit and talk to somebody.'
Megan Rowe, admissions and marketing director for Trinity Mission Health and Rehab, enjoys when volunteers come to talk to the patients because there is little time for the staff to spend with them.
'Once you get to know the patients and talk to them and play games with them, it is amazing what comes out,' Rowe said.'Quality of life is so important for residents. For some of our patients, this is their home.'
The Trinity Mission Health and Rehab puts together a lot of fun activities for the residents. Heather Lindsay, the activities director, is in charge of making sure the residents have fun things to look forward too. One of the most anticipated events at Trinity is the BYU football party. Members of the team come and volunteer by spending time with the patients, a lot of whom used to attend BYU many years ago. Another favorite activity is the Valentines Day dance. All BYU students are invited to attend the dance. Rowe said this is one of her favorite activities because the patients have a great time.
'You will see patients that normally complain about their hip hurting in rehab, but at the dance they are swinging their cane around,' Rowe said.
Not only is volunteering beneficial to the residents, but the volunteers get a lot out of the experience.
Lindsay said, 'The most rewarding things for the volunteers is to see the faces of the patients light up and the friendships that are created.'