Community solidarity with nursing homes highlighted in national campaign
Tuesday November 3, 20203rd November 2020: A national campaign acknowledging the excellent supported provided by communities to nursing homes during Covid19 has launched. NHI’s Caring Together campaign brings together stories of community and staff solidarity with nursing home residents during Covid19. The headline story for the campaign is a birthday parade that brought 150 people from the Ballina community to Sonas Nursing Home Riverview, Co Mayo, to celebrate resident birthdays.
The story is told through residents, staff and community participants and can be watched by video at nhi.ie/caringtogether.
Rita Scott, Activities Coordinator at Sonas Riverview explains: “Resident birthdays are a huge deal in Sonas Riverview and other nursing homes, with the celebrations entailing cakes, music, and family and friends gathering. When Covid19 suspended birthday celebrations, we decided to organise a big birthday parade to bring together a celebration between the community and residents. Residents sat outside on a sunny day, had cakes and treats and their family members drove by blowing their car horns with balloons and presents for residents who had missed their birthday parties over the previous weeks. We received a huge response from the Ballina community, with over 50 cars and 150 people participating. It brought great joy to residents during the difficult time that was Covid19.”
The campaign will run across social media for the coming weeks and feature on national radio.
Nursing homes and people with an attachment to them are asked to tell their caring together stories by linking in with Nursing Homes Ireland via its Facebook (facebook.com/nursinghomesireland and Twitter channels @NursingHomesIre by using the hashtag #CaringTogether
The campaign also features five other stories from nursing homes exemplifying community solidarity and the exceptional commitment of staff towards person-centred care during Covid19. These stories come from:
- Central Park Nursing Home, Ballinasloe, Galway – Words with Hugs
- Terenure Nursing Home, Terenure, Dublin – A bunch of love
- Killeline Care Centre, Newcastlewest, Limerick – Sean’s loss
- Loughshinny Residential Home, Skerries, Dublin – Claire’s big move
- Ferbane Care Centre, Ferbane, Offaly – Margaret’s 100th
NHI CEO Tadhg Daly states: “While Covid19 presented great pain for the nursing home sector, it also brought out the very best in people. Nursing homes fed back to NHI they received tremendous support from their local communities during Covid19, with people connecting with residents from afar, providing them with gifts, and supporting staff during what has been a very demanding and stressful time. The campaign is to exemplify and acknowledge the tremendous support that has been provided by communities. This has brought great happiness to nursing home residents and strengthened their resolve. It has also strengthened staff as they meet the challenges presented by Covid19. We take this opportunity to thank all those who have reached out to nursing homes and supported them during the pandemic.”
For further media queries contact Michael McGlynn, NHI Communications & Research Executive at 087 9082970. Images are available to run with the story.