'You get to see people again:' HHS combating COVID-19 loneliness with virtual visits

Crystal Rivers is working on a paint-by-number with the help of a palliative care patient at St. Peter's Hospital in Hamilton and they're not going to let COVID-19 stop them.

The two can't visit each other in person these days — coronavirus has seen to that — but a new virtual visit program created by Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) means they can stay close even though they're far apart.

"Not being able to see [patients] or talk to them has been very hard," said the 38-year-old. "When this program came up I jumped on it in a heartbeat because you get to see people again."

HHS was forced to close its doors to visitors on March 20 in order to protect patients.

Those at St. Peter's, which houses adults with complex behavioural and palliative programs, are especially at risk.

That means people like Rivers, who has been volunteering at the hospital for 10 months or so, can no longer see residents they've formed a connection with.

Those relationships — somewhere between a staff and family member — mean a lot, according to Lyndsey Charles, a recreation therapist in the palliative care unit. So staff started looking for ways to bring the volunteers back to help fight off isolation and loneliness.

They settled on the idea of using iPads to carry out video calls and put a call out to volunteers, 10 of whom quickly responded saying they wanted to participate in virtual visits. HHS is also allowing free public WiFi access as a way to help patients stay in touch.

To set up a visit, staff take down a volunteer's number and availability then schedule one-on-one calls with patients, some of whom they know and others they're meeting for the first time.

"The great part about the video is that's where they can connect ... to have hope and give patients something to look forward to," explained Charles, adding it allows patients to forget about the rest of the world and COVID-19 worries for a while.

"It also gives the patients a little bit of normalcy in their life because right now things are so uncertain."

'As if I was there in person'

The first three visits happened Thursday, with seven more Friday.

Rivers took part in six of those calls and said it made her feel like she was back at the hospital.

"Smiling is infectious, so when you can physically see somebody smiling and talking and laughing it's so different,' said.

Calling from home also meant a chance to show patients she's been talking to for months another side of her life and introduce them to her dog.

As for confusion with the new technology, Rivers said it wasn't long before the patients got used to it and it was just another conversation.

"They got very comfortable with talking with me and smiling and laughing and joking — back to as if I was in there in person."

So much better than a phone call

Adam Stevenson and his family know better than most the difference technology can make.

His 62-year-old mother has been a patient at St. Peter's since 2013. She has a inoperable tumour in her stomach and is mostly paralyzed with only a little motion in her arms and hands. Her immune system is also compromised meaning a cold —let along COVID-19—could be devastating.

The Stevenson family is close. An only child, Adam and his wife visit his mom at least once or twice a week to bring her food, cut her hair, paint her nails or just joke around.

His father had been spending 10-12 hours every day at the hospital by her side.

Describing the past week as tough would be an understatement.

"It's been hard for sure," said the 37-year-old. "He misses her like crazy."

Before visitors were banned from HHS sites, the family installed a Facebook Portal in his mom's room so she won't be lonely.

"The value of actually being able to see someone seems to go that much further than just a phone call," he explained, adding they spend about an hour every night gabbing and laughing.

Video allows the family to make funny faces and the camera follows his mom's hand as she waves.

The Stevensons haven't had a chance to use the virtual visiting program yet, but Adam said he knows how much it will mean for others.

"It's genuinely heartwarming to see the impact technology like this has on people's lives who are living though situations like that."

Rivers plans to continue taking part in weekly virtual visits and said she's already looking forward to getting back to that pesky paint-by-number.

"We're giving tips back and forth on how to deal with these bloody numbers," she said with a laugh.