Though pandemic restrictions were hard on all community members, they were particularly hard on elders, many of whom endured long-term isolation because of the risks COVID posed to their immune systems. Now that the federal government declared the pandemic public health emergency over this month, Hospice of Wrangell is encouraging community members to reach out to their grandparents, older friends and long-term care and Senior Apartments residents.
Homebound elders and Senior Center or long-term care residents “still want to be part of the community,” said Alice Rooney, of Hospice of Wrangell. “They still want to be connected to the community. They love hearing about what’s going on in town. They like knowing what’s going on in people’s lives. Oftentimes, they have stories to tell … or maybe if they’re non-verbal, they like to have someone to sit with them, hold their hand.”
Hospice of Wrangell has discussed starting a program similar to Stika’s Brave Heart Volunteers, or yee gu.aa yáx x’wán. Though starting such a program in Wrangell isn’t feasible for the time being, the organization has been an inspiration for Rooney.
Established by nurses in 2001, Brave Heart Volunteers provides companionship to people who are experiencing isolation, grief and end-of-life care.
The program, which has been running for 22 years in Sitka, boasts two paid staff members and around 55 active volunteers.
Program Manager Kathryn Winslow vets and interviews potential volunteers before matching them with elders. “I think about the people we have on the volunteer list and the people we have on our care list,” she said. “Do their schedules match? Do they want the same things? Do I think they’d be natural friends? I call and check in periodically to see if there’s anything we’d need to change.”
The program also offers educational resources, like end-of-life courses, ethical will workshops and volunteer trainings. It fundraises regularly to support these offerings.
Two barriers are currently preventing Wrangell from starting a formal elder care volunteer program of its own — liability issues and the lack of paid staff.
“If we follow the Brave Heart model, it requires a fair amount of coordination, because it’s fairly structured,” Rooney said. “It requires someone to match up the visitors and potential visitees … set up the schedule, monitor the schedule. … We’d need two people to do this.”
Many people in town, Rooney included, are “willing to help, but not wanting to take on that kind of responsibility.” Having a well-established program to coordinate funding would be nice, but for now she hopes to expand on the family, subsistence and volunteer visits that are already taking place.
“There’s so much informal visiting that goes on in Wrangell anyway,” she said, whether it’s hunters sharing their bounty or church leaders sharing comforting messages with elders. Her aim is to “try and boost the informal visiting that goes on.”
At the long-term care unit in the Wrangell Medical Center, visiting restrictions took many forms as the pandemic evolved, explained Hospital Administrator Carly Allen. Restrictions are now completely lifted and visiting has returned to pre-pandemic levels.
“There are some people who volunteer to come up for a variety of reasons,” said Allen. “We have people that share music, we have people who share Sunday church services.” Volunteering in a supervised group setting does not require an application and screening process, like one-on-one volunteering would.
To do a supervised visit, contact the hospital at 907-874-7000 and speak with the director of nursing.
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