Parker’s Adult Day Programming a Ray of Light For Those Dealing with the Winter Blues
As the Pandemic Marks its First Year on March 9, Parker Focused on Engaging Elders
HIGHLAND PARK, NJ – February 26, 2021 – The elders drove up, with big smiles and enthusiastic waves.
From the warmth of their cars, they rejoiced at the sight of familiar faces, even if they were partially obscured behind masks. Bags of healthy snacks and other small gifts were safely passed through open car windows off River Road in Highland Park.
This brief drive-through event, and others offered monthly by Parker’s Adult Day Program staff members, have been just the tonic for elders who may be struggling during this colorless winter wrapped inside a pandemic.
The winter blues, the blahs, the doldrums, the mopes – they’ve been acerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As we get set to mark the one-year anniversary of the state of emergency being declared across New Jersey, Parker is brightening up elders’ lives by continuing to offer drive-through events at the Highland Park campus, as well as a variety of online programming that gets elders excited about marking the calendar.
The drive-through events, such as the one held in February in celebration of two holidays near and dear to everyone’s hearts – Valentine’s Day and American Heart Month - are especially effective in shining rays of light into the elders’ lives.
“It gives them the opportunity to go for a drive, come up our driveway and see that familiar setting,” said Natalie Macaro, Director of Adult Day Programs at Parker. “Although we're all standing outside, and we have on our masks, they recognize our voices and the part of our faces that they can see. And even if it's just a brief moment, we're always giving out something and checking in with them. “
“We get a lot of feedback from the families about how important these monthly drive-by events are,” she added.
Feelings of sadness and fatigue, as well as weight gain and excessive sleeping, are common symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, Macaro said. Researchers believe it could be linked to our body’s reaction to having less sunlight during winter when the days are shorter and we typically retreat to the warmth of indoors.
Macaro said the common disorder has been acerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even when shelter-in-place orders were lifted, many familiar places such as stores and restaurants offered limited capacity. Overall, the long list of social distancing guidelines has made it difficult to connect with friends and family.
Parker Health Group, which has residences in Highland Park, Piscataway, New Brunswick, Somerset and Monroe, is meeting the challenge of providing programming at a time when it cannot open its doors for Adult Day Programming because of the lingering pandemic.
Technology is a savior. Macaro said Parker offers a user-friendly platform called Caremerge to reach out to elders virtually. Because it requires no passwords and there is no Zoom meeting access codes to fret about, elders can easily take advantage of interactive programs such as bingo (they’re provided with the cards in advance), trivia games, puzzles and word games.
Macaro said Parker has continued to use the technology to find creative ways to virtually connect with the elders, such as developing musical programs designed to be uplifting or creating TheChronicle, a daily “newspaper” that lists important historical moments from each day of the year.
Other programming, such as an event marking Black History Month, is more educational.
The technology also helps the Parker staff engage the elders in their own communities. For instance, the staff often provides them with a list of safe events in the area or information on local clubs that meet remotely.
“One of the other things we’ve also been promoting is trying new recipes and trying to cook new foods,” Macaro said. “We recently had a social worker-led initiative in which we reached out to the families and asked them to share their favorite recipe and a photo of themselves. We took that and put together a cookbook and sent it to everybody.”
Although these initiatives – as well as old-fashioned phone call check-ins – continue to keep the Parker staff closely linked to the elders, the drive-through events remain very popular.
“For February, we gave away a bag of heart-healthy foods and information and, of course, chocolates to celebrate Valentine's Day,” Macaro said. “Staff members wore red and set up heart balloons and other decorations outside - we always decorate.
“These regularly-scheduled events help strengthen that connection so when we do reopen, it will be familiar place for elders,” she said. “We consider it a homecoming!”
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