COVID-19 restrictions have forced many of us to find creative ways to connect with each other and share such significant milestones as birthdays, anniversaries and new additions to the family.
This is also true at Northumberland Hills Hospital in-patient units. But a new Virtual Visiting Program has just concluded a successful trial with more than 50 participants. This week, it is expanding to help patients and their family members connect while adhering to the necessary visitor restrictions remain in place in Ontario hospitals.
This new program uses iPads and the Microsoft Teams platform to support non-clinical social video calls between patients and their family and friends. Thanks to the generosity of local donors, what began as an ad hoc effort can now expand with the donation of additional iPads.
Recognizing the hospital may have some extraordinary funding needs at this time the Grafton and Community Sports and Event Committee – which raises money year-round for a variety of community sporting and social programs – reached out to NHH with an offer of support for this initiative. Committee representative David Harnden is also a volunteer with the hospital's Patient and Family Advisory Council and provided input on the implementation of visitor restrictions that included the exploration of virtual options to support patient-caregiver connections.
As well, one local couple who wish to remain anonymous stepped up to offer their support.
Collectively, these contributions will fund the purchase of eight new iPads to enable the expansion of the Virtual Visiting Program across all in-patient units.
Recreational Therapist and project lead Amy Ludolph expressed her gratitude for this support in the announcement.
“It has been a team effort across many departments that the hospital has supported from the beginning,” Ludolph said.
“We feel so fortunate to have the ability to connect our patients with their loved ones despite these challenging times.
“For myself, I feel so privileged for these families to let me into these intimate moments and significant milestones that are so cherished. The happy tears and smiling faces of our patients and their families are worth more than any words can describe.”
The family of Richard Gibbs, whose mother is in palliative care, was among those approached to participate in the test phase.
“The prospect of not seeing her through the toughest part of her life, due to the pandemic, was heart-breaking,” Gibbs said.
“Northumberland Hills Hospital staff took the time and care to organize video conferencing. It was a ray of light in a dark time that brought humanity back to an inhumane situation.
“My love and thanks go out to Amy, Tara and all the staff who spearheaded this initiative,” he added.
“The care and compassion you have shown is an inspiration to us all. You put the care in care worker. I can't thank you enough.”
Visitor restrictions were put in place March 17 to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19, particularly to vulnerable populations. Since that time, ,ore than 50 virtual visits have taken place as part of the pilot program to celebrate milestone moments, introduce new babies, connect with loved ones in distant places or simply catch up and maintain the connections and support so vital to a patient's journey.
One recent example was the virtual 90th-birthday celebration for the mother of Liz Porter, another early participant in the program.
“Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we couldn't be with her in person, but NHH made it possible for all of us to be together through virtual visit,” Porter said.
“I believe seeing everyone on screen made for a great birthday under these difficult circumstances.”
Virtual visiting appointments, currently available on weekdays, can be requested by patients or by their family members and friends. Phone appointments are also available on request.
To make an appointment for a virtual visit with an in-patient, contact the Virtual VisitingTeam at 905-372-6811 ext. 3146 or e-mail virtualconnections@nhh.ca. Include preferred contact information as well as the room number and initials of the in-patient they wish to contact (the full name should not be used in an e-mail to protect that person's privacy).
Ludolph and Registered Practical Nurse Tara McKerroll are currently co-ordinating visits. The hospital's IT department, instrumental in the pilot phase, continues to support the Virtual Visiting Team as required, and all efforts will be made to accommodate requests. Feedback will continue to be monitored.
While it is not currently known when visitor restrictions on Ontario hospital might be lifted, it is anticipated that NHH will continue to offer the Virtual Visiting option beyond the COVID-19 pandemic – potentially as part of the NHH Auxiliary volunteer programming that existed prior to the pandemic.
