Addressing Isolation in Virginia’s Long-Term Care Facilities

Isolation is a pervasive challenge in long-term care settings. While long-term care facilities are expected and required to provide safety and support, residents can still experience isolation, which has the potential to significantly impact their emotional and physical well-being. Together, we can create a less isolated and more inclusive, ‘connected’ environment for those receiving care in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other long-term care settings.

Here are specific steps and actionable strategies for family caregivers, friends, facility staff, and the public to alleviate isolation and foster meaningful connections.

For Family Caregivers

1. Regular Communication: Even if you can’t visit in person, set a consistent schedule for phone calls, video chats, or letters. Consistency gives residents something to look forward to and reinforces their connection to loved ones.
2. Engage in Familiar Activities: Share photos, favorite music playlists, or books that may bring comfort, joy, and connection through the shared reading experience. These activities can spark fond memories and create opportunities for meaningful engagement.
3. Coordinate Visits: Visit as often as possible. For some residents it may be especially important to have a visitor at mealtime or during a group activity to help support the resident’s engagement with the meal or activity. Inquire about safe ways to be present for, and participate in (if the resident wishes) the resident’s daily life. (This can also help family build connections with staff that can help to support care quality.)
4. Advocate for Engagement Opportunities: Encourage the facility to provide diverse, resident-centered activities. Make activities staff aware of special interests your loved one may have and explore with staff possible ways of engaging those interests through the activities program. You will want to make sure that your loved one has access to programs that match their interests and capabilities.

For Friends

1. Reach Out Regularly: Send postcards, notes, or small gifts. These gestures remind residents that they are not forgotten.
2. Organize Virtual Gatherings: Coordinate group video calls with mutual friends to bring the outside world into the facility and help your resident feel connected and valued.
3. Be Present: When visiting, listen attentively and ask questions about the resident’s experiences. Your presence, even for a short time, can brighten the resident’s day.

For Facility Staff

1. Know Your Residents: Take time to understand each resident’s history, interests, and preferences. Personal connections enhance care quality and reduce feelings of isolation.
2. Promote Social Opportunities: Facilitate group activities that encourage residents to interact, such as book clubs, music sessions, or gardening projects.
3. Encourage Community Involvement: Partner with local schools, churches, or volunteer organizations to bring intergenerational and community activities into the facility. Such outside groups may also be a partner to involve residents who want to lend their support to a project designed to meet a community need.
4. Address Barriers to Engagement: Identify and mitigate factors such as mobility limitations, sensory impairments, or language barriers that hinder participation.

For the Public

1. Volunteer: Offer your time to lead or assist with recreational activities, offering to help by reading aloud to residents, or simply providing companionship. Many facilities welcome volunteers who can enrich the lives of their residents. It is often the facility’s Activities Director that coordinates these efforts to work with volunteers.
2. Support Resident Councils: Advocate for and support resident-led initiatives to empower individuals to shape their living environment. (While the residents themselves should be the ones directing the activities of such c councils, they may invite/ welcome the support of others who are outside of the facility.)
3. Advocate for Systemic Change: Support policies and programs that promote resident-centered care, improved staffing and training.
4. Raise Awareness: Share stories about long-term care residents in your community to inspire others to get involved and to promote policies that support quality care.

Technology as a Tool

The pandemic that so exacerbated isolation has also fueled broader and more innovative use of technology that can help overcome isolation. Over the course of the pandemic, use of face time and other virtual connection tools has become much more a regular part of the long-term care facility landscape, furthering the social engagement of residents with the outside world.

Families and facilities can explore virtual reality experiences, online classes, and social media platforms to connect residents with the wider world. Training sessions for residents and staff can maximize the potential of these tools.

Moving Forward Together

The fight against isolation requires collective effort. Family members, friends, caregivers, staff, and the public each play a vital role in creating an environment where long-term care residents feel seen, valued, and connected.

Together, let’s make Virginia’s long-term care facilities places where everyone can thrive emotionally, socially, and physically. Small actions, when multiplied across our communities, can bring immeasurable satisfaction and joy, not only for the residents themselves, but for those reaching out from the surrounding community whose lives are enriched by making that connection.