(P63) Face-to-face Nursing Home Visits During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Safe Intervention

Introduction/

Objective: COVID-19 pandemic has had a major disproportionate effect on morbidity and mortality of nursing home residents, accounting for 40% of all COVID-19 deaths, necessitating “lockdowns” to limit exposure. This has prevented loved ones from visiting, leading to significant social isolation and loneliness amongst our veteran residents, exposing them to medico-psychological issues, and increased risk of premature deaths from all causes. Various interventions tried only showed modest benefits.

Objective:
To foster behavioral health and mitigate the adverse health impact of social isolation on veterans, this Florida Veterans Medical Center – Community Living Center employed a novel non-pharmacological approach using therapeutic outdoor visits with loved ones at the Butterfly Garden.

Design/Methodology: Award-winning “Therapeutic Gardening Program” at the center began in 2005 to improve the quality of life of elderly veterans. Garden built next to the Community Living Center has subtropical flowering plants, butterflies, birds, and chameleons, overlooking a pond. Thirty minute-visits allowed 4 times a week per resident. Safety ensured by strict compliance to CDC guidelines. Visitors and residents gowned up, gloved, and wore masks, to allow human touch.

Results: Since its initiation in December 2020, there have been 1,856 therapeutic visits without any documented exposure to COVID-19. Participants were extremely appreciative of these visits, when they can touch and hug loved ones, though many wished for longer time during visits.

Conclusion/

Discussion: To overcome social isolation related to COVID-19 lockdown, the novel approach of therapeutic face-to-face outdoor visits employed by the WPBVAMC-CLC has been successful in allowing loved ones to safely visit our nursing home residents. This could serve as a model for similar facilities to address the negative consequences of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.