Many residents in assisted living and nursing home settings live alone in their apartments; and for some, attending activities or having meals in the dining area was their only opportunity to socialize. In order to protect residents from the COVID-19 pandemic, many (if not all) nursing homes and assisted living facilities have closed their doors to visitors and mandated that all residents remain under quarantine in their rooms until further notice.
Under these circumstances it is easy to feel down or isolated. Many residents do not have the equipment or experience to access alternative methods (e.g., virtual game nights and happy hours with friends, face-time with family, zoom meetings with colleagues) for keeping in touch that many of us have used during this period of social distancing.
Following an initiative by the Gerontological Society of America, our Stony Brook University Aging Interest Group is sending cards and notes to residents at area assisted living and nursing home settings to let them know we are thinking of them during this difficult time. If you (or your lab or family or friends) would like to be involved, please follow the instructions below. If you’re quarantining with kids, feel free to get them involved too- photos of kids’ drawings would be a welcome addition to our messages, and can be a great activity!
NOTE: We have worked closely with our contacts at the local residential institutions. We will send cards online in order to avoid any possible transmission via physical cards sent through mail and to expedite residents’ receipt of the notes. In order not to overwhelm staff at this time, we have a “virtual drop-off”email (see below) for your notes and we’ll send them in batches to our contacts at each site.
Tips for making electronic cards/notes:
File sizes must be 10MB or less.
You’re welcome to type a letter in a word processing program, write an email, make a drawing in a program like powerpoint or inkscape, or take a high-quality photo with your phone of a physical card or note you’ve made.
There are a number of free, online card making sites, such ascanva.
If sending a card or an image, please save and attach as a PNG, JPEG, or PDF file
Thinking of you-style messages related to the quarantine, of course, are acceptable but, like many of us, residents may also welcome the opportunity to read and learn about something other than the coronavirus (your hobbies, your job, your research). See below for examples of cards that have been submitted!
Please note that some facilities do not have access to color printing. Some tips for creating cards suited for grayscale printing:
Make sure there is contrast between the background and the text. If the background is light, darkening the color of the text makes the card easier to read.
Lighter backgrounds help to conserve ink.
Avoid photos that are low in contrast.
You can test how your card may look in grayscale by viewing a print preview and selecting the grayscale option.
Please email all cards/ positive messages to [email protected] (file sizes 10 MB or less). Your messages will be relayed to residents of nursing home/assisted living facilities under quarantine.