CARDS FOR THE ELDERLY UPDATE… Thank you so much to everyone who has sent in a card for our RZW Cards for the Elderly program! We have had an excellent response so far. The first set of cards will be delivered to nursing homes and hospice workers around our area this week as these cards have been through a “course of least regret quarantine” in a box in our RedZone Weather studio this week. It is not too late to send in a card or package of cards to our local senior adults who are currently in lockdown in their respective nursing homes across our region. Detailed directions are on the original post here.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE SO FAR… I am seeing at least one card from the following zip codes/locations: Brewton/East Brewton, Flomaton, Atmore, Andalusia, Mobile, Spanish Fort, Fulton, Thomasville, Evergreen, Monroeville, Leroy, Montgomery, Pensacola, Milton/Pace, Jay, with MANY more cards with no return address. About 1/4 of the cards have arrived with no return address, so please forgive me if your city/town is not listed above.
Let’s keep this great momentum going as we continue to do our part to try and help during the COVID-19 situation.
Here is the original post about our Cards for the Elderly program, which is done in partnership with our wonderful sponsors at Crowne Healthcare and Comfort Care Hospice.
SENIORS IN LOCKDOWN… You may or may not be aware that ALL nursing homes across the United States are currently in a strict lockdown mode to protect America’s elderly residents from COVID-19. According to guidelines from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) enacted a few days ago, all visitors (including family members) and volunteers are currently restricted from entering nursing homes across the nation. In addition, these CMS guidelines have forced nursing homes to cancel all group activities and communal dining. Basically, we have a lot of senior adults who are in complete isolation other than the interaction they have with nursing home staff.
PARENTS: THIS IS FOR YOU… For parents with students at home during the coronavirus school closure, this is an excellent opportunity to get your student directly involved with something that can bring joy and encouragement to a senior adult! As a former youth pastor, I can directly attest how much these cards will mean to the senior adults. We would regularly do nursing home visits when I was in youth ministry. The visits and the cards may not mean much to some people, but they’re truly a delight for someone spending their days in a nursing facility.
THE NEED FOR CARDS… The goal is to get some encouraging words into the hands of staff members at Crowne Healthcare facilities and into the hands of the Comfort Care Hospice workers that can then read the messages to the senior adults. Some of the residents will be able to read the cards themselves, but some will need the assistance of the nurses and other support staff. It is incredibly easy to participate in this program and costs very little. Here are the directions:
1) Grab a piece of paper and an envelope OR buy a card/envelope next time you’re at a store. If you’re making a card, don’t worry as much about finding the RIGHT words as much as finding encouraging words. The senior adults would love to hear about you or your student. Encouraging and uplifting words are key. Feel free to let kids draw a colorful picture. You may even want to include one note from you and one note from your student, if you’re a parent. The envelopes can be decorated too, if you want.
2) Make sure you sign the card with some context. “Mark from Brewton, Alabama” or “Mary from J.U. Blacksher School in Uriah” or “Wanda from Fairhope.”
3) Send your cards to the address below. You can put it in your mailbox for pickup by the mail carrier or drop it in the outgoing box at the post office. That address is very simple. It is:
RZW Cards for the Elderly
c/o Spinks Megginson
P.O. Box 1
Brewton, AL 36427
4) After receiving the cards and going through a “course of least regret” quarantine (more details on that below), cards will be distributed to senior adults in Crowne Healthcare facilities and to Comfort Care Hospice patients across our region. We will continue this program at least until the end of the COVID-19 nationwide nursing home lockdown.
REMOVING RISK FOR COVID-19 TRANSMISSION TO SENIORS… While the initial research points to the COVID-19 virus *not* being able to be transmitted through the mail, we are going to go with the “course of least regret” in this system. There is at least some evidence that points to the virus being able to live on certain surfaces (including, but not limited to, paper and cardboard) for multiple hours or potentially days. My plan of action once I receive the cards is to allow the cards to sit in a box for one week. This will significantly hinder any potential for ANY transmission of ANY disease, including the common cold. Once this week of “card quarantine” is complete, we will then work with nursing home and hospice care officials to safely distribute the cards.
SPREAD THE WORD… If you’re interested in this program, do me a favor and help me get the word out about it. We want to have as many cards as possible to distribute across the region.
We want to do our part to keep morale as high as possible in this unprecedented COVID-19 situation. It is our hope that this program will be encouraging for both the card sender and card receiver. Thanks for reading! We hope you and your family will choose to participate in this program. Let me know if you have specific questions. Thank you!