The Recreational Therapist
Meet Natalie
Natalie Voegeli is a recreational therapist at Our Parents Home in Edmonton.
What changed after COVID began?
" No, I remember vividly because we were putting on a big scale-we put on big scale events with entertainment and food and activities, and upper 14th floor is just beautiful. It spans the entire 14 floor, floor to ceiling windows, it's gorgeous. And we do a large scale events up there and bringing on outside vendors. We had planned this big kind of sock hop event with an impersonator musician who did, like, Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.
And it was weeks and weeks planning it, and it was scheduled for March. Think 13 or 14. And so our 14th and...so that was, we were just notified, we were just starting to learn about COVID. And of course, everybody's looking at me, every department because we know we have to shut everything down. But I've been putting my blood, sweat and tears into this, this special event, and I'm like, "OK, we're going to do the event" because there's no way we can cancel it because it was on March 13th or 14th I can't remember what day. And then that was our last event. That was like the big hurrah before everything shut down. So that was an exceptional program.
So being the recreation therapist, I do, you know, assessments and also programming, but interventions and assessments for, for small scale programs and residents who need engagement, who are either socially isolated or just are unable to attend programs. And I used to have facilitators like activity specialists, personal trainers, entertainment, everything from, you know, a yoga instructor, Zumba instructor...all our different exercise facilitators. And then a technology assistant who came in from the seniors society who came in and did tech assistance. So we had all these people coming in. Before, a typical day for me, I was able to spend time with those residents who were difficult to get out or integrate themselves into the community, or who lacked engagement or stimulation. And I could leave it up to my facilitators, who I organized coming into the building, to facilitate programs for the, for the majority of the residents.
So that was kind of a typical day. But then once everything was shut down there was a huge, huge impact on recreation because all of a sudden now all of our vendors, outside vendors, could no longer come in. And so we have through the building and we have a lot of, we had a lot of people coming in and out of this building. And, you know, at least five, and then volunteers, that was a huge part as well, volunteers were coming into the building. Students, we had students coming in and, I have a great rapport with Northquest College here in Edmonton, and they have this program called the language-Language Integration. It's called the link program. And it's for people, immigrants coming in and wanting to improve their English and also with the goal of hopefully working in health care. So they would come here and I would kind of give them-they would be volunteers or students, and they would come in and do programs to improve their English with a variety of programs. And they were so helpful. I didn't realize how much I relied on our community. We'd have weekend pianist.
We have, again on our 14th floor, we have a piano, a lovely piano and space, so actually like the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra practices here...they come and use the space to practice with the stipulation that they give us a concert every once, once a month to put on a concert for us. So once a week of practice, yeah, and we have and then we have like a-another pianist, heis so wonderful, he just came in because he loves playing the piano and doesn't have one in his apartment building, which is coming on Saturdays and play for the residents. So even though I wasn't here on the weekends, I'd have all these people coming in and out of the building and really like having a pulse in the building, it was so nice. So once that-I realized, "Oh my gosh." Now that was a huge shift in like, how do we adapt?
So yeah, before it was a lot of organizing, like organizing behind the scenes of all those other outside vendors coming in, and then still being able to target because the, the independent, quote unquote independent or more easily, easier residents to target were being supported from the facilitators that we were bringing in, that I could spend my time with the residents who needed more support. So that's what my typical day looked like.
How did you adapt to COVID in the workplace?
"So it's like now during COVID, we, like I have my Zumba certificate, so I started teaching the Zumba class. I started teaching all the exercise classes, I started...my, so that was like basically the the physical side because myself and my recreation coordinators could facilitate the exercise side of things. We started taking on that immediately because we didn't want any of the seniors to lose any of that strength or muscle mass. So and that was so important to maintain at that time, and also maintain a routine, right like that for all of us, know that routine during COVID. So we right away jumped in immediately and started a shift in our approach and started offering those exercise programs in the mornings. So that was a big thing for right away, immediately spring to be the exercise facilitator. And then, like you had mentioned at the beginning, how quickly we got on to Zoom. Like I right away signed up for a Zoom account and connected with you and connected with a few other people around the country to do Zooms because family members wanted to connect.
Yeah. Well, from the outside looking in, it looks like they were able to adapt quickly. However, there was a lot of facilitation that had to happen. So, we, about twenty five, so first of all, I sent out a letter asking, and a door drop, and asking which residents had a computer. And at the beginning, a few residents said, "Yeah, I have a computer, but I won't use it." And then, as it went on, people said, "Okay, now I want to learn." So the tech assistance was huge. We were basically exercise facilitators and tech assistants for a couple of months and just facilitating, going into rooms and putting on, and that was the tough part, you know, maintaining social distance when you're helping somebody with their computer.
So we had to teach how to use the computers. How to use iPads. Connect with the families on how to sign in again. Just off that iPad you haven't touched for 20 years that you got 20 years ago for Christmas. How to use face time. So there is that facilitation, I would say only about 20 percent of our residents have computers, so they can be quickly utilized it. And then a few, a minority started using their Zoom to connect with families independently, even get their cello, actresses or their violin practices over Zoom. We have a few residents who did that. So we, there was a lot of facilitation behind the scenes, and there still is like, we're still facilitating that. You know, we, we've had to, we've had to be tech, tech support.
So that was the technology side, now not all, not everybody was as willing to use technology to connect. So we also, I designed like a telephone booth. I painted it on our main floor dining room from the front entrance. I kind of painted, to make it look like a telephone booth. And then I had a table set up and chairs, the phone, with the phone number there. And then I had chairs outside for family members, so family members. But then all that was dividing them was the glass of, of the of the building, so they could still see their loved one and then just have their phone, pick up the phone and call.
So it was kind of a, we called it the telephone booth. I do. I am not an artist. I just to scale painted with red paint a telephone booth, I can send you a photo of it. But it was pretty simple.
I just got an illustration of a telephone booth and to scale, scaled it up to 120 degrees and painted it on the wall. If I'm washable paint and that was our little telephone booth for a couple of months, and worked out really well because our main, it was in the main dining room. Well and our main dining room is closed, during that time. So all of the meals were being delivered to the residents' rooms. Which was also, on another topic, very difficult to be eating your meals out of a brown paper bag in your room alone, for quite a while. I heard it all the time how sad and how difficult it was for the residents to, to not be able to eat, eating's such a social thing.
Natalie reflects on pandemic work
"I think there's been, I'm willing to adapt, and the residents here are really willing to adapt as well, but it's really hard when you realize that even though you're putting as, you're doing as much as you can, that it's still not the same as being together in person. So I guess that was right off the bat, you notice that things that have to change drastically, once we were told no more, no more programming, it was then how, how do we continue? Like, we can't just stop programming, can't allow, people can't stop connecting with one another. So, so right off the bat, we just that was probably the realization. But throughout it, it's been just learning and adapting what works. And it was and slowly lifting up, now we embrace, we can. Still, now the smallest wins feel like big wins because it's been so long that we haven't been able to.
Yeah we connect with, we have some sister communities and I've been connecting with friends who work in, in, as recreation therapists and we idea-share all the time. And of course, you're always looking for ideas from other resources and their communities, just other communities at large, like Connecting Seniors, Connecting Seniors, it was called Project Joy. They basically lent us, I signed up for it and I thought they were lending us, but they actually gave to us two complimentary iPad-Lenovo laptop, or tablets.
So they got complimentary tablets again for allowing residents to take it, I set up the Zoom or I set them up a Zoom account depending on their abilities. And then they can go and connect to their family. Even just yesterday, I helped a gentlemen connect with his, his niece in London, England, and he was just so amazed that this tool could allow that. So and for a 93 year old to experience that for the first time was pretty cool to watch. But the, the Project Joy, so the, the technology, these postcards, people just started sending postcards to seniors homes across the world just saying, "Hang in there, I'm with you." So like different associations and different groups have been reaching out a lot, and communities have been, you know, we're still able to garden, we're still able to do socially distanced walks like we've just found ways to adapt. And so I would say that the tools that have been very useful is definitely the technology piece. I know you asked, I know I'm jumping ahead. But one object that would describe the experience and I'd probably say just that, that laptop, to be able to connect with you like this, that's been the biggest saving grace to be able to see someone else's face for the residents and for them, for never having experienced Zoom before. Actually, I don't think I even used Zoom before all of this. It's been kind of a saving grace at the same time.
Pandemic workplace: Object for museum collection
"Oh my gosh, I don't know, the mask? … We had some masks made, yeah, absolutely. Actually, talking about the community, we were actually donated, just like the two laptops or two tablets were donated, there was a knitting and crocheting and sewing group in Edmonton that donated over two hundred masks to all of our residents. Also, like ear savers that were being designed, so that, those were donated. Yeah, our knitting and crocheting group were making masks as well. So, yeah, the mask, maybe. I know that's kind of a sad one, but the computer the technology piece.