St. Joseph’s staff boost morale with snowmen, costumes

February 18, 2021

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Caleb Nickerson

caleb@theequity.ca

CALEB NICKERSON

CAMPBELL’S BAY

Feb. 17, 2021

The staff at St. Joseph’s Manor in Campbell’s Bay are doing their best to keep residents entertained despite being locked down since before Christmas.

Director General Colleen Larivière said that with the arrival of the latest dump of snow last week, they had invited the community to come and make snowmen in their yard to provide the folks inside with a change of scenery. However, . . .

the snow wasn’t suitable for packing at the time, so one employee, Melinda “Minnie” Sloan, took matters into her own hands.

“She collects snowmen so she decided to take her snowmen from home and put them in front of all the windows, without saying a word to anyone, so they were pretty happy,” Larivière explained. “It was pretty sweet.”

An employee at St. Joseph’s manor in Campbell’s Bay decided to spruce up the view outside resident’s windows last week. Melinda “Minnie” Sloan broke out some of her miniature snowmen to break up the monotony.

Larivière said that the community was still invited to come and try their hands at building some snowmen when the conditions are more suitable.

She added that residents of the manor have had to deal with strict lockdown measures since mid-December and needed some cheering up. While before they were able to meet with a few of their neighbours for activities, the new measures put a stop to that.

“We were [locked down] earlier in the pandemic, but this time, it’s since right before Christmas, the 17th,” she said. “Before we had bubbles, we could do bingos, different activities … we still do the bingos, still do exercise but in the hallways, but it’s not quite the same.”

This past Thursday they were able to have a hairdresser come into the facility, which was a huge morale booster.

“That was a big deal because no one had gotten their hair done since before Christmas,” she said. “They were very happy about that.”

In addition, staff dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, complete with their own masks, came around to visit the manor’s residents.

Larivière said that though they’re doing their best to adjust to the rules, she is eagerly awaiting things returning to normal.

“I’m looking forward to the day when we can visit the activity room in bubbles, so they can mingle,” she said.

Some of the snowmen that Melinda “Minnie” Sloan put on dispay outside of the resident’s windows at St. Joseph’s Manor in an effort to boost morale amidst the pandemic’s restrictions.

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