Du Quoin community puts on a show for nursing home residents

A parade of families, first responders and supporters from the Du Quoin community slowly rolled past the Du Quoin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Friday, waving furiously at the residents lined up to greet them, who waved delightedly back.

Janet Wolfe, social service director/admissions for the Center, said her residents love to see their families and were eager to thank the city's first responders.

"We invited the police department, fire department, and Miss Du Quoin, Raylee Carroll," Wolfe said, "and the rest were families and people from the community."

The reaction was quite something. "Oh my gosh, we have had families calling, and talking about it on Facebook," Wolfe added. "Many tears were shed by residents and families."

The nursing and rehabilitation center has been doing its best to keep residents connected to the families who are no longer able to visit them, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staffers run iPads and tablets to resident's rooms so they can FaceTime with their families. Residents are taken to the windows where they can see their families in the parking lot and talk with them via cellphones.

The Center also publishes photos of resident activities on Facebook. The activities are still going on, and residents are required to remain six feet apart at all times.

Residents are encouraged to stay in their rooms when they aren't doing anything else, but also "we encourage them to see each other and talk to each other," Wolfe said.

The Du Quoin Nursing and Rehabilitation Center so far is COVID-19 free - not a single case.

When staffers come in for work, their temperature is taken by another staffer, then they wash their hands and find the individual paper bag with their name on it, which contains their masks. Before heading out to the floor they wash their hands again.

Wolfe said management keeps track of everyone who is in the building at all times.

She said during the lockdown, the managerial staff has taken over some of the duties of the support staff.

I have worked here 30 years," Wolfe said. "It is great to see how the camaraderie has developed. We've become a closer knit family."