The thought of not having your family visit all day every day was unheard of at Hillhouse in March 2020. The pandemic may have changed a lot in our lives but the happiness of the residents, at Hill House, is still as strong as ever. Hill house has managed the pandemic by drawing from over 40 years of knowledge and experience, about what makes the older generation smile. The activities team and the care team combined their knowledge and understanding of resident’s needs, to evolve and achieve the best atmosphere for happiness.
Julie one of the activity coordinators at Hillhouse said “The residents face’s light up when we tell them what we have planned each day, from trips to the bluebell woods, Tea dances or a day out at the pig racings”.
Now that all the residents and 97.5% of the staff are vaccinated, the visitors are coming back in to see their loved ones, the owner Alison Lee said ‘There was still something missing when the visitors were not there, visitors added a different dimension to the home. The staff have done a sterling job at keeping everybody spirits up, but we love our residents’ relatives being able to visit as well.”
From the beginning of the pandemic Hillhouse allowed the bold move of relatives moving in, to be with their husband or wife. Which later evolved, in the autumn, to the care partner scheme, where families were treated the same as staff members. This resulted in improved happiness of those who live in the home. The care partners are volunteers with a difference, they have family members who live in the home and support the care that is provided for their loved ones.
Hill House have researched and invested money into how to minimise risks of allowing visitors in the home during COVID. The owners have acquired UVC sanitising machines for every air-conditioning unit, as well as some standalone units, to ensure the safety of those living at Hillhouse. These Units clean and purify the air, so it is free of COVID-19. They have ample stocks of PPE as well that all visitors and staff must wear when entering the home. Everyone is tested with a PCR test at least weekly and the less accurate but immediate response LFT daily. If that seems excessive, for Hill House it’s not, they have an infection control army, that does an enhanced cleaning schedule including rigorous touch point cleaning. Jo the Care Director summed up beautifully “From the beginning, we have always put the resident’s safety and their happiness as paramount. We all live for our families in one way or another, but without them in our home our family is not complete”
If you would like to find out more, please contact Lucy Jesse on 01252 850 236 or email her on lucy.jesse@woodlands-hillbrow.co.uk.