Hospitals across the nation have been forced to restrict visitation in an effort to maintain social distancing and prevent COVID-19 exposures. Though these necessary precautions help to keep patients and staff safe, patients who must recover without loved ones can feel isolated. To ensure patients know they’re not alone during this overwhelming time, staff have stepped up not just as knowledgeable caregivers, but as compassionate companions too.
This is especially evident in Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Unit. The ACE Unit is specially designed to provide comprehensive care for older adults as they recover from illness or injury. These patients have a much higher risk for hospitalization-related issues like delirium or functional loss, so the ACE team was already familiar with providing above-and-beyond care long before the pandemic hit Philadelphia.
“We have a unique unit,” said nurse manager Kristine Buffa, MSN, RN. “Our patients require a lot of extra TLC to help them stay sharp and heal comfortably, so keeping up with the activities of daily living really makes a huge difference in their wellness. It goes beyond providing acute medical care — we’re doing what’s good for the soul.”
Though COVID-19 has placed unprecedented pressure on health care professionals and sparked anxiety and uncertainty for many patients, you would never know it on the ACE Unit. “When we closed off to visitors, we really did become a surrogate family for many of these patients,” Buffa said.
Staff play games, work on puzzles, and color with patients, as well as invite them to share stories and talk about their families. Prior to COVID-19, the ACE team was developing plans to introduce a music therapy program. While visitor limitations prevent musicians from coming by, staff have still run with it, often using their own Spotify accounts to play music for patients. They have also used virtual technologies to connect patients with their loved ones virtually. These efforts have truly made “a gigantic difference” in patients’ moods.
“The staff on the ACE Unit have become their patients’ conduits to the outside world, and it has had such a positive impact,” said PPMC CEO Michele Volpe. “I am tremendously proud of the ACE team. I think that they are doing angels’ work.”