St. Ann’s Buddy Program

March 17, 2020

With visitation being limited, we have created opportunities for social interaction and engagement. We have a new program for residents in skilled nursing and assisted living called the Buddy Program. Every resident has been paired with a staff member who will visit frequently and help keep in touch with family through video chat or a simple phone call. It’s a friendly visit for both residents and staff! And of course as always, you can call your loved one any time of day.

The Buddy Program pairs St. Ann’s Community team members with residents for visits. During these visits, team members will check on your loved one, talk, listen and help connect Elders with families via video chat or another way as determined by family preferences.

The team members are volunteers from across multiple functions of St. Ann’s. These are visits beyond the regular contact residents receive from their care partners and do not replace the communication family receive from clinical staff at St. Ann’s.

Since the restricted visitation policy went into effect, our Social Work and IT teams worked behind the scenes to launch the needed video technology. The video chats with buddies, residents, and families has been very well received and is a great way to stay in touch.