It was a long year for residents, loved ones. But the hugs are back at Mt. Baker Care Center
After more than a year, 91-year-old Marina Mosher was finally able to hug her daughter and visit with her in the privacy of her room at Mt. Baker Care Center.
“I was looking so forward to it that I don’t think I slept very well the night before,” Mosher said to The Bellingham Herald.
As for how that hug and visit with her daughter, Cindy Lervik, toward the end of March felt, Mosher described it as: “Excitement. Wonderful. Ecstatic. I could just go on and on.”
Mt. Baker Care Center, like other long-term care facilities in Whatcom County and Washington state, closed its doors to visitors in mid-March 2020, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, to protect vulnerable residents.
Gov. Jay Inslee restricted visits to slow the spread of COVID-19
A year later, with vaccines in arms, Inslee allowed long-term care facilities and nursing homes to reopen to visitors with health and safety protocols in place.
Mt. Baker Care Center’s first day of allowing friends and loved ones to once again visit residents inside the facility was March 24.
Before then — and unless it was a compassionate care visit at the end of life or other special circumstance — visits were done separated by a closed window, outside on the Bellingham center’s porch with 6 feet of separation and no touching, or via phone and video chats.
Catherine Reis-El Bara, administrator for Mt. Baker Care Center, was there to witness those reunions.
“This last year has been hard on everybody, especially the residents and the families. It was so touching to see people be able to give each other a hug. I think some of the residents were in disbelief that their families could visit,” Reis-El Bara said to The Herald.
Then there were spouses who were separated because of COVID and haven’t been able to touch in over a year once again being able to share a hug.
“That brings tears to your eyes,” Reis-El Bara said.
Joy and apprehension
The center’s employees tried to help fill the void when residents were separated from their loved ones, she said.
Mt. Baker Care Center didn’t have a COVID-19 outbreak during the pandemic, Reis-El Bara said.
“We were really lucky. The staff did awesome. They just are so dedicated,” she said.
Welcoming people back inside the center for visits brings joy, but it also causes apprehension.
“Every person we let in potentially brings the virus in,” she said, even though most residents and staff have received their COVID-19 vaccine. “Because we’ve been so careful, having people come in makes us nervous.”
About 96% of residents and 76% of employees have been vaccinated with the help of Hoagland Pharmacy, Reis-El Bara said on March 30.
Still, visitors may not have gotten their shots, even if residents have.
“We can’t ask a family member to prove they’ve been vaccinated,” she said. ”We have to take them at their word.”
Inside protocols
The indoor visits are occurring with rules in place. They include:
▪ The resident or visitor must be fully vaccinated, meaning it’s been two weeks since their last dose.
▪ Screening that includes temperature checks for visitors and questions about symptoms, travel and exposure to COVID.
▪ Masks must be worn the entire time.
▪ No food or beverage consumption during the visit because masks have to remain in place.
▪ Visits are limited to 45 minutes.
▪ People are encouraged to remain 6 feet apart. A hug at the beginning and a hug at the end of the visit are OK, Reis-El Bara said.
‘A long haul’
Before March, Mike Gowan’s weekly visits to his 92-year-old friend at Mt. Baker Care Center involved standing outside George’s closed window — first in the mud and later on cinder blocks — while talking to him on the phone.
Sometimes his friend of 20 years accidentally hung up in the middle of a conversation, and an aide would come to help.
“They were always great. The staff around there is amazing, very patient,” said Gowan, a Bellingham resident.
When they got the OK for outdoor visits, they bundled up against the cold and visited on the center’s porch, with masks on and a table between them to enforce the 6-foot social distancing rule.
On March 31, Gowan was able to visit his friend in his room.
Even though they both wore their masks and kept 6 feet between them, Gowan said the visit felt more normal.
“It was a very positive experience,” he said, adding that it felt natural.
Gowan’s wife also visits.
They both have been vaccinated against COVID-19, as has their friend.
Gowan said he is part of a small-group Bible study that has been buying Erin Baker’s breakfast cookies for the staff for eight to nine months, to help them through a tough time and to encourage them.
“This has been a long haul,” he said.
Last Wednesday, April 7, Gowan said he was going to celebrate the new phase of face-to-face visits by going to Five Columns Greek Restaurant in Bellingham and buying a quart of his friend’s favorite, the Greek egg and lemon soup with orzo pasta.
The Mt. Baker Care Center staff will serve it to his friend.
Before the pandemic, it was where the two friends went once a week.
“They always ask how he’s doing,” Gowan said.
And when it’s safe, they’ll both go back for lunch.
“That’s plan A,” Gowan said. “That’s going to be a celebration.”
