The Eskimos Cheer Team may have suspended practices a few weeks ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but third-year dancer Kelsey is still getting run off of her feet.
A Recreation Director at an All Seniors Care Living Centre, Kelsey has been making full use of her Bachelor of Kinesiology degree after graduating from the University of Alberta last year.
“I did my major in adaptive physical activity so that’s doing any sort of activity that might be – in my example, I work with older adults – or it could be working with people with disabilities or anything of that nature,” she said.
Kelsey, 22, would normally have been arranging for instructors to come in and teach dance or exercise classes for the residents or bringing in various forms of entertainment, but with the facility closed to non-essential visitors, she’s had to take on a hands-on role with a focus on more one-on-one activities.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re still trying to keep the residents mentally, physically and socially engaged,” she said. “We’re always monitoring what they need and visiting with them because visitors aren’t allowed in these residences right now.
“I’m kind of acting as a bridge between the residents and their loved ones so they can continue to connect and write letters and video call and things like that. I’ve got to hear all of the stories and they really connect this experience to experiences in their lives and they’ll tell me stories so it’s really sweet to hear.
“Before the pandemic, we’d be in large groups,” Kelsey continued. “We’d have entertainment coming in. Now that it’s limited – we are practising social distancing – I am still running exercises myself. The class sizes have gone down just for social distancing and I’ve increased the amount of classes just so everyone gets an opportunity to participate.”
Kelsey now teaches two or three exercise classes a day.
The retirement residence also provides puzzles and things like crosswords, word searches or word scrambles that residents can take back to their rooms “just to keep them mentally stimulated.”
“The residents are doing a great job and the families are adapting and all of the staff are doing a great job adapting to it,” Kelsey said about the new environment they are now experiencing. “All of the measures we’ve taken are preventative and through the government and Alberta Health Services suggestions. We’re doing what we can to make them understand, sending them letters and really having an open door so they can come in and ask any questions they have.”