The residents of The Manor Health and Rehabilitation Center (The Manor) are reuniting with their families through a safe, outdoor “visitation station,” a Plexiglas and plywood barrier built by CentraState’s facilities team. Residents sit behind the Plexiglas covering, while their loved ones sit on the other side, allowing them to see and speak with one another up-close in a protected way.

“In the time of social distancing, we needed to get creative,” said Toni Lynn Davis, administrator of The Manor. “The visitation station has been a pleasant and uplifting experience for our residents and their families.”

The idea came to Helena Berardinelli, director of activities at The Manor, after seeing the success of visitation stations at nursing homes in the Midwest.

Individual family visits are scheduled ahead of time to ensure proper sanitation and social distancing protocols. For residents who are hard-of-hearing, two-way radios are available for use. After each visit, the entirety of the visitation station and surrounding furniture are thoroughly cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant.

“It’s heartwarming to see the smiles of our residents enjoying this special time with their loved ones, especially after months of socially-distant window visits and phone calls,” added Davis.