When COVID-19 Locked Them Down, This Senior-Living Activities Director Kept Fun Alive

The role of activities directors or enrichment professionals at nursing and assisted living communities has gained importance during the pandemic, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . Kirsten Jacobs with senior housing organization LeadingAge said the crisis has given underappreciated workers like Rachel Kaufman opportunities to shine. Kaufman is an "escapades producer" at Brandywine Living at Dresher Estates in Montgomery County, Pa. While Brandywine has been in lockdown off and on, it allows small, socially distanced activities involving a maximum of 10 residents. Family members who test negative for the coronavirus can visit outdoors in a designated area. When the pandemic broke, "we literally reinvented our activity program overnight," Kaufman recalled. Activities Kaufman and others have organized include room-based tea parties and happy hours, delivery of snacks and baseball trivia on the Philadelphia Phillies' opening day, movie screenings, bingo, exercise sessions, and a costumed play. Kaufman and her team also helped residents communicate via Zoom and other platforms. "My hope is that we as a field come out of this with a deep acknowledgement of the contribution that life enrichment professionals make every day," Jacobs said.