From smiling to laughing or singing, a local CHI Health St. Elizabeth nurse and her horse Molly visit Sumner Place in Lincoln to interact with the elderly in person.
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — During the pandemic, when visitors weren’t allowed inside, a nurse brought her horse to residents’ windows.
Now she’s excited to be up close and let them pet Molly.
From smiling to laughing or singing, a local CHI Health St. Elizabeth nurse and her horse Molly visit Sumner Place in Lincoln to interact with the elderly in person.
But about a year ago they could only stand outside the windows.
“We did what was called window wellness visits, and we went window to window and the residents,” said Diane Russell. “Some of them would throw up their window and try to pet the horse but they all had mentioned, Gee, I wish I could pet her. I wish I could touch her. I wish I could give her a treat.”
The residents fell in love with Molly’s gentle spirit.
The grey mare is 26 years old and 15 hands high. Diane kept her promise to come back, visiting monthly, happy to give Molly new friends.
“Now they know her name and usually they’ll wave goodbye and she knows some of them by sight and smell,” said Russell.
From window visits to finally being able to touch the gray mare, workers say the visits make visible changes in the residents.
“A lot of our residents here, have farming background so brings it back brings those memories, Chris Westover, Sumner Place. “Through the last year of COVID we’ve seen a lot of decline in mental abilities, and just doing something out of the norm, bringing this horse and getting those memories back. It’s just, it’s a great thing.”
Diane says she feels as if the nursing home has adopted her and Molly and they’ll continue visiting, spreading joy after isolating times.
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Originally Appeared Here