Being an activity director during this pandemic has not been an easy task. Some of the ways my staff and I have adjusted to what is the New Normal has been a task. When you have a strong department, and an active monthly calendar life can be great for our community. However, when you are in a pandemic and the social aspect of the community’s lives becomes a world of isolation and not seeing their loved ones. We had to adjust to all the demands we were about to face. We had to come up with some original ideas to accommodate everyone. When the weather was warm, and we could be outside and do many things such as:

• Outdoor exercises

• Happy Hour

• Live entertainment

• Family visits

• Garden club

• Religious services

Once the weather changed, we once again had to adjust to the New Normal. We started having:

• Communal dining

• Bingo using social distancing.

• Family visits indoors using social distancing and infection control guidelines.

• Having religious services weekly.

• Order in day

• Happy hour carts

• Cotton candy and popcorn day

• Facetimes and zoom calls are made daily.

And now we are once again learning to adjust during this pandemic:

• Hallway karaoke

• Facetimes and zoom calls are made daily.

• Nourishment carts are distributed twice a day to ensure hydration.

• In-room nail care

• Hallway bingo

• One to one room visits

To boost morale with the staff:

• Flash mob dancing on units

• Bagel day

• Pizza day

• Raffle giveaways