by Wyatt Waskowiak, reporter
OMAHA – “Our volunteers thrive on that social contact and that face to face interaction with those that they serve,” said Mary Parker, volunteer services division, director for Eastern Nebraska Offices of Aging (ENOA).
Parker and the rest of the ENOA team have been working to keep their 700 volunteers, with a majority of them being over the age of 55, safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have implemented numerous different protocols to help keep their clients in their homes, while also keeping them socially distant from the volunteers.
“They’re (the volunteers) used to getting out every day, making a difference with the people that they serve, and doing it, some of them on a daily basis,” Parker said.
ENOA has worked to keep their volunteers active and safe by utilizing modern technology. A lot of the volunteers give the clients daily phone calls to help from the feeling of isolation. Before the pandemic volunteers would visit the homes of the clients and talk or interact with them, to ensure they’re moving and staying active. They are also working on using video chat services such as Zoom to help the clients receive face to face interactions.
One of the bigger programs ENOA provides is a Meals on Wheels delivery service, where a worker or volunteer would deliver a home-cooked meal to their clients and often interact with them for a few minutes. This is frequently the only social interaction that many of the clients receive during the day. The pandemic makes these interactions even briefer.
“We basically held a meal in our hand and walked up and handed it to them. And of course, that all changed,” Curtis Losee, a Meals on Wheels delivery driver for the past 11 years, said, “Everything goes in a bag and everything is either hung on the door, or it’s six feet apart.”
Drivers are also required to wear a mask, and frequently utilize hand sanitizer after dropping off a delivery. Parker said they are in the process of getting masks that read “Smiles from ENOA” to help the clients know they are smiling under the mask.
With over 600 deliveries each day, ENOA has put special interest in assuring that their staff, volunteers and their clients are as safe as possible.
“It’s reminding them, we set up these guidelines and these protocols for a reason to keep our clients safe and to keep you safe,” Parker said.
