Nursing homes work to prevent depression during coronavirus pandemic

Roger Regelbrugge's 90-year-old father has dementia. He was admitted to a nursing home in 2018. The last time his son saw him in person was back in March. To make matters worse, his emotional health is suffering.

"When facilities are responsible for large numbers of people, the reality is your loved one is not going to get the level of engagement they need," Regelbrugge said.

He says he's already noticing a change in his father.

"I will call him around this time of day and he'll be undressed and in bed thinking it's 10 o'clock at night," Regelbrugge said.

Lauren Zingraff, an advocate for long-term care residents says many of the facilities she works with are struggling with a lack of adequate staffing, which is causing a trickle-down effect impacting residents.

"They don't have the time to sit with the person one-on-one and help them with their meal time, so we're finding that some residents are being malnourished and dehydrated because of it," Zingraff said.

To help bring back a sense of normalcy, some senior-living communities like Waltonwood Lake Boone are putting together events.

"The isolation is tough for all, even we miss the families coming in and saying hello. It's tough, but we are committed and dedicated to doing what we have to do," Allison Oshea, executive director, Waltonwood Lake Boone said.

Zingraff says, she is working to get tablets in local nursing homes to allow better communication between residents and family members.

Oshea said they plan on having a once-a-week event for residents to keep them engaged and active through such a difficult time.