“I felt it was time to take action for the sake of our nursing home population. They were horrifically impacted by the pandemic. Many were unable to come out of their rooms. Many saw their friends and fellow residents pass away,” Ray said.
“It just was time to gather those who have a heart for our elderly and make steps in dramatically improving the quality of life of our community’s nursing home population... CCSCTF is a group of selfless and compassionate Clark County residents who are willing to do whatever it takes to send a clear message to those living in nursing homes that they matter,” he added.
Ray said he wanted to start this task force because he has a special place in his heart for the elderly, which he said started when he was young and would take youth to visit nursing homes.
“What they’ve endured due to the pandemic only amplified this in me. I feel we just don’t appreciate them to the degree we should,” he said.
Nursing home patients locally and across the country were hit hard by the coronavirus.
Deaths among Medicare patients in nursing homes increased by 32% last year, a government watchdog reported in June, according to the Associated Press.
About four in 10 recipients in nursing homes had or likely had COVID-19 in 2020, and deaths jumped by 169,291 from the previous year before COVID-19, AP said according to a report from the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services. In April 2020, a total of 81,484 Medicare patients in nursing homes died, and nursing homes accounted for 74,299 deaths in December - after lockdowns but before COVID-19 vaccines became widely available.
AP stated the report also found that low-income nursing home patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid were much more likely to have gotten COVID-19. The infection rate for that group reached 56%, and 26% died.
There are roughly 50 members in the task force, Ray said, but he anticipates that number will grow.
At the first meeting in May, the group discussed the task force objectives and how to identify the needs of seniors. They decided to focus on at least one nursing home to get started - the Springfield Manor - who he said is “excited to have their involvement.”
Ray said the group chose this nursing home because it is one he had taken young people to previously. He said the home is entirely Medicaid residents and “seemed very institutional” to him.
Wendy Martin, activity director at Springfield Manor Nursing and Independent Living, 404 E. McCreight Ave., said she’s excited to work with the task force.
“I’m excited to work with such a good group of people and to put our minds together as a whole and see what we can all accomplish as one,” she said.
Martin said it’s been a “long year” without communication and she thinks it’s a great idea what Ray and the task force is doing.
“I feel that it will be beneficial to both the residents and Ryan, and I feel that the task force will succeed in their mission to accomplish what they set out to do, which is to bring awareness back to our community about our senior citizens and how beneficial it is to residents to have them visit or to just have something beautiful outside their window to look at,” she said.
The group plans to host a monthly Mobile Market at the nursing home that will include items for residents to choose from, at no cost to them. The items that are not necessities, but things they’d want or enjoy such as a new purse, jewelry, artwork, DVDs, stuffed animals, comforters, etc., Ray said.
“In my discussion with this nursing home, I discovered they dream of having a raised garden of flowers and veggies for the residents to enjoy. We want to try and make that a reality for them,” Ray said about Springfield Manor.
The group plans to install a raised garden, including bird feeders and a sensory wall, Ray said.
Ray said he hopes to get other nursing homes, churches and schools involved with the task force as well.
“I want to dramatically improve the quality of life for the residents in nursing homes. They deserve to be happy. They should still be hoping, still be laughing, still be dreaming. And we are going to do everything in our power to ensure they do,” he said.
The first school the task force plans to work with is Lagonda Elementary in the Springfield City School District.
Principal Joshua Harning said he believes partnering with the task force will “be very beneficial to our students and community.”
“I feel the task force will be a good bridge between our building and community partners and help support/sustain that connection,” he said.
Harning said he and Ray plan to connect students with those in the nursing home starting the first week of school and continue throughout the year.
“We will be connecting our students to specific individuals at the nursing home to better understand their life experiences in life, specifically towards career pathways. We hope to use this starting foundation for our students to start thinking about career opportunities they could become involved in later in life,” he said. “We will also try to find ways to have our students interact with the nursing home population for Halloween, Christmas, and other extracurricular programming.”
The task force has raised roughly $5,000 and will be funded by community support, Ray said.
“We will be calling on the community to support this within their own individual means. There will be local businesses that will also love to lock arms with us in this initiative. We might also engage in some unique fundraising efforts, too,” he said.
Ray said the group has a 10-member board of director and is working on forming an executive committee. Members of the board include: Ray, president; Dennis O’Brien, vice president; Brandi Farris, secretary; Dottie Science, treasurer; five members, Wendy Donovan, Melinda Bland, Melissa Rexroth, Tracy Yates, Chad Younts and one seat to be filled.
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