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SALT LAKE CITY – Veterans in nursing homes, over 400 of them in four different state-run nursing homes in Utah, may feel isolated after more than 10 weeks of pandemic-related social distancing. With Memorial Day nearly here, the people who run those facilities are looking for a creative way to honor these brave veterans.
The Utah Department of Veterans and Military Affairs launched a program they call Happiness for Heroes. They spoke with KSL-TV about the program.
“This is a way that we wanted to reach out to honor those veterans who live in our four homes, and reach to them because obviously they haven’t been able to be with their family members,” said Gary Harter, executive director of the Utah Department of Veterans & Military Affairs.
They are calling on all of us to send video messages of comfort, support, and appreciation to our veterans to let them know they are not alone. These video messages will go to the state’s nursing homes in Ogden, Salt Lake City, Payson, and Ivins.
Messages are already coming in.
Residents who depend on visitors for companionship may feel isolated in the midst of the pandemic.
“Some come in every day to visit their loved ones. As of March 12, that’s all shut down,” said Jeff Hanson, deputy director of facilities for the Utah Department of Veterans & Military Affairs.
“It’s kind of a two-edged sword,” said Hanson. “We protect them, but then it challenges them socially not to have that interaction that they are used to having.”
Not only have the veterans not been able to have outside visitors, they have not been able to visit each other or have meals together. Caregivers at the homes are concerned about the emotional toll this isolation is taking on the veterans.
When they do leave their rooms they must wear a mask and keep their distance from one another.
“So, it’s been extremely challenging, and the beauty of this program is that it reconnects the veterans back with the community, which is good for their overall health,” Hanson said.
You can simply go to veterans.Utah.gov and upload a message to the veterans. You can get as creative or elaborate as you wish. The Utah Department of Veterans & Military Affairs encourages you to get your kids involved as well. You can also post with the hashtag #happinessforheros
The facilities plan to play the messages for the veterans as they come in.
COVID-19 coronavirus spreads person to person. It is a virus that is similar to the common cold and the flu. So, to prevent it from spreading:
Utah’s Coronavirus Information
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Utah Coronavirus Information Line – 1-800-456-7707
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention