After months without a hug, families embrace loved ones Friday at Longmont care facility

Nov. 14--Arms reaching through plastic sleeves, Longmont'sJudie Rose got the chance to hug her husband of nearly 63 years Friday for the first time since May, when he changed care communities. The sheet that separated them wasn't enough to block their emotions as they embraced.

When Rose's husband, Bill Rose, made contact with his wife, she said he began to cry.

"(It was) second best," Rose said. "We're hoping if this works out today, maybe there will be more of them. I couldn't ask for anything more, except for the virus to be gone."

Wearing masks, the husband and wife kissed through the plastic.

"He said, 'I want to hug you,'" Rose said. "I said, 'This is as close as we can get.'"

The plastic sheet with armholes in it was part of a hug tent, set up in the courtyard at Ka

Beth Hutchinson is protected inside a tent while she talks to Janet Morrell, her family member, on November 13, 2020. TRU COMMUNITY CARE, in Longmont, hosted a hug tent in the courtyard of the Katherine and Charles Hover Green Houses. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer)

therine & Charles Hover Green Houses care retirement community in Longmont. During the coronavirus pandemic, the tent is one of the few ways families and their loved ones in care facilities can have in-person contact. The tent was brought to the care facility by TRU Community, a Lafayette-based nonprofit. After each 10-minute visit, the plastic was cleaned by a staff member.

While people living outside the facilities have still had some semblances of normalcy, life in care facilities has been restricted. Director of Nursing Lindsay Saldana said they haven't been able to ease precautions inside the retirement community. She credited these protocols as the reason the community's 36 residents have remained COVID-19 free.

For some of the 20 residents who signed up for the hug tent Friday, it was the first time in seven months that they've been able to embrace their loved ones, Saldana said in a prior interview.

At a gate outside the courtyard, Carol Braun, of Longmont, waited to see her father, Vincent Shryack, a 97-year-old World War II veteran.

With Boulder County implementing more restrictive public health orders Saturday, due to the surging number of cases, Braun said Thanksgiving this year will mean seeing her dad through Zoom.

Braun was able to visit her father once a week in the summer when the facility allowed 50-minute, safe-distanced visits outside. Saldana said the visits took place in July, August and September. With the colder weather, Braun's been talking to her dad over Zoom, making Friday a special day.

"I'm very excited to hug my dad," Braun said. "It's hard for him to understand why we haven't been able to get close to one another. He does struggle with some dementia, so trying to understand that is a little challenging for him. He's joyful and he's well-cared for, so he's OK. He loves it when we come visit and hates when we have to leave."

The number of coronavirus cases across Boulder County is continuing to grow, with people over 75 making up 78 of the county's 102 deaths. The Centers for Disease Control warns that the older people are, the greater their risk for serious illness from the virus. For families with loved ones in care facilities, the precautions have meant glimpsing their loved ones through a window or from 6 feet away.

Janet Morrell, of Erie, used to see her mom, Elizabeth Hutchison every day.

"I was her caregiver before, so it went from everyday (contact) to absolutely nothing," Morrell said. "It's been tough on everybody, around the world."

Talking on the phone is not the same as getting to see her mom face to face, Morrell said. Outdoor visits over the summer were challenging, because Hutchinson is hard of hearing and they had to sit 6 feet apart. Due to her mom's hearing, she said Zoom visits are also hard for communication. She said she's been able to see her mom about five times since the pandemic.

"From a distance they look at you, but they don't really see you," Morrell said. "It's been long months of not very much contact. The actual touch does more than you think it would. The touch is really nice."

Saldana said the care community hopes to bring the hug tent back, though she said that will depend on the status of the virus and whether it's safe to do so. For now, Saldana said window visits are encouraged as a way for family members to see their loved ones.

Morrell wants to see other communities find ways to give family members and residents in facilities more contact. From behind sunglasses and a mask, her emotion at getting to hug her mom was palpable, her voice quavering as she said:

"They're all so isolated," Morrell said. "They need someone to come hug them."

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