Therapeutic Recreation Month - Spotlight - Virtual Visits

“Patients often light up when they see us bringing in a tablet - several people have told us that it brightens their mood and motivates them to get better and get home to their loved ones.”

February is Therapeutic Recreation Awareness Month! Joseph Brant Hospital has Recreation Therapists in inpatient care, outpatient mental health and Wellness House. Recreation Therapy at Joseph Brant Hospital is vital to a patient’s positive experience while on their road to recovery.

As a way to keep both patients and their loved ones safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Recreation Therapists at JBH have been facilitating virtual visits for patients to stay connected to their families.

“When visitor restrictions went into place at the beginning of the pandemic, we immediately saw the need. Without in-person visitors, patients still needed ways to connect with their support system and communicate with the people they cared about. Talking on the telephone does not offer the same experience as seeing someone face-to-face, and we knew that video calls could offer more meaningful connection to patients who needed it. Once we established a process, requests from patients and loved ones skyrocketed.”

Supporting social and emotional well-being are important components of recreation therapy and the RT team at JBH saw that taking place as they facilitated each virtual visit.  

“Virtual visits offer an important point of connection between patients and loved ones. They provide an opportunity to interact with friends, family, and even pets who are not able to visit in person while they recover and prepare to return to the community.”

Over the last two years, many calls have taken place and we asked our team of Recreation Therapists if there was a memorable moment they wanted to share.

“We have connected patients with loved ones across the hospital and across the world. We've had calls where people talked non-stop, and calls during which no words were said. We have been there for beautiful moments - celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, sharing news of engagements or new family members, and reuniting old friends. We've also been there for the heartbreaking moments - when loved ones, on either side of the call, have to say goodbye. The video calls offer an opportunity to ‘be there’ - and for many patients this makes all the difference.”

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JBH Annual Report 21-22: Extraordinary Moments, Exceptional Care

The 2021-2022 Annual Report showcases the extraordinary to the seemingly ordinary moments from the past year that collectively represent the compassion, accountability, respect, excellence and service our teams share with our patients every day, even when faced with the adversities of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stories reflect a moment in time – please view the Annual Report webpage for a more fulsome report on statistics.