The Daily - A Nursing Home’s First Day Out of Lockdown: An Update

Episode Date: December 30, 2021

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since they first ran.The Good Shepherd Nursing Home in West Virginia lifted its coronavirus lockdown in February.For months, residents had been confined to their rooms, unable to mix. But with everybody vaccinated, it was time to see one another again, albeit with rules on social distancing and mask wearing still in place.There was Mass in the chapel, lunch in the dining room (decked out in Valentine’s Day decorations) and a favorite activity: the penny auction. Top prize? A tub of cheese puffs.In March, we shared the home’s some of the relief and joy about the tiptoe back to normalcy. Today, we return to the home to see how life has changed.Guest: Sarah Mervosh, a national reporter for The New York Times.Sign up here to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, subscribe to our newsletter. Background reading: The happiness inside the Good Shepherd Nursing Home, after a nearly a year in lockdown.For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Hey, it's Michael. This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and hearing what's happened in the time since they first ran. How old are you? You don't want to say? Yeah, I'll tell you. I'm 95. 95, okay. You've got a good group here. I thought you was 96. Well, how should you know?

I was to your birthday party when you was 95. 95, right. Right. Last year. You missed at 96. You didn't have no party. Maybe I'm 100. One of them 100. How many babies?

Three? You never know about us. Us old people. One, roll them. Today, we return to the Good Shepherd Nursing Home, which allowed us inside, just as it was emerging from a year-long lockdown in February, to see how life has changed for its residents. It's Thursday, December 30th. Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi, are you Miss Husic? I'm Zita. Zita. Earlier this year, in February, I met a woman named Zita Husic, who lives at the Good Shepherd Nursing Home in Wheeling, West Virginia. I'm going to be 96 next month. No, no, you're not. 96. Yeah. I don't believe that.

Yes, I am. I talked to Zita over FaceTime. There was some medical equipment beeping in the background. They always tell me I look younger because I act young and I don't dress like an old lady. And I like to gamble. I'm a gambler. And I was married for 53 years. I waited until I was 30 because I was having a good time and I didn't want to settle down. We didn't have no children. I didn't have no time for that.

So tell me about what life has been like during the virus, during COVID. What has your life been like? We were stuck in our room and we've been just sitting in our rooms. We used to go out in the hall, but then they quit. We wasn't allowed because they didn't want us to be close to one another. So it was pretty boring. Were you eating your meals? Where were you eating? It was boring because all I did was sleep and watch TV. What did you watch? Whatever was on.

I liked to watch a show, Wedding Gowns, all these older women getting married in white. I was surprised. Well, in my time, you wasn't allowed to get married in white unless you were supposed to be a virgin. Times have changed, Zita. I don't know what to tell you. They even have children there and they're still dressed in white. All right, Betty Lou. It's your turn.

Hi, Betty Lou. Can you hear me? Yeah, I'm here. Yeah. Can you hear her? Yes. Okay. Okay. I also met Betty Lou Leach.

Born in 24, so you figure that. Born in 24, okay. Yep. Who was about to turn 97. What has been the hardest part of the last year for you? What's been the hardest part of the last year for you? What's been the hardest part of this whole last year? I think the hardest part is missing your family. I had a rough time at first.

My sister was here. And she passed away. That was the hardest time I had. And it's been, I don't know, quite an adjustment. She passed away at the very beginning of this pandemic, didn't she?

Yes, she didn't go through. And you weren't able to go to the funeral? No, I wasn't able to go to the funeral. I'm so sorry. Her sister didn't die of COVID, but because of COVID, she couldn't grieve with her family or even see much of them. And I do miss my daughter so very, very much. You don't know what it is, how happy it is, and how joyful you are when you do see him. is, how happy it is, and how joyful you are when you do see him. But we talk on maybe two or three times a day. And we always talk every night. We say goodnight to each other every night.

And she calls in the mornings and then we're okay. What are you looking forward to most when things change and you're able to get back to some normalcy next week with activities? Well, for one thing, I'm looking for the dining room to open. I love the dining room. They always have it decorated beautiful. The girls down there took care of it. And you get to see people. And that's important to see people. And I really miss

the dining room a lot. And I'll be the first one there. Thank you so much. And I will hopefully see you on Monday. All right. Thank you. A few days after I talked to Zuta and Betty Lou, I get in my car and head to West Virginia. So it's a little before 9am on Monday morning and I'm here at Good Shepherd Nursing Home and we are about to go inside and hopefully talk to some residents and staffers as they begin to open up for the first time amid the pandemic. They're not doing visitation, so we'll be probably among the only people in there who are not working there. It's cold out here. When I get to Good Shepherd, I get my temperature taken.

I get a rapid COVID test. I'm wearing an N95 mask, and they give me PPE. I have goggles and gloves, and that rust wrestling you hear is my gown, PPE. And they ask me to wear a medical gown over my clothes. And then I go inside. This is the first day in nearly a year that the nursing home is having group activities again. I had planned to start my day in the chapel

where they were having mass. But then while mass was going on, home as having group activities again. I had planned to start my day in the chapel, where they were having mass. But then, while mass was going on, I heard this commotion happening outside in the hall. So I sneak outside to see what's happening. Hi, Betty Lou. I'm Sarah from the New York Times. Yes, I talked to you on FaceTime. I thought so. How are you feeling? I see that you're sitting right in front of the... Oh, it's the most exciting day to be in there. I love it in there. And in the hallway, I find Betty Lou,

who is right outside the dining room. She's dressed up, her hair is curled, and she's wearing a bracelet her daughter had given her. And you look really nice today. Did you get this? She's ready to be the first one inside the dining room doors for lunch. Whoopee! Yessie, I should have brought my camera down. You should have.

We head into the dining room. And one by one, people start trickling in. Hey, you're sitting at my table today. Yeah, I'm here. How about that? Sherry, what would you like? The residents are chatting amongst themselves. You look pretty good today.

Oh, thank you. Everyone's out. We have really met. Oh, everybody has. And I'm walking around the dining room getting to know people. Yellow earrings. This is Avon. Avon earrings. You get dressed up to come around the dining room getting to know people. Yellow earrings. This is Avon. Avon earrings.

You get dressed up to come to the dining room. I do. And so does everybody else. Don't let them kid you. Here today, we're all ecstatic about this. Because this is the first time we've been down here for like six or eight months. We have not been out of our rooms. Even though most of the residents and staff have been

vaccinated, the nursing home is still social distancing. There are two people at a table instead of the usual four. Many people are wearing masks. Still, there's a moment when I see two friends who can't help but reach across the table and grasp each other's hands. and grasp each other's hands. As I'm watching this scene unfold, what stands out to me is the simplicity of it all. It isn't some big emotional reunion, but it's something as simple as saying, how are you, to a friend,

or being able to ask how do you like the soup these small ordinary moments of connection that so few of us have had this year in time everything takes time but you know what we're all bouncing back here buddy no absolutely yes We'll be right back. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the penny auction. Is everybody ready to get in? Yeah. At about 2 o'clock, everyone begins to gather for what had been one of the most popular activities before the pandemic, a penny auction.

Are you all excited to be back here for the penny auction? Yeah, right. All of the residents get pennies, which they can use to bid. Ten pennies in a pocket. And there's a big table at the front of the room where a bunch of auction items are set up. There are cookies and quilts and a stuffed Snoopy. And all around, residents are spread out in a maze of socially distanced wheelchairs.

Betty Lou is there. Hi again. And so is Zita. Zita, hi. Sarah from the New York Times. And eventually, we get started. The first item up is a handbag with a few things in it. A body spray, a toothbrush, and toothpaste, a lady's deodorant. Then there's a light-up St. Patrick's Day necklace. necklace. But the hot ticket item? A giant tub of cheese puffs. And Betty Lou, who's been awfully quiet so far, decides to go all in. And ends up taking home the prize. So Betty, you spent all your pennies on cheese puffs?

Those are good snack. Are you happy with your purchase? Oh yeah. Thank you all for coming down for the auction today. We're so lucky we got to do this today. Thank you. And as we got to do this today. Thank you. And as we continue, see you later. And as the day goes on,

I realize there's one person I still need to talk to. And that's Don Kirsch, the administrator of the nursing home. He's the one who gave the orders to shut down last year. And he's also the one who ultimately gave the okay to come out of lockdown. Okay, I see you wrote this down. So just some thoughts.

And as we sit down, he pulls out a statement that he's typed up on a piece of paper. Do you want to just maybe read this for the audio in your own voice? Or read, you know, parts of it? Tragically, we experienced a coronavirus outbreak in November of 2020, affecting 20 residents, resulting in five resident deaths. We are brokenhearted by this loss of life. These individuals and their loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers each day. This is a really, it's been an emotional time this past year. And so tell me why, you know, when you were talking about what you've been through,

you got a little choked up. Tell me, tell me more about that. Well's um uh sarah it's been the greatest challenge of our careers and i'm not only speaking for myself uh but uh for all of our staff uh wheeling is such a tight-knit community uh we know each other a lot of us have grown up together and we had the pleasure of taking care of individuals in the time in their lives other than childhood, possibly when they needed others the most. And how long have you been the administrator here at Good Shepherd? This June, it'll be 40 years. And in those 40 years, have you ever experienced anything like this? No, as I said, this has been the greatest challenge of a lifetime.

Are there days that stand out to you during the pandemic as being pivotal? Two days stood out when we began to see what was happening throughout the state of West Virginia. I had made the decision on March 11th to close the facility to outside visitors. The other day that stands out to us was December 23rd of last year when our residents received the first dose having the upper hand against this virus and that we might be able to begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You know, I feel a tremendous sense of responsibility for these individuals and a tremendous sense of accountability to them and to their family members. So there's been a tremendous number of sleepless nights, a tremendous amount of praying to

God for an answer. And I hope we're at that point right now. I will be so much more happy, Sarah, when their family members are able to come in and see their loved ones again. There's no substitute for a one-on-one visit and that love and affection that cannot come through an electronic device. Well, thank you so much for your time, Mr. Kirsch. I really appreciate it.

It's Don. It's Don. Okay. That sounds good. Well, we'll be here for Bunko later. Did anyone, did your parents explain Bunko to you? You know, I think Zita explained. Oh, okay. Yeah, she's something, isn't she? She said something about dice and getting to 23. Right. I'm not really sure.

Maybe I'll have to have her explain it again tonight. Okay, well, Sarah, thank you. Thank you, Don. Okay, see you guys. Your pleasure. Thank you. Around 7 o'clock, I head to the final event of the day. A dice game called Bunko.

Who's in charge? Is Zita in charge? Zita! Betty Lou and Zita are there, along with three others. They're sitting around a table, and they each have a small cup of cheese puffs in front of them. Betty Lou had brought her auction winnings to share. Oh, she won Bunko. You won, Jean. I did?

Yeah. You won Bunko. I can't say. As the day draws to a close, I think about what this time at Good Shepherd tells us about the return to normalcy after the pandemic. There may have been an off switch at the beginning, but I realize there will be no on switch. No one instant when everything goes back to normal. But more and more, we may find moments of healing and togetherness. A shared coffee over lunch.

A dice game with friends. Betty Lou, what did you think? Lunch and penny auction. Oh my gosh, it's been a busy day. Goodness. Thanks. How do you feel at the end of the day? How do I feel today?

Tonight, right now. Right now? I feel very happy about today. Well, it's nice meeting you. Nice meeting you. Do you think you'll ever come back this way? Yeah, I think so. See you tomorrow.

Yeah. There's a girl. I got think so. See you tomorrow. Yeah. There's a girl. I got your phone. Hey, Ben. It was so good to talk to you. It's nice to see you tomorrow. Very nice. Oh, thanks for listening to me.

Thank you, Zita. It was such a pleasure. I loved getting to know you, and I'm so glad you got to play Funko. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. After the break, Daily Producer Stella Tan gets an update from Good Shepherd. Hey, this is Stella. Sarah just had a baby, and she's out on leave. So a few weeks ago, I got in touch with Good Shepherd to see what's been going on since she visited.

I found out that after that initial period of starting to open up in February, they'd actually had to cycle in and out of lockdowns periodically throughout the year. And in light of that, I really wanted to check in on how Betty Lou was doing. So I called her. How to do? Hello. Is this Miss Stella? Hello, nice to meet you. This is Betty Lou. Hi, Betty Lou. It's a, nice to meet you. This is Betty Lou. Hi, Betty Lou. It's a real pleasure to meet you. It's nice meeting you too.

Speak a little louder. Okay, I'll get closer to the microphone. How's this? Yes, better. Is it okay if I ask you some questions about what life has been like at Good Shepherd since February? Yeah, you can ask me some questions. Great. Well, let's start with just today. How are you today? This is a good day, a happy day. My daughter just came in to visit me because they're letting our My daughter just came in to visit me because they're letting our family come in our room to see us before we had to meet them downstairs for an hour and talk to them.

But now it's all open and they're coming up and seeing us. And how does that feel? Oh, I can't. It's hard to express. Happy, sad, crying. Happy because you're so happy to be able to say hello in your own room to them. And why sad? I don't know.

It's sad to think that we went through so much. Our daughters and family, they encouraged us and called us. It's all excitement and emotions. I don't mean sad, sad. Right. I understand. I understand. Can I meet your daughter? Go ahead, Jade. Yes. Can I meet your daughter? Yes. Just a minute, please. Oh, you'll know that I'm her daughter because everybody says, I know who you are because you look just like Betty Lou. You do. Yeah, listen, the first time I've got to see her in her room it's so nice it's wonderful

it's definitely it's hard to express how happy it makes you everything's looking up today everything we're just looking up for yeah betty lou did you ever finish that big tub of cheese puffs that you won at the penny auction in february yes and many more everybody ate them oh good well i won't take up any more of your time. I know your daughter is there, and I'm sure you want the time together. Thank you so much for talking, because it's nice to know that people out there do care for you besides people here. Thank you very much.

Thank you. All right. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. I also talked to Don to see how he was feeling as a nursing home administrator, given all the changes in the pandemic since the beginning of the year. I wanted to get your thoughts as the administrator. thoughts as the administrator? I just want to say at the onset that somewhat surprisingly,

of the two years that we have been dealing with this pandemic, that this year has been more difficult than last. And the reason it was more difficult was when the variants started coming along, particularly the Delta variant, we had a high level of anxiety as to whether or not the vaccines that our residents and staff received would work against any variants that might come along. So in the back of our minds, we were always questioning ourselves, what if the vaccine is not effective against these variants? What will we be facing? So we spent quite a bit of this year worrying about that. Hmm. What's in your mind as you're thinking about what lies ahead for Good Shepherd next year? You're thinking about what lies ahead for Good Shepherd next year. Well, I've already told my staff I'm 64 years old.

I'll be retiring in two more years. I told them that if this is still going on, that I'm not leaving. not leaving because I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to our residents, their family members, and certainly our staff. What would it say if in the middle of this, I just got on my horse and rode off into the sunset because my concern is this is never going to end. We're going to be dealing with this in one form or another. I guess maybe the only thing I can compare it to is being awake during a nightmare. There may be peaks and valleys.

There may be peaks and valleys. There may be successes and failures. But you never know what the next day is going to hold. You never know when the next variant is going to come, how contagious and how deadly it's going to be. And from my perspective, I don't see any end to this. From my perspective, I don't see any end to this. The week after Don and I spoke, the Omicron variant was identified. There was one more resident I had planned to speak with. Zita Husek.

But a few days before we were supposed to talk, Good Shepherd reached out to let me know that she had passed away peacefully in her sleep. She was 96. Today's episode was produced by Stella Tan and Rachel Quester, Thank you. and contains original music by Alisha Ba'i-Tube and Dan Powell. That's it for The Daily. I'm Michael Bilbaro. See you tomorrow.