A hospice nurse is making it her mission to bring comfort to dementia patients in hospice care during the COVID-19 pandemic by giving them baby dolls. For many parents or caregivers, holding a baby in your arms can be calming and comforting. Those are the exact feelings hospice worker Amanda DeGusipe wants dementia patients to feel since they cannot see their loved ones due to the pandemic.
DeGusipe works in Pennsylvania as a hospice nurse but recently she is taking on another job that is priceless. She is donating baby dolls to dementia patients living in assisted living facilities, like nursing homes, in hopes they will not feel so isolated. According to Trib Live, inspired by her grandmother, Marybelle Smith, and how lonely seniors can feel during the pandemic, DeGusipe started the “MaryBelle Baby Doll Project,” back in May. She says her grandmother suffered from dementia until she passed away in 1998 and loved to hold her great-grandchildren because it made her feel calm.
DeGusipe wanted other dementia patients to feel that, so she started out with a goal of collecting 200 baby dolls. Within the first few weeks alone, she had 170 baby dolls. So far, she has delivered most of them to 23 different facilities, hoping they will bring a sense of security to those who need it most. She says seeing the patients with the dolls brings tears to her eyes and that you can feel the love they have for not only the baby dolls but also the love they hold as a mother themselves. DeGusipe took it one step further and is also helping male dementia residents. For them, they will receive blankets and stuffed bears.
DeGusipe says working in hospice is more than just a job to her – it is a passion. She says the quality of life in dementia patients may improve through doll therapy. Her inspiration to become a hospice nurse came after she lost both of her parents. News of her project spread like wildfire on social media.
Magan Craig, Director of Nursing for McMurray Hills Manor, called DeGusipe asking how they could help after they shared her story on their Facebook page, prompting calls to start flooding in. DeGusipe says people loved seeing the residents with the dolls, adding that some patients would even give them names. Craig told DeGusipe she has even had dolls left on her front porch, and that patients who do not have dementia also love the baby dolls. Christine Brown Murphy, a partner and attorney for Zacharia Brown, also donated dolls and money. Murphy says DeGusipe has a heart of gold who, as a hospice nurse, knows exactly how to help residents, especially during a pandemic. While times can be tough for seniors, specifically those who suffer from dementia, there is no better time than right now to help the patients most vulnerable in society, says Murphy.
It is always important to stay in touch with loved ones suffering from dementia or even those just living in an assisted living facility. But, during a time when visits are prohibited, it is all about getting creative to help those residents, just like DeGusipe did.
Source: Trib Live