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BGSU students chat virtually with long-term care facility residents during pandemic to ease isolation

Residents at long-term care facilities and college students have something in common: The pandemic has really shifted the way they go about their lives.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Residents at long-term care facilities and college students have one big thing in common: the COVID-19 pandemic has really shifted the way they go about their everyday lives.

Dr. Sandra Faulkner noticed that and tasked her communications students at Bowling Green State University with an interesting project.

"The idea was to pair an undergraduate student or groups of students with an older adult in a long-term care facility for dialogue," said Faulkner.

Faulkner collaborated with BGSU alumni who work at Worthington Christian Village in Columbus to create the sessions. 

Initially, the project started out just as you would expect. Issues with Zoom and other technical flaws had to be worked out. 

But over time, the conversations and relationships students have with residents have grown.

"Just we've talked about everything, we've had very natural conversations," said Lugenia Glass, a senior at BGSU.

Maria Duffy says she was nervous about the project at the start, mainly because her experiences with older people haven't all been positive. But now things have changed. 

"I was nervous because I've had experiences where I've felt uncomfortable or had to close myself off in the past. But the opposite! it's truly been an amazing opportunity," said Duffy.

It's not just the students who enjoy the Zoom sessions, it's the residents too.

"Many of the residents say they look forward to it because they've been on lockdown," said Faulkner.

Faulkner hopes the program can continue on even after the pandemic ends.

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