QMG Partners with Local Nursing Homes for Pen Pal Program

“Will you be my pen pal?” That’s what area nurs­ing home res­i­dents are ask­ing Quin­cy Med­ical Group (QMG) employ­ees as part of QMG’s Pen Pal Program.

Dur­ing this time, area nurs­ing home res­i­dents have been among the most vul­ner­a­ble, often iso­lat­ed from fam­i­ly and vis­i­tors. QMG Com­mu­ni­ty Rela­tions Spe­cial­ist Mor­gan Park­er says QMG want­ed to find a way to con­nect with res­i­dents and lift their spirits.

“The Pen Pal Pro­gram is just what res­i­dents in local nurs­ing homes need right now,” she shared. ​“This is an oppor­tu­ni­ty for our QMG employ­ees to con­nect with a nurs­ing home res­i­dent and give them a sense of hope dur­ing this time of iso­la­tion from the out­side world. They can’t have any vis­i­tors or fam­i­ly come in, so this is one thing we can do to bring smiles to their faces.”

To par­tic­i­pate in the pro­gram, local nurs­ing res­i­dents will sub­mit their names and inter­ests to the QMG Com­mu­ni­ty Rela­tions depart­ment. From there, QMG employ­ees will be paired with a res­i­dent. A total of six nurs­ing homes in the area are participating.

Bar­ry Com­mu­ni­ty Care Cen­ter Activ­i­ty Direc­tor Dian­na Castle­ber­ry looks for­ward to the part­ner­ship and the pos­i­tive impact the Pen Pal Pro­gram will have on residents.

“Pen pals are some­thing that have been around for many years and some­thing my res­i­dents can relate to from when they were chil­dren. With every­thing going on with the pan­dem­ic, every­one can use some­thing to make them smile and it is always nice to get a hand­writ­ten note in the mail,” she said. ​“That is why I think this Pen Pal Pro­gram is such an amaz­ing idea and a great way for our res­i­dents to make new friends. As they have shared with me, you can nev­er have too many friends.”

For more infor­ma­tion on the Pen Pal Pro­gram, con­tact Park­er at mparker@​quincymedgroup.​com.