Riverview residents curl up in cozy, warm blankets
RHC community
Blanket warmers bring warmth and comfort to residents at Riverview
When people leave their homes to live at a place like Riverview Health Centre, they often have to leave many of the comforts of their prior homes behind. They may leave behind their favourite place in front of the fireplace, their comfy chair, or their cozy bed. Riverview Health Centre (RHC) and the Riverview Health Centre Foundation strive to ensure their new home at the RHC is as comfortable as possible.
Recently, the Foundation has been able to purchase blanket warmers for the CD1 and CD2 units at the Health Centre. A family who believed blanket warmers would have made their mothers stay more comfortable donated half of the funds toward the blanket warmers to ensure that if anyone else on the unit would benefit from warm blankets, they would be available. The Foundation supplied the remaining funds, and the blanket warmers were installed. Since their installation, the blanket warmers have been a big hit among the residents.
Jacqueline Reimer, the manager of the units, explained that residents often get cold during the night. Aging causes a natural decrease in metabolic rates, making it trickier for older adults to generate heat, often leaving them feeling chilly.
“The blankets help provide warmth; we often use them after a bath. The tub rooms can be cold, so the bathing experience is a little bit more pleasant when you have a warm blanket to wrap up in afterward. It also helps decrease some of the residents’ stress,” said Jacqueline.
Irene, one of the residents who uses the warm blankets, explained that “it gets cold in the nighttime, and when I get a warm blanket, it helps warm me up, and I can fall asleep more easily.”
Warm blankets are an added piece of warmth and comfort for residents and make their experience at RHC enjoyable and homelike. Thanks to our generous donors, the Foundation can provide extra comfort and necessities to patients, residents, and clients of the Health Centre, ensuring their time at Riverview is as comfortable and enjoyable as possible.
