A moving show of appreciation for long term care workers is happening every day this week at the Leacock Care Centre in Orillia.
Every day at noon and at 5 p.m. Leacock Care Centre resident family members and members of the community have been driving through the parking lot honking their horns and displaying homemade signs with words of encouragement in appreciation of their efforts to keep residents safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The first time this happened on Monday, the staff and the residents were just weeping. It feels so good to have that love and support,” said Leacock Care Centre administrator Vittoria Trainer.
The parade was organized by resident family members who kept asking the Leacock staff what they could do to support both staff and residents.
Leacock family services coordinator Amie Gregory came up with the idea to have the families parade through the parking lot in their cars to show support for the staff and see their loved ones.
“It has just been so heartwarming. It honestly makes all the difference in the world,” Trainer said with teary eyes.
Anna Pape, who is the wife of a resident who has been living at Leacock Care Centre for almost two years, has been joining in on the daily parade to show appreciation to the staff.
“Thankfully, there have been no outbreaks at Leacock but everyone is scared and worried and we need to show the staff and residents our love and appreciation and do what we can for them,” Pape said.
Pape has also been using the daily parade as a chance to see her husband, who watches from a balcony. Before the parade, Pape hadn’t seen her husband in person for almost six weeks because of COVID-19.
When Pape saw her husband on Tuesday, she played All You Need Is Love by the Beatles over a speaker for her husband to hear, which brought tears to his eyes.
