DANVILLE, Pa. — The past ten months have been hard on everyone, especially people living in personal care homes. The 54 residents at Vintage Knolls near Danville have not seen their families since before the pandemic started.
"It's horrible psychologically for them. The only family they have now is us the employees," Rachel Bingaman said.
Bingaman is executive director of Vintage Knolls, a personal care facility in Montour County. Recently, the center's activities director had an idea to build a visiting center within Vintage Knolls.
"She showed me the picture on Facebook and said, 'Can we do this?' I said, 'Absolutely!'" Bingaman said.
The visiting center includes plexiglass protection and took about a week to build and paint. It has been open since Thanksgiving as a way for residents to see their families safely.
"We have a calendar for the month, and they'll just ask, 'Can I come and visit my mom at 1:00?' As long as it's available, we put them on for 1:00," Bingaman said.
Bingaman says the residents at Vintage Knolls are very grateful for the new addition.
"Every day, I have somebody thank me for caring enough about them that we go above and beyond for them," Bingaman said.
Bingaman hopes other facilities will see this and build something similar so other personal care residents will also have a safe way to visit with their families.