The Harrison School of Pharmacy is organizing an effort to give care packages to elderly residents in assisted living facilities in Lee County. The cause raised $11,665 of the school's $7,000 goal on Tiger Giving Day held on Feb. 24.
Packages will include essential supplies the facilities are short on, including pillboxes, toiletries, hand sanitizer and other non-essential items like stress balls, activity books and treats.
According to the campaign’s Tiger Giving Day page, the plan is to create 300 packages with each package costing $25 each.
“Care packages could contain the following: facial tissue, hand sanitizer, breath mints, general information on practicing good health and adhering to medical advice, a deck of cards, stationery, personal hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, lotions, etc.) and a personal note from an Auburn student,” the page said.
Dr. Jeanna Sewell, assistant clinical professor in the Harrison School of Pharmacy, said the reason the school is looking to pack these packages is to help residents in assisted living facilities feel more connected while they are limited in interpersonal connection outside of the facility due to health concerns.
“Many of these older adults are ones that are at the highest risk of having severe complications of COVID-19 if they were to contract it," Sewell said. “Therefore, limitations have been set in place for visitation. Many of these residents have been faced with times when they are not able to interact with family members, loved ones, caregivers, and even friends. This has been very challenging for these individuals. It has increased anxiety and depression that are a result of this social isolation.”
COVID-19 has vastly changed how Harrison School of Pharmacy students have been able to learn and gain experience in clinical settings as they were able to before the pandemic, Sewell said.
“This has been an unfortunate situation for our students as it has limited their experiences, but it has also been unfortunate for patients because it has limited their ability to have meaningful interactions with students,” she said.
Sewell said that she hopes this opportunity will aid students in a smooth transition when reentering those facilities and help them provide support for patients to show them the school cares.
The Harrison School of Pharmacy plans to work with contacts at various facilities and programs that it has been involved with in the past to conduct safe delivery of the packages, but Sewell said the school does not expect in-person delivery to be possible. As such, HSOP plans to have the packages dropped off at the facility and then handed out by staff to reduce contact.
“The primary purpose of providing these packaging is letting the residents of these assisted living facilities know that we are thinking about them,” Sewell said.
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