Whiddon Moree residents have come up with a creative way to show their loved ones they are thinking of them while visitor restrictions are in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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The local aged care facility has been on lockdown for a few weeks now in an effort to keep residents and staff safe from COVID-19, however residents have been missing their families and volunteers.
"We are all doing okay, but we are missing the people, places and outings in our community," Whiddon Moree director of care Fiona Lysaught said.
"Residents are worried about their family more than themselves, we have very special people who visit daily and we have talked a lot about how they are filling their days.
"We are also missing our fantastic volunteers that were in their home most days helping with so many different things."
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During this time, Whiddon teams have been thinking of ways to keep residents engaged with their loved ones and have also been delivering creative outlets for residents to remain positive while they are in lockdown.
As a result, Positive Pants was introduced at Moree Whiddon.
Residents have shared positive thoughts on cut-outs of pants, which have since been hung on the fence outside the facility, along with messages for families and friends, with a handprint from each resident.
"We thought the sign and positive pants would give the whole of Moree a smile, but we wanted those special people to know it's for them," Ms Lysaught said.
"Residents loved being part of this creative task! Especially the hands and the smaller art projects that they added.
"We had the sheets spread out across two large tables and invited lots of staff into look at it and share ideas.
"Residents wandered in and out of the room and added a bit more colour over the day."
Since the pants have been hanging up, Ms Lysaught said a number of cars driving past have been slowing down to read the messages.
"We thought if people drove past and saw what we were doing they would know we are all safe and thinking about them," she said.
"We would love to see what people are doing at home, hoping they might share some of their art work with us."