KALISPELL — Kalispell Regional Hospital is asking people to send notes and pictures in for COVID unit patients.
Erica Lengacher, a Registered Nurse who works in the COVID unit, says that the conditions used to take care of the patients is challenging. Everyone is in full personal protective equipment and everyone must limit their time in the unit to decrease the possibility of spreading the virus.
She told MTN News that patients in the unit are often lonely and many times the patients are in the COVID unit without family and friends for weeks. Lengacher added that sometimes a patient will improve but then get worse and need to stay in the COVID unit for longer than expected.
So, she's asking people to make and send cards and pictures to COVID unit patients. Lengacher says she's already been able to deliver a couple and she said it made a huge impact.
"I delivered, three cards on Saturday and I know many more have been delivered by other nurses," said Lengacher. "And each one of those three patients had tears in their eyes and were just so grateful that they had a community behind them, supporting them, and caring for them, even though we can't see them and interact with them."
Anyone interested in making a card you can go to Kalico Art Center located at 149 South Main Street in Kalispell where they have all the supplies needed to make the cards and pictures. People can also make their own cards and drop them off at Whitefish Stumptown Art Studio at 145 Central Avenue in Whitefish or at the Whitefish Public Library on Spokane Avenue.
Lengacher says she'll continue accepting cards until there's no longer a need.
