The Polaroid Express: Delivering Love Despite Closed Doors

You’ve heard of the Pony Express and the Polar Express. At The Arbor at BridgeMill, there’s the Polaroid Express, and it’s delivering a lot of joy to residents in the community.

The Polaroid Express was the brainchild of Engagement Director Janice Kimber.

“I came up with this at 1 in the morning while I was thinking about ways to surprise and delight our residents,” she said. (Editor’s note: Because that’s what Engagement Directors do when they can’t sleep!)

The independent living neighborhood at The Arbor is separated by two big doors from the assisted living neighborhood, which also includes a secured Evergreen memory care neighborhood. Normally those doors are open, and over the years, residents have formed friendships between the two communities.

But with the pandemic, the team at The Arbor was forced to close the doors in order to limit movement between the communities to avoid any potential spread of the virus. (Currently there are no known cases of COVID-19 at The Arbor at BridgeMill, but this was one of many steps taken as a precaution.)

That’s where Kimber’s moment of insomnia-triggered inspiration came in.

“We have a little Polaroid camera that the Arbor corporate office sent a year or so ago for a staff program,” she said. “So, to add a little fun and keep these friends connected, I thought I’d snap Polaroid photos.

Staff members took photos of assisted living residents who had made connections on “the other side of the door” and attached handwritten cards to them. Then, the staff safely delivered the cards to each resident’s friend in the independent living neighborhood, and the independent living residents responded in kind.

Here are some of the messages shared via the Polaroid Express:

• Staffers took a photo of independent living resident Bob and shared it with his wife, Betty, a resident in the memory care neighborhood. Bob’s message was: “You’ll always be my young bride.”
• A photo of Louie was sent with the message “I miss our chats, my friend” to his buddy, Bert, a resident in the other neighborhood. Before the pandemic, the two friends had often enjoyed chatting over beer during The Arbor’s weekly Happy Hours.
• Resident Mariette’s message to Fred and Deborah: “I miss our card games, can’t wait to play again!”
• To Kathy, from a couple living in assisted living: “We miss you and hope to have dinner again together real soon!” (Kathy’s response: “When’s dinner?”)
• Pat wrote to Fay: “Miss you, dear friend!” Fay beamed as she talked about hoping to see her friends again soon at Happy Hour.

Clearly, the Polaroid Express was a hit.

“The residents absolutely loved it,” Kimber said. “I just knew they were missing their friends on the other side of the door, and this made their day. Even under their masks, you can see by the smiles on their faces!”

Kimber added that staff members have been coordinating virtual visits, but the photos created another bright spot that connected in a concrete way.

“The Polaroid Express is delivering love and sweet sentiments,” she said. “It’s a pleasure for the staff, too, because we can see how this brings so much joy to our residents.”