Isolated seniors get cheer-up cards from Kaiser Permanente

More than 1,400 bright, colorful cards created by employees at Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in Santa Clara and San Jose will be distributed to homebound seniors to help lift their spirits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kaiser Permanente employees volunteered to make the cards as part of an effort to curb some of the loneliness seniors may be experiencing during the pandemic. Many employees involved their children in making the cards.

This senior-card project is especially important in Santa Clara County, where one in five older adults lives alone, according to Sourcewise, a community resource organization affiliated with the county. In Santa Clara County, the cards will be distributed by the county Department of Aging and Adult Services.

“Isolation can have a negative impact on health and quality of life,” said Chris Boyd, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Clara Medical Center.

The volunteer card project was listed on Kaiser Permanente’s national volunteer website and attracted responses from as far away as Kaiser Permanente in Colorado, as well as KP medical centers around Northern California. The project may also expand to other Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California.

The cards vary in detail. Some are works of art; others are more simple in design as they were crafted by young children. All of the cards contain heartfelt love notes to seniors, most of whom haven’t much human contact since the start of the pandemic.

Irene Chavez, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of Kaiser Permanente’s San Jose Medical Center, says she hopes the volunteer card project will help isolated seniors feel more connected to their communities: “The human touch is critical to helping people thrive and stay healthy.”