For 15 years, a rural Iowa school district has been connecting with its local nursing home to bring joy to its residents.
The BCLUW Cross Country team visits Oakview Nursing Home several times each fall. The coach and nursing home staff said the activity has been benefiting both students and residents alike.
About five times a season, the team pushes about 15 residents in wheelchairs through the community. Coach Donna Fiscus said it’s a good way to get some exercise in while building a connection.
“With running in particular, I always tell the kids, it’s 90% mental. You have to decide with your bodies how far you can push it,” Fiscus said. “I think when we’re with the nursing home residents, they realize that someday this body isn’t gonna be the way it is now.”
Even through the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, residents and students were still able to connect through outdoor, masked visits.
The home said it’s something residents look forward to year-round, as the high school is right across the street. It said many of the athletes choose the same resident to walk with every time they visit.
“The residents love getting out of the facility for one thing, going for walks, seeing the leaves changing color,” Oakview Activity Director Kelly Case said. “They just love the whole experience of getting to do something different.”
While some students have relatives who are residents, the nursing home said some people who live there don’t get to see their families very often, so getting to connect with someone can be very impactful.
Oakview said it encourages other facilities and schools in the area to connect to expand similar programming.
“Any extra social interaction that the residents can have makes them happier, which in turn helps them stay healthy,” Oakview Administrator Kara Butler said.
The residents and team also share an interest in football, so when the Iowa vs. Iowa State game comes around each year, they show support of their teams by wearing their colors. Staff said it’s becoming more of a rivalry as Conrad is in between both schools.
Coach Fiscus said every season, the activity allows students to build bonds with residents that, even after graduation, they can return to and visit their friends.
“We always tell the kids, make it about them, not about you,” Fiscus said. “We have kids in this community that do have a heart and do care. I think this is something we need more of.”
The team and the nursing home said they plan on continuing the program for years to come.
(Iowa’s News Now Sports Anchor Owen Siebring contributed video to this story.)