Written by Tammy-tam Nguyen
The holidays are usually a time when families and friends gather together to share the highlights of the past year and create resolutions for the year to come. For many older adults, the holidays can be a more difficult time considering their children have families of their own, their relatives may live far away, and their friends may have drifted away with time. Lack of social interaction can greatly impact seniors’ health and wellness especially during these festive times. BCOM’s Geriatrics Society, with the help of the Sigma Sigma Phi honorary osteopathic fraternity, took its first step to alleviating this issue by planning holiday card-making and delivery events to bring some joy to older adults living in Las Cruces.
In early December, students volunteered their time to create 125 unique handcrafted holiday cards. A couple weeks later, a group of students personally delivered the cards to seniors having lunch at Munson Senior Center. Students took the opportunity to socialize and answer the myriad of questions the inquisitive seniors had that ranged from wanting to know more about BCOM and osteopathic medicine, to our plans for the future.
BCOM students were able to spread some holiday cheer and bring some warmth to at least 125 community-dwelling older adults in Las Cruces. In turn, the seniors and staff at the center graciously welcomed the Geriatrics Society and BCOM students with open arms. This is only the beginning of a, hopefully, long lasting relationship between BCOM and Las Cruces’ Senior Services.
Follow BCOM’s Geriatrics Society on Facebook for more events and photos! facebook.com/groups/BCOMGeriatricsSociety/
