Since the start of the pandemic, residents of Crossroads Memory Care have been deprived of something so important to all of us: human touch. They’ll say:

“I just want a hug,” said Gerry Furukawa, a Crossroads visitor. “That’s all I’m asking. Why can’t you do that?”

That necessity is the mother of a pandemic-era invention, the hug tent.

“It’s been amazing,” said Mike Reagan, a volunteer with Tru Community Care. “Oftentimes it’s the first time they’ve heard each other’s voices.”

The nonprofit health care organization he works with recently set up a pop-up contraption at the Lakewood, Colorado facility.

“We have arm holes in it, as you’ve seen,” Reagan said. “It allows residents to enter one side of the tent… And then family members can come to the other side safely and embrace their loved ones… For many of them it’s the first time they’ve been able to visit with these family members since COVID began.”

A thin plastic film separates residents from their visitors.

“It works out really well and we’ve had some beautiful reunions,” Reagan said.

Until now the closest families have been able to get to each other is inside a more permanent enclosure at the facility. They must be two meters apart, wear face masks at all times with absolutely no touching.

Diane Rossi and her husband Arthur have had no physical contact for the past year.

“I come around to the window, and we talk through the window in his bedroom,” she said.

“This is great,” she added, referring to the hug tent. “It’d be nice if we’d be able to do this once a month.”

A dozen of these events have been held in Colorado already. Hug tents have caught on across the country. With residents of long-term care facilities under mental strain because of the pandemic, it’s a way for people to connect in a safe and sanitary way.

“So for example between each visit we will apply a cleaner to both sides of the hug tent, clean it thoroughly, let it sit for five minutes,” Reagan said.

Visitors are fitted with gloves up to their shoulders.

“I thought this was brilliant,” Furukawa said. 

He was glad to see his friend although the visit didn’t exactly go as planned.

“She was burning up inside the tent, so that’s all she complained about the whole time was it’s so hot in here, I want to go back in,” he said.

But there were lots of special moments.

“Oh it was wonderful, we just never see her you know?” said Stan Van Putten, who was visiting his wife Betty. “It was nice.”

This time of social distancing has reminded us of things we take for granted.

“The lack of human touch has a real impact on people,” Reagan said.

Someday, hopefully soon, In-person, plastic-free visits will again be the norm. Until then, folks are embracing the moments these tents provide.

CGTN’s Hendrik Sybrandy reports.

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