Bon Secours St. Francis Foundation

Associate Donation purchased recliners tohelp patients like Carol recover.

COVID-19 is as unique as the people it infects. For some, symptoms are mild. For others, a hospital stay is needed. For Carol Boenig, it was an extended stay in the intensive care unit at St. Francis Hospital.

With little to no contact with the outside world, it’s easy for COVID-19 patients to feel alone and isolated. Though Carol has since fully recovered, she felt depressed and hopeless during her hospital stay. It wasn’t until a nurse suggested she sit up in a recliner near a window that things started looking up.

“After being in bed for so long, I really enjoyed the chair very much,” she said. “I sat there for hours and loved every minute. It made me feel like a real person again.”

Caregivers noticed the mental effects COVID-19 hospitalizations were having on their patients. So, through the annual Give for Good Associate Giving Campaign, associates at St. Francis raised money to buy new recliner chairs for patient rooms. According to Cally Banks, Lead Occupational Therapist, the chairs are good for overall healing.

“Fully functioning recliners are beneficial to get patients moving again,” she said. “Being out of bed and sitting up in chair has emotional benefits, as well.”

Sitting comfortably to enjoy the sunshine can provide a much-needed change of scenery. For Carol, it made her even more eager to heal.

“I couldn’t wait to get in that chair every day,” she said. “It made me feel like maybe there was a little hope in the future.”