Sister Act: Spinning tunes and cutting stress in rehab centre
Staff has used music and technology to connect patients with family members throughout pandemic
Sister Louise Dillon has become the inhouse DJ at Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre since the COVID-19 pandemic closed the facility to visitors.
Her 15-minute musical interludes have been pumping through the hallway intercoms each day, except on Good Friday.
“I started out with songs I thought people would enjoy, kind of uplifting songs. And then I started getting requests from patients and staff,” she said.
“And I’m still getting them. We’ve played country to soft rock to Elvis, Johnny Cash, ‘Kokomo,’ Nat King Cole, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, you name it. It’s been good.”
The director of mission and pastoral services, Dillon has been doing what she can to help relieve some tension at the Glenridge Avenue facility in St. Catharines for both patients and staff.
She said in mid-March when the COVID-19 precautions began, staff were working extra hard and spending more time with patients because they couldn’t have visitors. There was a lot of stress and anxiety among everyone as directions were changing from the province and public health authorities on a daily basis.
She spoke to the senior team at the centre and asked what it be would like if she played some tunes on the intercom?
“They thought it was a good idea to play music and it would just help relax patients and staff and be a benefit to both of them,” she said.
And so began her DJ role on St. Patrick’s Day.
“The patients and staff both love it,” she said. “Some of the staff will tell me patients were toe tapping to some of the music and staff are dancing in the hall. Everybody really looked forward to this brief time to normalize a little bit during this stressful time that we’re all going through.”
It wasn’t her intention to play music every day, but it’s been helping people so they’ve carried on. Dillon said music is very much a part of healing and fits in with the atmosphere at the 134-bed centre.
Dean Lorenz, director of communications and public relations at Hotel Dieu Shaver, said staff and patients look forward to Sister Louise’s musical interludes every day at 1:30 p.m. He said they’ve found the music sparks motivation and lifts their spirits.
That was certainly the case for Rosemary McNamee when her granddaughter Maryze, a singer and lyricist in Montreal, wrote a song for friends and family far away dedicated to her Nana Rosie. Dillon got permission from both of them to play it over the loudspeakers for everyone in the centre to hear.
“I was thrilled,” said McNamee, at the centre recovering from a fall. “She’s very talented. Very happy to hear her. She has a beautiful voice.”
Their story and how Sister Louise helped make the connection was recently shared on CBC radio’s “The Current.”
McNamee said she misses her family. But she said she’s been able to see some them in the yard when Sister Louise takes her into the glass tunnel that connects the two wings of the hospital.
Dillon came to work in chaplaincy at Hotel Dieu in 1986 when it was still a hospital on Ontario Street.
Through the pandemic, with other staff, she’s been connecting patients with their families as far away as California and South Korea through FaceTime and phone calls, and through those glass windows.
She’s been helping to ensure anyone who wants a TV in their room has one. And she’s been lifting spirits through music.
“I say to people it’s certainly an honour and a privilege to be alongside patients when their loved ones can’t be there,” she said.
“They’re happy we’re there and their loved ones are very well cared for by our staff.” Karena.Walter@niagaradailies.com 905-225-1628 | @karena_standard