ORANGE PARK – With visitation extremely limited and everyday life altered, residents of Signature HealthCARE of Orange Park are trying to keep their heads up and the staff there is looking for creative ways to help them do it.

Signature HealthCARE staff did just that, bringing a horse to the complex on Monday.

“Residents come to a nursing home when their life has taken an unexpected turn, or they’re in need of special care and guidance,” said Barbara Nicholls, Activities Director. “Here at Signature HealthCARE in Orange park, that is what our staff does best, enrich our residents’ lives through care, love, purpose, and quality of life.”

Jamie Stull, the hospital liaison for Signature, is the mother of a rider. She and her family routinely travel to her daughter’s barrel racing competitions. As someone who is continuously around horses and who sees the joy they can bring, Stull came up with the idea to share that with the residents.

Stull had her husband, son and daughter bring their horse, Spazz.

“Residents love to see animals and kids, so the combination made a great visit,” Nicholls said. “Residents were able to talk to Spazz and the Stull family from their windows, and a few were able to come outside and give him a friendly pat, with social distancing in mind.”

The family and the horse made their way around the building, giving an opportunity to be seen by as many residents as possible. Some of the more ambulatory patients even came outside to touch the horse while maintaining safety precautions.

Activities such involving horses are irregular at Signature. Still, the COVID-19 outbreak has led to a new level of creativity and thinking outside of the box by senior assisted living facility staff. The quarantine has consistently kept staff on their toes, but they have done an excellent job responding to the challenge.

One of the most excellent indicators of that was the presence of Spazz the horse, and the positive reaction that it created among the residents.