FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Sharing a Bear Hug With the Elderly

A warm cuddly hug may be the best medicine to cheer up senior citizens.

“All of us need to have personal contact--hugging, touching and love from someone,” said Glinda Muirhead, community relations manager for senior mental health services at Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center.

To lift seniors’ spirits and brighten their day, the hospital has started “Hug Day” visits by Cuddles, a six-foot brown bear with a big red heart on her chest.

“It’s amazing at the reaction when that bear goes into a room where a person is lying in bed depressed, feeling like they’re abandoned in this world,” Muirhead said. “When a bear gives a hug and a big old smoochy kiss, you see the biggest smiles. . . . It brings joy to someone’s life, a feeling that someone does care about them.”

Dr. Paul H. Kosieradzki, a psychiatrist who specializes in treating the elderly and medical director of the hospital’s senior mental health program, agreed that older folks can benefit from “hug therapy.”

“They get an immediate response and gratification,” the doctor said. “They’re happy, they smile, it’s almost like they’re little kids again; they’re grown up children who need affection too.”

Best of all, Kosieradzki said, there are no side effects--only a dose of good cheer to make them feel better.

Kosieradzki said hug therapy is one part of the intervention strategy, which also includes improving socialization among peers and recreational therapy, so seniors can adjust to changes in their lives and have a better lifestyle.

Many elderly patients suffer from depression because of the losses of their health and loved ones, and, for some, the inability to no longer care for themselves, Muirhead said.

“Many have gotten to stages in their life and cannot live alone. It’s hard for them to adjust to not being able to live independently,” she said.

Jo Lindberg, 32, who wears the Cuddles costume, is founder of Hugs for Health Foundation of Orange, which provides the Hug Day program for residents of convalescent homes and long-term care facilities.

Lindberg said the visits increase seniors’ sense of self-worth and add to the quality of their lives.

“They spend a lifetime giving to their families and communities,” she said. “This gives us an opportunity to give back to them.”

Her foundation also has a “Hugs Squad” program, in which volunteers visit residents in care facilities.

Lindberg said seniors often tell her that they needed a hug or that the hug made their day.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than putting smiles on faces and knowing that what you’ve done has made a difference,” she said.

For more information about the hugs volunteer program, call (714) 832-4847.