, 
, 
Luverne World War II veteran Bill Holling saw his family Friday for the first time in over a year when his daughters and their husbands visited him at Poplar Creek apartments.
“This was such a joyous occasion,” his daughter Patricia Jones said Monday morning. “I’m still on a high now.”
She and her husband, Bryan, drove more than five hours from Shenandoah, Iowa, Friday to meet her sister, Priscilla and Randy Pater, to celebrate their dad’s 98th birthday, which is March 25.
They expected restrictions of one person at a time, but they were all allowed to come in.
“They told us we could all see him, and guess what? We could hug and hold hands,” Pat said. “Dad’s not a hugger, but there definitely were hugs.”
Holling’s family members were the first visitors allowed inside Poplar Creek since the doors closed March 11, 2020, to protect the 26 tenants from COVID-19.
Living in “lockdown” wasn’t easy, but it paid off, according to Amy Dispanet VerSteeg at Poplar Creek.
“Only essential caregivers were allowed in,” VerSteeg said. “I’ve seen so many people languish for lack of family … but we did it. We never had COVID in the facility, and now everyone’s been vaccinated.”
Those sacrifices made Friday’s first visit all the more poignant, she said.
“Seriously, I had happy tears for them,” VerSteeg said.
“Bill’s granddaughter got married and he couldn’t go to the wedding. He had a great-granddaughter born, and he had to see her through his window. …. It’s how everything had to be.”
Patricia said she and her family understood the restrictions.
“We would never have wanted to give someone COVID,” she said. “And we were just so grateful for how wonderfully Poplar Creek was taking care of Dad. They were protecting their residents.”
Priscilla was considered an essential caregiver for her dad, which meant she was able to see him when she ran errands for him, but she said he missed the group.
“I know he loves me, but it was just nice for all of us to be able to have a conversation together,” Priscilla said.
She and Randy farm near Pipestone, and her dad is a retired farmer from the Hardwick area.
“He enjoys talking about farming,” Priscilla said. “I tried to tell him what was going on, but it’s not the same for him as talking with Randy.”
“Dad loves his sons-in-law as much as he loves us,” Patricia said.
As senior housing facilities are slowly reopening after pandemic closures, long-overdue reunions are playing out in families nationwide, especially after vaccination rates continue to improve.
Director Elena Heronimus said Poplar Creek is seeing an uptick in visitors since pandemic restrictions lifted.
“Everyone is just glad to do this,” she said Monday. “I’m glad, too. It’s been a long time coming.”
VerSteeg said she and other health care workers are finally able to exhale after a long year of pandemic fears.
“It’s been such a crazy year where anyone in the health field has been called upon to anything and everything,” she said.
VerSteeg’s job title at Poplar Creek is “senior living and recreational coordinator,” but in the past year that has included “mask reminder, temp and health question screener, distance reminder, iPad runner, meal deliverer, mental health barometer and cheerleader, tenant and family support provider and peeling people off the walls when the walls were caving in.”
But she added that she’s not the only one who assumed new roles in the past year. “I’m guessing not a single job description in the world hasn’t been modified,” VerSteeg said.
Poplar Creek visitors will need to be screened at the door and will be required to wear masks and socially distance from those outside their family group.
Also, visitors are encouraged to call 24 hours in advance of a visit in order to prevent large gatherings. The phone number is 507-283-1996.