Spirits high at Istanbul's historic nursing home Darülaceze despite long lockdown

It has been almost eight months since Darülaceze shut its doors to visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic. The historic nursing home in Istanbul, founded 125 years ago for the elderly and needy, is a pale version of its former self when it teemed with visitors almost every day, but residents do not complain much. The lockdown, after all, helped the place stave off the outbreak that hit elderly citizens harder elsewhere.

Only three cases have been reported at Darülaceze since the beginning of the outbreak in Turkey last March and all recovered. It is a number the facility takes pride in as care homes across the world succumbed to high fatality rates due to the lack of proper responses to the outbreak, which has particularly affected the elderly and people with high infection risk.

Darülaceze was founded in 1895 on the orders of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II, with his personal donations and donations by benefactors. It was originally designed as home for homeless migrants who took shelter in Istanbul, then capital of the Ottoman Empire, in the aftermath of Russo-Turkish War between 1877 and 1878. Throughout its history, it has been a home for the elderly, orphans and homeless people with disabilities.

Time goes by slowly and the elderly have little to do other than walking in the vast courtyard or solving crossword puzzles, a favorite pastime for many. Their loneliness is occasionally broken with phone calls from their relatives. The only relief came in the summer when visitors were allowed to meet with the residents for 15 minutes and by adhering to social distancing in the courtyard.

Yet, another rise in the number of patients earlier in the autumn forced officials to go into a full lockdown. Residents are on their own again and are required to keep a distance from each other. Meals, once eaten in a large mess hall, are now delivered to the room of each resident.

Hikmet Geyik, 71, who moved into Darülaceze four years ago, is grateful for the measures. “Thank God we are safe. Everybody is fine. We are very well cared for. Everybody keeps their distance and wears masks.”

“We can walk in a small grove here and sit on the benches outside but far from our friends. I spend the days walking and watching TV in my room," she told Demirören News Agency (DHA) on Tuesday.

Abbas Çamur, a resident for 11 years, said days go by well. "We are very careful. I thank the administrators for taking every measure. I only go out for some fresh air and am mostly in my room. We have a beautiful garden here, but we can’t walk as freely as we used to do because of the virus," he said.

The nursing home had to change its shifts, and every member of the personnel is required to spend 10 days at the facility to prevent infecting others. Darülaceze Director Hamza Cebeci says people wonder if the place has been turned into a prison.

"We have some 500 residents and more than 400 personnel, including a dozen doctors. We are doing everything to keep residents comfortable. For instance, we set up a canteen so they can have access to everything they want. Every room is furnished with TVs and telephones," he said. The administration, based on the coronavirus trends, eases or tightens restrictions at Darülaceze.

Dr. Ufuk Yurtsever, the chief physician at the facility, says all mass events to entertain the residents were canceled, but they were working to prevent boredom from setting in.

"We supply them with books and newspapers and allow them to do anything outside on the condition of keeping social distancing.”

“Only a small number of people are allowed to go into the courtyard at one time. All personnel is equipped with protective materials and residents are given food supplements to keep them healthy. We are also in close contact with the local health authority," he said.

Turkey was praised by the World Health Organization (WHO) officials for its measures at nursing homes amid the pandemic. It drafted guidelines for pandemic measures two months before the first cases were reported in Turkey.

After the outbreak, new admissions were canceled, and residents were not allowed to leave. A new shift system for the staff and regular COVID-19 tests were also put into practice. Isolation rooms were set up at hundreds of nursing homes before the transfer of any possible patient to hospitals.