Monroeville personal care home parade will allow residents to see loved ones

A personal care facility in Monroeville will host a parade so its residents can see family and friends who have not been able to interact face-to-face for weeks.

Independence Court is hosting the parade on Friday, with residents as onlookers while their family members line up in parade fashion.

The personal care facility has around 70 residents and about 50 staff members, none of whom have tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to Keri Woolard, director of admissions at Independence Court.

“This is for families to see their loved ones,” Woolard said. “They’ve been separated by glass. So this is finally a chance for people to hold up signs that say ‘I love you,’ or ‘thinking about you,’ whatever they want their signs to say. And I expect them all to move very slow.”

Visitors to long-term care facilities and nursing homes have not been allowed inside to visit with residents since mid-March, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

Woolard said some of the facility’s business partners have signed up to take part in the parade, along with two Monroeville fire trucks. About 15 families will take part in their vehicles. The residents will be seated — at least six feet apart — outside along the parade’s route.

Parade participants are encouraged to decorate their vehicles and themselves in red, white and blue in honor of May Day, a springtime festival and an international day honoring workers.

The route will start at the facility’s Triveni Center parking lot at 275 Center Road. It will end at 279 Center Road, at Independence Court and exit south onto Center Road. Lineup for participants begins at 1 p.m.

The facility has invited the surrounding community to take part in the parade. Call 412-373-3030 for details.