Nursing home residents surprised with parade in Columbus

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Some nursing home residents in Columbus got a surprise Wednesday afternoon while spending time outside.

Family members and friends loaded up in their cars and drove by Vineyard Court honking horns, waving, and cheering.

The Columbus Fire Department, a motorcycle club, and even home health and other agencies that helped take care of the patients participated.

Organizers hoped the event would help lift the patients’ spirits.

“Their families will be coming to the parade. They’ve been asked to decorate their cars with signs, to bring noisemakers – anything to make noise and bring attention to them. We’re doing this for our residents because of the quarantine that we’ve been under and they need to get out and get a little bit of fresh air and sunshine. And they need to see their families,” said Beverly Hester, the director of marketing for Vineyard Court.

Vineyard Court has been on lockdown, like other nursing homes, since March.