Coronavirus: Care home plays real-life Hungry Hippos game with elderly residents in isolation

‘Listen to all the laughter, so lovely to hear and see,’ commenter writes on Facebook

A care home in Wales provided its elderly residents in isolation with some light-hearted relief when it hosted a real-life game of Hungry Hippos.

The board game Hungry Hippos, which was first introduced in the 1970s, involves players using mechanical hippos to try and grab as many little balls as possible with the animals’ mouths.

Bryn Celyn Care Home in Maesteg came up with an innovative way of playing a life-size version of the game — by having the residents, who were being pushed in their wheelchairs, attempt to grab onto ball pit balls with baskets attached to long poles.

In a video shared on the care home’s Facebook page, the care home’s residents and staff can be heard laughing as they revel in the game.

“Residents really enjoyed playing a new game today Hungry Hippos. Lots of laughter to lift morale of the team and residents!” the video’s caption read.

The video has been shared 15,000 times on Facebook and accumulated thousands of comments.

“Omg well done guys brilliant way to lift the morale at the home,” one person remarked.

“Amazing, listen to all the laughter, so lovely to hear and see,” another said.

Following the enormous response the care home’s Hungry Hippos game received online, the facility released a statement on Facebook expressing their gratitude.

(Facebook/Bryn Celyn Care Home)

“Thank you for all the wonderful comments about our Hungry Hippos video,” the statement read.​

“Bryn Celyn is a fantastic place and this is down to all the hard work and dedication of the fantastic team.”

The statement added that while “there will be some tough times ahead”, the team at the care home “will get through it together”.

A few days ago, the care home shared a post on Facebook about potential job opportunities at the facility amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“During the outbreak of Covid-19, we’re looking for caring individuals that may find themselves out of work and would like to support Bryn Celyn and the wonderful residents that live in our home,” the post read.

“Our absolute priority is to keep the residents safe, entertained and comfortable at Bryn Celyn and out of harm’s way, however we may require additional team members to assist our residents when some of our team are unable to come to work due to childcare arrangements or other factors.”

The government has provided guidance on how residents of care homes can be taken care of throughout the coronavirus outbreak.