Since the advent of COVID-19 in the United States, the only constant has been change.
And for families who were looking to transition their loved ones into a senior living or memory care community, these changes impacted their timeline in significant ways. With visitation restrictions, many communities transitioned to virtual tours. And with the need to quarantine new residents, many families decided to hold off a move and keep their loved ones close for the time being.
However, for those living independently or with family their care needs fall to either a family caregiver or an outside Home Health Services provider. This can create a new set of challenges for families providing direct care, and even be a challenge when outside providers are used. How effectively can you limit your loved one’s exposure with an outside provider?
In most cases, the right senior living care community can be a perfect solution. At Sinceri Senior Living our streamlined and safe admission processes provide families the ability to deliver the care their loved ones need all in a safe and secured environment. Here are just some of the ways our teams have been providing quality care and focusing on safety for current and new residents to the JEA Family:
Infection Prevention
By working closely with federal, state, and local health departments, our team at Sinceri Senior Living has been able to effectively meet the requirements for COVID-19 preventive measures. Our communities have a strong focus on prevention and limit the risk of exposure for our residents and team members. Our current measures include:
- Restricting all visitation except for essential healthcare providers
- Screening all staff and essential visitors upon arrival to the community
- Suspending tours in our communities (virtual tours are available)
- Frequent hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water, washing for at least 20 seconds
- Frequent daily cleaning of commonly touched environmental surfaces to decreases environmental contamination
- Standard precautions, such as wearing masks, gloves, and gowns as situations warrant their use
In addition, we continue to provide all of our team members with the latest training and tools for the prevention of COVID-19 as new recommendations are released by the CDC and WHO.
Resident Admission + Readmission
Our admission process for both new and readmitting residents includes a PCR swab test for COVID-19. Test results are typically returned within 72 hours and if negative, the resident may be admitted to the community following a phone assessment from their PCP or attending physician. Following approval for admission, the resident is quarantined within their room for 14 days. During quarantine, the resident is placed on alert charting and is monitored for changes in the following day-to-day: body temperature, breathing variations, and oxygen saturation. This monitoring occurs 3 times per day and is completed once during each shift by the nursing team.
Dining
In order to further implement and adhere to social distancing, our teams have made several updates to our dining program. To ensure that meals are provided at a distance from other residents – at a minimum of 6-feet – we are prioritizing in-room meal service, offering additional meal service opportunities, and utilizing other spaces in the community such as our activity room and community rooms.
Programming
With our priority on holistic resident care through purposeful engagement, we have tailored our Meaningful Moments programming towards activities that are optimized for smaller groups, where proper social distancing can be implemented. This allows for even more intentional interactions between team members and residents and provides the opportunity to create even more Meaningful Moments for our residents.
Resources
If your loved one needs senior living care services, please reach out to us for resources and more information. Our care team will connect you with an aging expert from your local Sinceri Senior Living community who can answer your questions and provide valuable resources for you and your loved one as you help with their transition to a senior care community.
