Pandemics And Infections In Senior Living Communities
The 21st century has already brought many infection control challenges to the senior living industry. Most of us remember the trepidation we felt in 2009 with the outbreak of a novel swine flu (A(H1N1)pdm09) and the declaration of a pandemic. Fortunately that only required virtually the same protocols utilized with prior influenza strains and had limited impact on seniors. Then 2020 arrived and little has been as it was.
Being someone who spent more than 16 years in Assisted Living, most of those as an Executive Director, matched with a similar time working in home care, I must confess to all of you that I spent the past year experiencing mixed emotions. Agonizing at what was happening to our seniors and the caring staff members in their communities, not just daily but literally minute by minute, mixed with somewhat of a sense of relief that I had transitioned 6 years earlier to owning and running a non-medical home care agency from my home and my car. Needless to say I salute each and every person who continued to serve those living in Independent Living, Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing. The word “hero” is not enough!
Now in 2021 we have vaccines, and those are rightly being celebrated by all as we obtain these precious doses. And yet we continue to be cautioned by our medical experts: the CDC, NIH and NIAID, that even with our seniors and our healthcare professionals being vaccinated we must all still wear masks, socially distance and limit our interactions with others including our own families for the foreseeable future, and that pertains equally to those fully vaccinated. And then the are the variants as the virus mutates.
As the owner of a non-medical home care agency I can share that our phones are ringing. And I will also share that every single phone call for the better part of a year has included the family saying “I’ll do anything to keep them home and safe.” All of you reading must think that those words are music to my ears. And honesty, it makes my job convincing them to choose home care much easier.
But, as someone who was ED of an assisted living facility I am also keenly aware of the benefits that senior living communities offer, and that not every senior is best served, or safest, at home. And many people will in time will still require the services available in skilled nursing. I have always talked up and referred to assisted living whenever that is the best way to serve a senior and their family as their needs change at home.
Now, I must ask a question. COVID-19 has become so consuming of our time. Keeping people safe and well. Calls with EOEA and/or DPH. Calls for PPE and other supplies. Temperature checks. Testing. Quarantines. Filing reports. And somehow serving your residents.
Have we forgotten about all of the other infections that we have always faced and had to deal with in any community option in the continuum of senior care?
What options do we have to better serve our seniors, our associates and our future customers?
How much more of our resources will we continue throwing at this problem with old solutions that have so far achieved limited success? Is that a successful business model?
These questions and more will be discussed in Part II of this blog here.
Hopkinton Home Care 
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