What It Has Been Like to be a Resident During COVID-19

We are now almost nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic. This topic either has been intriguing to some, or hits a hot button with others. We are not going to talk about statistics and what you should and shouldn’t be doing in this blog. I want to give you an inside look at what it is like for residents here at Lakeview Living along with our staff.

10 months ago our residents had just finished celebrating the holidays with their families and friends. Families and friends were welcomed into the facility with open arms for celebrations, gifts were given, hugs and kisses were exchanged, everyone was laughing and having a great time revisiting memories from the past, and anything else you would do at a family gathering.

Then February and March came along and COVID-19 reared its ugly head, and everyone's world came to a halt or was turned upside down. Facilities like Lakeview Living we locked down to the outside public, residents we quarantined to their rooms, employees are having to change their clothes and shoes when they enter and exit the building. All of this happened in a moment's notice it seemed like.

Talk about social shock for our residents. Many of which have been set in their routines for years, all of that was interrupted. Having loved ones that came and visited weekly, those visits now took place through a window, or via digital media such as FaceTime, ZOOM, etc. Unlike you who is reading this and myself who can appreciate the modern technology we have, our residents thought we were crazy when we handed them a phone so they could talk to their Son or Daughter while standing on the other side of the window.

A few weeks into the pandemic, positive cases started rise and there wasn’t sufficient amounts of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) available to us, our Executive Director, Deanna Hayes went out on limb and asked staff if anyone would consider “living” at Lakeview until we were able to secure PPE. The staff here at Lakeview jumped on board! 8 members of the Lakeview team packed up and moved in to campers that were parked behind the facility. A Facebook post was made that we were looking for campers to stay in during this time. We were flooded with phone calls from people local to the Firth area and Lincoln volunteering their campers to be used.

The 8 team members of Lakeview didn’t just dedicate a few days to this, they left their homes and families for an ENTIRE MONTH! Could you imagine not only living at work but also living with the people you work with? And not being able to see your family, your husband or wife, kids, or pets? We also want to say thank you to everyone who brought food, sent care packages for the staff and residents, it made being away from home a little easier. We would also like to say THANK YOU to the all of the people who donated their campers for us to stay in. We had a good amount of team members that were not able to work during that

time. All our staff was welcomed back the first week of May.

People ask how our residents are doing through this pandemic. It has been a roller coaster of a ride for them too. When the pandemic started residents were quarantined to their rooms. Then residents were only to be in places where they were able to be 6 feet apart from each other while only having 10 people in a room. At that time we were utilizing every spare square foot of the building. Residents were dining in 4 different “dining rooms”. The dining experience was residents only interaction with people that were not a staff member at Lakeview. If you were one of the people whose work shut down, and schools shut down etc. More than likely you were able to be “quarantined” with your family, significant other, roommate etc. With the exception one married couple that resided here at Lakeview, residents were quarantined by themselves. So when the DHHS lifted the restrictions and allowed communal dining our residents were so excited!

Visits with family and friends were still taking place through a window, or FaceTime. A 93 year old resident is visiting with her daughter in our entry way through a big glass window while on the phone with her, our resident described this as “foolish”. For some residents playing tic-tac-toe with dry erase markers on a window was the only to get to “play” with their grandkids and great grandkids.

Late spring residents were able to visit with their family and friends outside. While this was exciting for everyone, having to explain to residents with dementia that they have to wear a mask and remain 6 feet away from their loved one, while sitting outside presented a challenge in itself.

In the summer we were able to move into Phase 3 of “re-opening”. We were able to allow visits to happen in a designated area of our facility. Families were able to visit with their residents inside in a climate controlled area out of the dangerous summer temperatures that our wonderful weather in Nebraska presents us. Masks were worn, and social distancing was adhered to. Here we are now in the fall of 2020… and pandemic is still in full force it seems. The number of cases are rising, and the dial is moving closer to red every day it seems. With that happening we had to talk with all of our residents and their families letting them know we can still allow patio visits outside and window visits, but our in facility visits have been put on hold for the time being.

Pandemic or no pandemic our number 1 focus here at Lakeview Living is, ensuring our residents are healthy and safe. This hasn’t been a fun or easy year for anyone, and we have had to make a lot of tough decisions, but we are giving 110% every day to beat the pandemic, and keep it out of the building. We have the best residents and families as part of Lakeview Living family. Each and everyone of them have been so supportive in many ways, and we cannot thank you enough.