Aging At Altitude - Through the Generations

Senior Living During and Post COVID-19

By Brittany Anas for Aging at Altitude

Over the past few months, the coronavirus has reshaped nearly all aspectsofAmericanlife. But the pandemic has had an especially significant effect on senior living, as those who areages65and older are at elevated risk for severe illness from COVID-19, according to the Centers for DiseaseControl and prevention.

Here, in and around Boulder County, leaders at senior living communities have not just adopted additional safety and cleaning procedures as they prioritize their residents’ physical health, but they have also come up with creative new ways to keep seniors engaged in this newfound era of social distancing. For instance, at Balfour Senior Living in Louisville, “window visits,” when allowed by public health officials, have been arranged between residents and their family members, and additional tablets were purchased so residents can stay virtually connected to family via video chats.

“While this doesn’t replace the hug of a loved one, it certainly has helped keep families and residents engaged,” says Jeanette Allen, vice president of health andwellnessatBalfour Senior Living in Louisville.

And, at Avenida Lakewood, a luxury active adult 55 and up rental community, residents have been participating in exercise classes from their balconies, with instructors leading the classes in the courtyard. The community has also been hosting “mobile hallway happy hours” so residents can stay in their apartments, yet still feel like they’re apart of a special occasion, says Alice Tutunjian, managing director, marketing with Avenida.

At Hover Senior Living Community, therapy has been exceptionally creative: Alpacas, goats and dogs have done window visits; there’s been music therapy in the form of window concerts; and elders have been planting flowers and herbs in outdoor gardens and raised garden beds through a plant therapy program, explains Kelley Frederick, director of marketing for Katherine &Charles Hover GreenHouse Neighborhood Homes.

In addition to flexible and creative programming, leaders have been laser-focused on following CDC guidelines and focused on preventing COVID-19.

“We continue to act with an abundance of caution, reinforcing our policies and procedures for contagious illnesses,” says Marcia Klassen, the executive director of Brookdale Meridian Boulder.

“These include reinforcing washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, staying home when sick, moving to in-room dining options, and leveraging iPads and InTouch for families to connect with their loved ones.”

Ahead, senior living leaders share more on how they’re responding to COVID-19 and relay their expectations for how the pandemic will affect retirement communities in the future.

How the pandemic affects occupancy

Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected occupancy at local senior living communities.

At the start of the pandemic, Balfour’sLouisville campus saw a decline in leads due to the fear of living in a congregate living center, Allen says. The senior living community paused move- ins for a period of time because movers were not allowed into the community and admissions were paused in the skilled community due to small COVID-19 outbreak, Allen says.

“We are now seeing, after nearly three months, an increase in leads,” she says. “This may be due to the social isolation people are feeling at home, or adult children seeing their parents declining with the quarantine. We are hopeful that this increase in lead trend continues as there is definitely value in the community setting.”

Until recently, Hover Senior Living in Longmont placed a hold on move-ins to the community at all three levels of care: independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing, Frederick says.

At Avenida, occupancy in the active adult rental communities has increased over the past few months. The active adult community, which has highly amenitized apartment buildings and a full schedule of organized activities, is designed for those who are 55and older. The average resident is 74 years old, outgoing, and very active, Tutunjian says. More than 65 percent of residents have sold their homes to come live at Avenida, so many have committed to a new, active lifestyle instead of being isolated at home.

Maintaining health standards

Temperature checks of staff members, frequent handwashing, and temporarily restricting visitors are all part of the new normal in many senior living communities.

As an example, Balfour restricted family and other non-essential visitors a week ahead of public health officials instructions to do so. The community also put a screening questionnaire into place and began temperature checking staff members before it was mandated. Cloth masks for residents were purchased and are frequently laundered for residents. Balfour also enacted measures to protect its employees, paying for home daycare for its associates on the Louisville campus once schools and daycares closed. The “Balfour Way” initiative increased pay for hourly employees during the pandemic. Also, early on, Balfour invested in the Everlywell test that could test symptomatic residents and staff at no cost because community testing wasn’t widely available.

At Hover Senior Living, those in leadership positions have been participating in multiple weekly conference calls with appropriate government agencies to guide our response to the pandemic.

At Brookdale, outings have been canceled and leaders are leveraging digital opportunities and modified activities so they’re mindful of social distancing. For instance, instead of group exercises in a room, they are doing doorway classes, Klassen says.

Taking care of residents during these unprecedented times

Senior living communities have become exceptionally creative with programming during the pandemic to help keep residents connected while adhering to social distancing.

During “Shelter in Place” orders, Avenida adapted programming to allow for physical distancing with the online zoom book clubs and socially distanced trivia games.

“Weare just beginning a slow phased “reopening” where we will be able to re-introduce our regular programming but with limits on attendees so we can still adhere to CDC guidelines,” Tutunjian says. “We will be repeating the most popular classes and events so that everyone who wants to, gets to participate.”

And, at Balfour the staff had done theme days and weeks and fun contests to keep residents’ spirits up. The community has also been conducting virtual town hall meetings with residents and families to keep the lines of communication open.

The Hover Senior Living Community has been doing hallway bingo events, outdoor excursions that are mindful of social distancing, knitting and crocheting for various causes, mobile happy hours, weekly taichi, and continuous surveys of residents to make sure their needs are being met.

How COVID-19 will reshape senior living?

What does senior living look like in the future? Allen expects that screening will stay, and there may be a new normal of restricting the number of visitors with an ongoing use of personal protective equipment, mainly masking.

“We will definitely have to pivot on how we market the benefits of senior living for new referrals and leads,” Allen says. “We’ve adapted very well with virtual tours and virtual assessments which may continue a while longer.”

Allen also expects to see new technology that helps clean living spaces, effectively eradicating viruses and bacteria in the air and on surfaces.

“I suspect there are many changes we will see over the coming months and years,” she says.

It’s likely that senior living will become more popular because of the sense of community that it provides, says Tutunjian.

“Our residents have had to endure the same isolation most of the country has been under, but they've had activities that kept them occupied and access to resources if they need them,” she says. “There’s great comfort in that.”

AltaVita Senior Residences

800 S. Fordham Street, Longmont, 303.300.3700; 1001 AltaVita Ct., Longmont, 720.745.8250; 1002 AltaVita Ct. Longmont, 303.834.8800, https://www.altavitaliving.com

Avenida Lakewood

11001 W. 15th Place, Lakewood, 720.724.7010, https://www.avenidapartners.com

Balfour Senior Living

1331 Hecla Drive, Louisville, 844.354.8877, https://www.balfourcare.com

Brookdale Senior Living

3350 30th St., Boulder, 303.444.0200; 3375 34th St., Boulder, 303.473.0333; 801 Gillaspie Drive, Boulder, 303.494.3900; 2240 Pratt St., Longmont, 303.682.1066, https://www.brookdale.com

Frasier Meadows

350 Ponca Place, Boulder, 303.499.4888, https://www.frasiermeadows.com

Hover Senior Living Community

1380 Charles Drive, Longmont, 303.772.9292, https://www.hovercommunity.org