Resiliency, creativity, technology help retirement communities thrive

COVID-19 has created challenges for people of all ages, but coping with a global pandemic has been especially difficult for seniors living in retirement communities or assisted living facilities. For the safety of the residents, visits from family members and friends are prohibited by the South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (DHEC), which can lead to feelings of isolation, confusion, and anxiety.
 
Jack Myers, lifestyle advisor at Wellmore, encourages the use of technology to provide a second best option for family interaction.
 
“Visits with family members are being facilitated virtually through apps like Facetime, Teams, and Skype,” he said. “We are also keeping the families and friends of our residents informed by way of a technology system we have in place called Regroup. Regroup sends email, voicemails, and text messages in emergency situations.”
 
The system has been effective for sending information out to large groups of subscribers in a timely manner. Wellmore sends out two or three Regroup messages per week.
 
Additionally, the facility has hosted several “wave parades” with decorated cars and messages of support, so family and friends can see their loved ones in person, from a distance.
 
Wellmore is a care-based community located at 580 Robert Daniel Drive on Daniel Island. Prior to the pandemic, the environment was serene yet bustling with planned activity every day — whether it be from visits with family members or a troop of therapy dogs, Alzheimer’s support meetings for caregivers, social events, exercise classes, or a day relaxing at the in-house spa and salon. Now, activities that involve groups are curtailed, so the focus is on one-on-one activities, both inside residents’ apartments and throughout the campus as a whole.
 
The Wellness department is hosting in-room personal training sessions and facilitating individual outdoor activities such as daily walks, cornhole, golf cart adventures outdoors, and putt putt golf. “Any activities taking place with more than one resident are carried out with social distancing guidelines in mind,” explained Myers.
Room service for meals is available for residents who wish to isolate themselves.
 
All community members are now offered a one-on-one wellness program.
 
“Our S.T.R.I.V.E. Strength Assessments are being completed to monitor physical, emotional and cognition levels of our residents during this time with a collaboration with the Clinical Nursing Team. We are encouraging our residents to stay positive and active during this time, in doing so, two natural happy hormones, dopamine and serotonin are increased which helps with depression and anxiety levels. During this time, 75% of our entire community population is exercising two or more times a week,” continued Myers.
 
Myers is amazed by the residents who show incredible resilience and patience. “Their fortitude and the positive way they approach each day has inspired our staff. They cannot wait until things return to normal, but they understand it is out of all of our control. Many of our residents have built stronger bonds and friendships with one another.”
 
Just down the street at Daniel Pointe Retirement Community, 514 Robert Daniel Drive, the safety of residents also is a top priority.
 
“We remain intently focused on the health and wellbeing of our residents and teammates. We are executing protocols based upon, and benchmarked against, guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that align with the direction from local and state authorities,” said
Kelly Jo Hinrichs, vice president of marketing. “The dedicated servant spirit of our teams continues to receive positive response from local officials for meeting and exceeding their guidelines dedicated to keeping each other safe.”
 
Hinrichs said that the team at Daniel Pointe is working equally as hard to keep residents happy and engaged to minimize loneliness, isolation and depression. She joked, “We’ve hosted a lot of socially distanced happy hours!”
 
Assisted living community Summit Place of Daniel Island, 320 Seven Farms Drive, also held a Mother’s Day “parade” in May to help families stay connected with residents, among other projects.
 
All senior residence communities are looking forward to when they can open to the public and reunite families, but they know safety has to be their first concern.
 
Summit Place, owned by Five Star Senior Living, shared on its website a June 12 message from Five Star CEO Katie Potter, addressing plans for reopening to the public, stating, “We know that in-person visits with loved ones will be one of the most anticipated activities once your community begins the reopening process. You can expect that the executive director of your community will communicate with you and outline all the specifics regarding family visits as well as other activities, such as salon appointments. It will be of the utmost importance that every resident and family member abide by the guidelines established within each community.”

 

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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