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From fright to forward-thinking: Iowa City nursing home looks toward future beyond COVID-19

Delmar by Delmar
March 17, 2021
in Elder Care
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From fright to forward-thinking: Iowa City nursing home looks toward future beyond COVID-19
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The Oaknoll Retirement Residence workforce displays on the methods COVID-19 required diligent adaptation to preserve residents concurrently secure and content material.


When Oaknoll Retirement Center locked down on March 8, 2020, Oaknoll Recreational Therapist Lindsey Reed stated she remembered pondering it appeared inevitable that COVID-19 would attain the long-term care facility.

“It was scary to take into consideration the potential of it getting in, and it appeared inevitable that it was going to get in,” Reed stated. “I’m very grateful that was not the case.”

Throughout the pandemic, Oaknoll’s employees and resident case rely has remained at zero.

Other nursing houses should not as lucky. As of Tuesday, long-term care facility residents account for two,221 of Iowa’s 5,657 COVID-19 associated deaths. But since vaccines have rolled out into senior dwelling amenities, only one facility in Iowa presently has an outbreak.

After all Oaknoll residents obtained a COVID-19 vaccine, Reed stated the ability began loosening a few of its prior resident restrictions. For instance, employees members have worn masks and shields at any time when they’re inside six ft of a resident. Now, employees members which can be vaccinated aren’t required to put on shields inside six ft.

Reed stated that in recreation time, the Oaknoll employees tries to preserve residents socially distanced and encourages them to put on their masks, though most well being heart residents determine not to. Oaknoll’s Environmental Services employees sanitizes each nook and cranny of the widespread areas and halls each few hours, she added.

Taylor Weever, Oaknoll’s assistant director of eating providers, stated Oaknoll is now permitting communal eating, attempting to steadiness regaining a way of neighborhood with resident comfort-levels. To achieve this, Oaknoll permits a restricted variety of residents within the eating room at a time and nonetheless requires social distancing.

“It’s form of good having them out of their rooms and permitting some extra residents into the eating room as a result of that’s all the time a very good gathering place for them,” Weever stated.

Reed added, “A eating room serves as an ideal social outlet for therefore many residents in any respect three levels of care.”

No matter the event, Oaknoll’s employees didn’t enable COVID-19 to cease them from planning secure and socially distanced enjoyable for his or her residents — particularly for birthdays.

“We had a resident in assisted dwelling who turned 100 on May 8. We tried to determine issues to do to assist her rejoice,” Reed stated. “Several Oaknoll employees members ended up making a flash mob for her, and we did it outdoors so her household may very well be off within the distance and watch.”

Retha Haas, Oaknoll’s director of resident relations, stated that after resident psychological well being began to decline and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid released guidelines for permitting guests, Oaknoll devised ingenious methods for residents to see family members.

“Residents did lots of FaceTime and Skyping simply so they may nonetheless go to, however psychological well being was a giant concern of ours, and we have been noticing folks have been simply form of closing in on themselves a bit bit,” Haas stated. “It actually grew to become a gaggle effort like, let’s begin pondering creatively — what can we do to give them as a lot as we will proper now?”

As previously reported by The Daily Iowan, Oaknoll Retirement Residence’s upkeep crew created a chatterbox contraption — a life-sized plexiglass construction — so residents might see their households.

On March 12, the Iowa Department of Public Health announced updated guidance that recommends long-term care amenities enable indoor visits for residents at any time, whatever the residents’ or guests’ vaccination standing.

The steerage is relevant except a resident is contaminated with COVID-19 or in quarantine. The steerage doesn’t prolong to unvaccinated residents if the county positivity price is bigger than 10 % and fewer than 70 % of the residents within the facility are vaccinated.

Although employees nonetheless worry the potential for Oaknoll selecting up the virus, Weever stated he’s excited to see the retirement residence to choose up small bits of normalcy.

“We’re simply excited to preserve shifting ahead, and that’s the largest factor right here,” Weever stated. “One factor I’ll say is that it was really loads simpler to lock down a 12 months in the past than it has been to reopen with so many modifications. Taking these little steps in the direction of being a bit extra regular is tough to do, however now we have to do it.”

As residents proceed to take steps toward odd life, Haas stated Oaknoll’s return to a pre-coronavirus actuality feels extra possible by the day.

“I simply have lots of hope, and so do the residents. On the day a lot of the residents have been vaccinated with the primary dose, it felt like previous occasions,” Haas stated. “There was this spirit of pleasure and hope, and we knew we have been going to make it and that it’s all going to be OK.”





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