Assisted living facility adapts to new lifestyle amid the pandemic
OWENSVILLE (KRCG) – The pandemic has meant senior citizens in assisted living facilities have had to adapt to a new lifestyle. Residents have been unable to see family members in person due to mandatory lockdowns. Victorian Place in Owensville is currently COVID-19 free. Officials there said they've worked very hard to keep the virus away, and they plan to keep it that way.
In the spring, there were no visitors allowed in person. Outdoor visits are now allowed from a distance, and everyone must wear a mask. The facility's apartments operate under the same guidelines as nursing homes when it comes to visitors and social distancing.
Chris Shaul is the Community Manager at Victorian Place. He said the Gasconade County Health Department has given the facility approval for the next phase of visitors, which will include indoor visits.
We do a lot of daily wellness checks we have to do. We do wellness checks on our residents three times a shift. We have to make sure we wellness check all the family members that come and we'll eventually be rapid testing all the families that come in to ensure that there's no COVID-19 in our building
Along with restrictions on visits, residents have not been able to get out in the community as they normally would. Staff members have made certain everyone stays active and engaged, even if they have to stay in.
One of the many projects they do as a team is called "Stick Together." Residents post small color-coded stickers on a section of a poster. When all of the residents' sections are put together, it becomes one picture for everyone to enjoy.
Residents have also had a carnival and a drive-through barbeque, but they really wanted to go to a ball game. Since that wasn't possible, Activity Director Leslie Cronin said they brought the ballpark to them with a game of Wiffle ball.
"We put up bases and I walked around with my little concession stand handing out popcorn and cracker jacks and we're singing 'Take me Out to the Ballgame' and they really enjoy stuff like that."
If we can't get them out and do something they want to do, we're gonna bring it to them and we're going to find a way to get them to enjoy that again
