The controlled environment at Lighthouse is a safe place to live during the coronavirus outbreak.
The wellbeing of residents and staff are our highest priorities. We have put precautions and conditions in place that allow us to accept new residents.
UPDATE TO OUR CORONAVIRUS POLICIES – October 2, 2020
We have made significant changes to our policies around hosting guests and regarding resident day trips and overnight trips.
We are a community of people who care very much about each other. As we open up and head into the holiday season, we are mindful that we are both interrelated and interdependent. The world may be politicizing the process of opening up, we are not.
We want all of our residents to be with their loved ones in person and to stay safe! We have been aggressive with PPE, testing, distancing, and disinfecting. We are ever cognizant that we are a community that includes those who are at higher risk and who must take extra precautions.
As exemplified in our WE CARE Values, the most important thing we all must do is act with common sense. Some of the common sense that guides our leadership of communities of older folks includes:
- Our residents, and some of our associates, fall in the higher risk category for Covid due to either age or co-morbidities.
- The longer one spends in close, confined spaces with others, the higher the risk of transmission.
- The more time one spends with more people, the higher the risk of contracting the disease.
- Social distancing, masks, and PPE work, but being around people, particularly close friends and family, feeds our souls.
Balancing all of this with official guidelines, is the motivation behind our Covid-19 policy. We know the least risky environment has been to create a “bubble” for residents and associates and to test regularly; similar to what professional sports have done. That was how we began in March and have, to a large degree, continued through September.
Now that we have more information, expert advice, and experience to rely upon, we are able to move forward with further opening up. Of course, we will retain our infection control measures. What will change are our visitation policies.
We need to strike a balance between having meaningful interaction with the people we love and wanting to keep them safe.
Our best offense and defense is common sense. But, striking a balance can be difficult.
No one likes wearing a mask. We know that some residents have difficulty communicating when both parties are masked. There is a temptation to remove them or get closer. But, we know that masks are our best weapon in battling the spread of Covid.
We know that visiting outdoors is safest, but the weather is changing and we are opening up for private, indoor visits with family and friends.
Adding to the challenges that we face, the holidays are on the horizon. The importance of having dynamic and functional plans in place is critical. You will soon hear about our holiday plans. Trust that we will make accommodations for your family to be together. Now is a good time to start discussion and expectation-setting with your family about what a safe Thanksgiving may look like.
We are all facing these challenges together and we created our policies so that we can all pull in the same direction to meet the challenges. Our goal is for all of us to be together safely.
Every step we take is in that direction.
