No bingo, few visitors. COVID-19 casts shadow over Thurston County retirement living
Gone are the games, the gatherings and the getaways for Thurston County retirement communities, all of which have had to adjust to the potential ramifications of COVID-19 on their vulnerable populations.
And there’s one terrifying example they wish to avoid: the experience of Life Care Center of Kirkland, which in March quickly became ravaged by the disease and the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States.
Since the outbreak, Thurston County has reported 89 confirmed cases of COVID-19, but only one death. Officials with The Colonial Inn and Panorama, both retirement communities, say none of their residents have tested positive for the virus.
“There was no way I was going to take that risk,” said Colonial Inn general manager Laryssa Mendenhall. “We responded quickly and shut it down.”
The Colonial Inn is a senior independent living community with 75 residents 62 and older. Mendenhall didn’t know the current average age of her residents, but at one time it was 80, she said.
The residents are encouraged to get exercise and go for walks, but to practice social distancing. Otherwise, they are largely confined to their apartments because social activities have been eliminated. The dining room is closed, so meals are being delivered to rooms, plus there are no gatherings for card games, or bingo, or movies, she said.
The trip to the Tulip Festival in La Conner also was canceled.
“It is so quiet,” said Mendenhall, recalling the laughter she used to hear. “I miss them every day.”
She acknowledged that some residents are lonely, but some also are married. They also are allowing one family member or caregiver to visit per day, but visitors are screened and temperatures are checked upon arrival.
Deliveries go no farther than the lobby, and when staff or a resident makes a run to the grocery store to get food for themselves or someone else, they are screened as soon as they return, Mendenhall said.
Panorama
Panorama, which is home to 1,200 residents with an average age of 81-1/2 on a 145-acre campus, has taken some similar steps, with one major exception: They are limiting visitors to essential personnel only and social visits are not happening at all.
Anyone who has to come on campus — such as a delivery driver, vendor, contractor, or mail carrier — is sent to a central screening station where they can either be checked, or their delivery dropped off. It is then delivered by staff, said Matthew Murry, president and chief operating officer of Panorama.
“We don’t let anybody into our buildings,” he said.
Murry said they didn’t waste any time once they saw the pandemic on the horizon. Planning began in late February and major changes were implemented in March.
The restaurant was closed (meals are now delivered), the swimming pool was closed, and the auditorium was converted to the central screening station. Panorama also isn’t admitting new patients into its skilled nursing home.
Social workers call and check on residents over the phone, and Panorama has used its closed circuit TV network to communicate information to residents, such as how to use video chat technology, Murry said. A sewing group has produced cloth masks for Panorama staff, he added.
He compared the current pandemic to the days that immediately followed 9/11.
“We are in this together,” he said.
To show that’s the case, the staff recently jumped into their cars and created a parade of vehicles for residents, visiting every part of the 145-acre campus.
Resident voices
Kathy Houston has lived in a triplex at Panorama since 2009. She acknowledged that the pandemic has allowed her to get caught up on a lot of things, such as email, but life is also very different.
Her neighborhood used to be very social, with gatherings for lunches, happy hours, and dinners, and residents just walking and chatting together.
She has begun conducting interviews on the closed circuit TV network to report information out to residents. For example, Panorama recently started a grocery pickup and delivery service for those who can’t use or don’t have access to the right technology. It started with 12 customers but has grown to 75, she said.
Still, Houston misses the days of making trips to Brewery City Pizza with her friends.
“In times of an emergency, you have to make some adjustments,” she said.
Colonial Inn resident Joseph Di Bene recently wrote a letter to the general manager, which she shared with The Olympian.
In it, he talks about how he is still adjusting to being a “senior retirement person,” but he also adds that the pandemic has created a new perspective for him.
“All of a sudden I don’t want to go now,” he writes. “”I’m not ready yet. I want to stick around a little longer. I don’t want this virus to shorten what little time I have left. All of a sudden there are more things I want to say to my kids. All of a sudden I want to know more about my grandkids. All of a sudden I want to see another Christmas.”
