Making the Most of the Holidays Despite the Pandemic

As they move into the 2020 holiday season, providers still face the dangers of COVID-19 and the many restrictions that come with it. Even so, LeadingAge members are finding ways to serve elders’ needs for socialization and celebration with family and friends while keeping residents and staff safe.

Communicating with Residents, Staff, and Families

Ensuring ongoing communication between residents or community-based clients and their families or friends, despite strict visitor restrictions. Members on the ground are solving problems in real time.

Workforce Challenges

Recruiting, training, and maintaining a quality workforce is exceptionally hard during the coronavirus crisis. Workers—especially frontline caregivers—are working long hours and maintaining stringent health safety processes. They are also struggling with personal issues—childcare, family demands, and concerns about their own health—that the crisis creates. Employers are also managing employees who must be reassigned to new jobs for the duration of the crisis, and/or may be working at home for the first time. Members are working to support employees and find ways to make their jobs—and often their personal challenges—easier.

Managing Meals at your Community

Delivery of meals cannot stop, even if we must minimize human physical contact. Providers that offer communal dining services must switch to home or apartment delivery, and community-based meal delivery becomes even more difficult. Members are adapting to social distancing with meals delivery.

Helping Employees Meet Childcare Needs

With schools and childcare centers closed, frontline caregivers and others who must work onsite at member communities struggle to find childcare options. Providers are finding ways to reduce this burden on their employees.

Resident Engagement During Social Isolation

With social isolation in place, normal social activities such as meals, wellness classes, and other group activities have been halted. But providers and residents are finding new ways to socialize, build community, and keep busy.

Adapting and Reinventing Services

Social distancing, changing regulations, changing consumer needs, and financial pressures force providers to rethink existing service models and policies. They are reinventing themselves along the way.

Treatment and Testing to Beat COVID-19

Providers serving the most vulnerable populations are playing a crucial part in the treatment for COVID-19-positive people, and the testing that will help defeat the virus.

Heartwarmers

Touching stories and anecdotes from the front lines.

 

Be sure to visit LeadingAge’s main coronavirus resources page for more information, tools and resources to help all aging services providers plan for and respond to COVID-19.