Posted: July 6, 2020

Senior Living

Resident Life in a Senior Community During COVID-19

Like all of us, senior living community residents have found life during COVID-19 to be a bit different. While you might be aware of the changes senior living communities have made to ensure the safety of their residents, you might not be sure how the residents themselves are doing during social distancing.

Having lived through some of our countries most difficult times, spanning from WW2 onward, it is no surprise that the elders in our communities have taken the pandemic in stride. By hearing what they have to say for themselves, we get the opportunity to see their wisdom and resilience.

Here is what they have to say for themselves.

How Safe Do Residents Feel?

At Heritage Crossing, keeping our residents safe and healthy is a top priority. But, we don’t just want to be safe, we want residents to consistently feel safe and be regularly confident in the fact that they have daily opportunities to get the most out of life.

Janet, an assisted living resident, has confidence in the community, both staff and residents, to keep each other safe.

“We’ve been told we should wear our masks, which I do. Everyone here seems to follow along well and not be too close to people,” She shared. “Generally, I get the feeling of being very safe here because everybody is abiding by this, and everyone I know that’s staying here seems to be content too.”

Maggie, another resident of assisted living, expressed similar sentiments.

“Everybody is working to maintain their distance and to be very careful that we don’t interact or get in places that we shouldn’t be,” Maggie said. “I feel very safe in my environment. Everybody is doing their utmost to keep everything in perspective.”

What About Their Daily Lives?

Like all of us, Maggie has not enjoyed every aspect of these changes, but understands they are necessary for us to stay strong as a community.

“The hardest thing has been wearing the mask. I hate it. I’m not the only one that would say that. They’re very uncomfortable, but they are necessary,” Maggie shared. “The masks are essential. Even though we don’t like it, there are a lot of things we don’t like in life. But, some of them are necessary.”

It is encouraging to see elders in our community be transparent about the frustrating parts but acknowledge that there have always been difficult but necessary things about life, even before the pandemic.

Janet also has managed to remain optimistic and focus on the positive side of things.

“We have a good time, we have things to do. But, we’re careful about getting too close. All in all, I think it’s great.”

For Janet, the pandemic is difficult, but the way it has been handled by her community could not be better!

Hope for the Future

Because the staff and the residents of their community have taken things seriously, Janet and Maggie both remain optimistic that the end is in sight.
“I have to share my thanks to everybody that works here and lives here that we have all been trying together to make this as little of an upset in our daily life as it could be,” Maggie said.

Residents across the community, Maggie and Janet included, are confident that when states eventually open up, they will be able to return to their lives as they once were, being stronger as a community.