Sometimes You Just Need Extra Help

Posted on: 17 February 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every part of life and is especially impactful for seniors. This virus is scary and can lead many to make major decisions about their lives based on how best to avoid exposure. However, when it comes to senior living like senior living apartments and assisted living, things may be a bit different. While it would be beneficial to stay in a family home in terms of avoiding COVID-19 exposure, other safety concerns may outweigh the viral concerns. So, what becomes the question is, how do you find a good senior living option during the COVID-19 pandemic? Get to know some steps to take to figure that out so you can be sure you make the right decision for yourself or your loved one. 

Find Out Their Mask Policy

First and foremost, when looking into senior living options for yourself or your loved one, you should be asking questions about the home's mask policies for staff and residents alike. If the policies are lax or particularly lenient, like not requiring residents to wear masks in common areas, then you may want to look elsewhere. 

The mask policy is a representation of how seriously the senior living apartments or home is taking the COVID-19 pandemic. The more stringent the mask policy, the more likely they are to be taking other important precautions to protect staff and residents alike. 

If they are cagey on providing details of their mask policy, stay away. This means they may not have a policy in place or may only be recommending masks but not requiring them. 

Ask About Sanitization Procedures

Another important issue to bring up with senior living centers or homes is what their common space and item sanitization process are for those aspects. The more frequently things and spaces are sprayed down and sanitized, the better. 

For example, how often are tables in common or recreation rooms sanitized? Do they sanitize all items that a resident may touch while in the room? If there is a common eating area, are places at the table washed between each resident who sits there? Again, these are all important questions to have answered when you are thinking about moving yourself or someone you love into a space. 

Ask If Staff Have Been Vaccinated or Are Regularly Tested

Senior living care providers and staff are often considered to be medical caregivers when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination policies. As such, it is possible that the staff members have been at least offered the vaccine. Find this out and find out if the company requires staff to get vaccinated. 

And if the answer to either of those questions is no, find out how often the staff are tested for COVID-19. If there is no policy in place for regular testing, then you may want to look for a location that has weekly or biweekly testing policies in place instead. 

Now that you know a few of the ways to be sure you find a good senior living option during the COVID-19 pandemic, you can start your senior living search right away.