ASK AMY KOCH
A monthly column from the Executive Director of the Charles Ford Retirement Communities of New Harmony
How is the Charles Ford Retirement Community of New Harmony Continuing to Keep Residents Safe in the Midst of COVID-19?
Ray Kroc, the Founder of McDonald’s Corporation is quoted as saying, “You are only as good as the people you hire,” and Amy Koch, Executive Director of the Charles Ford Retirement Center, endorses that principle, wholeheartedly, as she points to the successful prevention of the COVID-19 virus within the Charles Ford community. When asked, ‘How?’ she attributes this accomplishment, primarily, to the sacrifices staff have willingly made due to their sincere care and concern for the Community’s residents.
She admits, “It hasn’t been easy. The Community went into quarantine in mid-March and until mid-June, residents were sheltering in place primarily in their individual spaces with only safe-distancing, communal dining taking place outside their rooms.
”Numerous Life Enrichment activities, including the use of iPads for each resident, made the quarantine somewhat more palatable,” Amy says, “and for the past few weeks, residents have been able to enjoy ‘porch visits’ with their loved ones. After such a long quarantine, these intimate chats with family members have proved invaluable and certainly been the highlight of daily life for all involved.” Continuing this positive trend, the Charles Ford Retirement Community is carefully finding its way toward a reopening phase.
”Beginning in July, directors in Senior Living Communities may have an opportunity to move ‘porch visits’ inside, while maintaining the highest standard of infection control and prevention,” Amy advises. “Visits will continue to be scheduled, limited to two visitors at a time, supervised by our staff, and with the required strict adherence to our current protocols, including symptoms and exposure screening, mask use, hand hygiene and six-foot distancing. Our residents and family members will be kept up to date with the specific details of our plan and protocols as they’re developed.
“We are cautiously optimistic,” she says. “Some people have grown tired of hearing the phrase, ‘we’re all in this together,’ but the lives, and more importantly, the quality of life of those in Senior Living are literally in the hands of the community we love.” She warns that the current up tick of COVID cases could affect the timeline for this opportunity, “We are dependent on the diligence and strength of our families and the broader community. We’re battling something we can’t see. The effects of loneliness and isolation are REAL. The threat of complicated pandemic illness is REAL.”
Amy closes with a personal admonishment: “The challenge facing Directors of Senior Living Communities is to navigate the highest quality of living with the least risk of pandemic illness for the most at risk of our community members. Partnership with our residents, staff, families, friends and the community to mitigate the risk and celebrate living well is paramount – I believe Community is EVERYTHING- now, more than ever.”
