Loving & Serving Through COVID-19
Here for you and yours
Loving and serving our friends and neighbors have always been a driver in our deep commitment to doing the right thing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, that commitment was truly put to the test and brought about a rollercoaster of emotions. We remain grateful for the dedication of our teams, residents, friends, and family as we continue to come together to navigate the resulting unprecedented changes in our life. Some things still look very different, yet our mission and drive remain as strong as ever, and we continue to move forward elbow to elbow (and someday hand in hand again) to make each day remarkable.
As a family, we have become much better equipped and comfortable with preparing for the unexpected. We remain steadfast in our commitment to our communities. We know the days ahead will still likely contain some uncertainty, but our guiding light remains bright as ever.
The Colonial Oaks family is here for you when you need us, just as we have been for more than 40 years. As the saying goes, a tree with strong roots laughs at storms.
Our team may be masked, BUT OUR LOVE IS NOT
Choosing a community is a big decision, particularly during these challenging times. Our team is here to help! In addition to our practices and protocols aimed at ensuring healthy communities, we also understand the added importance of meaningful moments and extra touches. While you can’t always see our smiles behind our masks, we aim to find creative ways to connect and make your day.
COVID Testing
Every Move-In
Keeping our communities safe and healthy is our top priority. That is why we have on-site COVID tests for every new resident prior to move-in. We also recognize that testing is only effective when combined with aggressive infection control measures. Because of this, we also provide:
Keeping Things Safe
Temperature Checks
All residents and anyone entering our community receives a temperature check and a health screen for symptoms.
Social
Distancing
Getting together is in our DNA, but we're keeping things socially distant...just for the time being.
Face
Coverings
Our team members are required to wear masks at all times while working in the community.
Keeping Things
Clean
We're always focused on a clean and tidy community. We've added extra cleaning, just to be safe.
We have chosen a “better safe” approach to lessening our purposeful and aggressive COVID defense protocols. Many of our policies predated guidance from state and federal agencies and are intentionally more cautious than those which are mandated. Our communities will continue a conservative approach and cadence as we determine next steps. Changes to policies will likely vary by community and will be based on the health and safety directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local and state public health officials and our own clinical experts.
We are currently welcoming scheduled indoor and outdoor visits in our communities. To learn more or schedule your visit, please call the Community directly and the concierge will assist you.
Every move-in must have a negative COVID test before entering our community. (In some cases, we require multiple test results, depending on exposure and risk.
In addition, each of our communities has enough testing kits to test all residents and staff on demand (with quick access to more, should we need them.) We also utilize both resident and employee wellness logs to ensure we're asking the right questions at the right time.
We strongly encourage all residents and staff to get the vaccine; however, it is not mandatory. Our teams and residents have been overwhelmingly excited about the availability of the vaccine and many have already received both doses. (Including our CEO and entire Home Office team.) Still, we respect people’s right to chose whether or not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. All residents (or responsible party) and staff must provide consent before they will receive the vaccine.
According to the CDC, most people do not experience serious problems after being vaccinated. We will be working closely with our pharmacy partners to understand more about mild short-term side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine before we start to use it. Like a flu shot or other vaccine, your arm may be sore, red, or warm to the touch just after the vaccine is administered. These symptoms usually go away on their own. Some people report getting a short-term headache or an increase in temperature when getting a vaccine. These side effects are a sign that your immune system is doing exactly what it is supposed to do. It’s working and building up protection against disease.
Yes. Nearly all COVID-19 vaccines require two doses. The first one begins building protection, but everyone will need to have a second dose a few weeks later to ensure they get the most protection the vaccine can offer.
No. The CDC and leading health experts says getting the COVID-19 vaccine is the safer choice. COVID-19 is easily spread and can cause serious illness and even death if you get it. While you may not experience severe symptoms, you also risk giving it to your loved ones, who may get very sick or die.
As we have learned much of this year, not one specific approach works to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While vaccines will work with our immune system so our bodies is better prepared to fight the virus if we are exposed, the virus will still be alive and present. Through rigorous practices, we have found that washing hands and using hand sanitizer while maintaining social distance when practicable and wearing face masks helps reduce our chances of being exposed or of spreading the virus to others.
Life at Colonial Oaks
Colonial Oaks, Ashley Glen and Harvard Square have been busy finding creative ways to stay together…even while we’re 6 feet apart.
It’s no secret that things have changed. While our loving and serving may look different, our team is still focused on making every day meaningful. We could spend all day telling all the innovative and fun things our teams have come up with to keep our residents connected and engaged – but it’s more fun to show you.
