It marked the return to their own lives after 11 weeks of sacrifice.
Employeesdeepened relationships with residents over meals, courtyard conversations, games.
O’Neil Marriott, a maintenance technician at Pebblebrook, became known for his fried dumplings.
With nophysical visits allowedinside the building, residents were limited in interactions with their families.
So staff rolled around a large TV connected to a computer for virtual visits.
Residents (or members in Pebblebrook vernacular) could also visit with loved ones through room windows.
Of course, a price was paid.
Months of lock-in uprooted the staffers lives.
Yet they felt mixed emotions when they left.
Employees and vendors are screened before entry.
They are given a health questionnaire and temperature check.
They must wash their hands and wear a medical-grade face mask and face shield provided by the facility.
Pebblebrook staff members are tested regularly, and all residents were tested once after the facility entered phase 2.
Since then, residents are tested only when there is a positive case among staff.
All those steps have addressed thecrucial measures needed to battle the coronavirusand, for that matter, future viruses.
There are some similar disparities for Latinx and Indigenous residents.
If you’re restrained and can’t get up and move around, you lose mobility and muscle mass.
That can affect your independence in the long term and worsen chronic conditions.
It’s one way to break through systemic racism.
But there’s a shortage.
You have to attract more young minority students into health care and provide scholarships.
There’s funding through Medicaid if you qualify, but also waiting lists and lots of steps involved.
We held a community meeting about this recently, expecting 20 people to show up.
The residents are overjoyed, Williams says.
Thesesmaller contained communities, by design, bolster relationships and control the spread of infection, Moore says.
