We are excited that our residents and staff were among the first in the nation to get vaccinated, providing an immense sense of relief for current residents’ families, as well as families looking for a more supportive communal living environment for their loved one.

[Covid and Assisted Living: Getting the Vaccine First Creates Safe Environment]

We continue to follow MA, CT and NH state-issued guidelines and remain focused on the health and well-being of our residents as our number one priority:

• Family visitation guidelines differ between the states. Please refer to our individual community “Visitor Guide” webpages to schedule your visit, or call for details.
• Residents may leave and re-enter our communities as they wish.
• We have safely opened up our dining rooms, community spaces and hair salons, while continuing to promote face masks, hand washing and physical distancing.
• We are providing in-house podiatrist services with safety guidelines and protocols in place.
• We will keep the plexiglass at Reception Desks in place and continue to use our new digital sign-in process for visitors to avoid the use of paper and pens.
• We will continue to facilitate physician Telehealth appointments for residents, as requested.

Yes. We are focused on offering a positive and social dining experience for our residents. Some dining room changes continue to be in place, such as furniture layout to adhere to ongoing physical distancing guidelines and multiple seatings.

Since the start of the pandemic, we have served hot nutritious meals featuring favorite recipes from our Brain Healthy Cooking menu including fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, lean meats and seafood. The foods we serve have potent antioxidants and nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties that boost immunity and reduce inflammation. It is heart healthy, great for seniors managing diabetes, and proven to boost overall cognitive health.

Experts say during times of stress, eating well is one of the things that helps us stay healthy and boosts our immune system. Kudos to our dining team for serving excellent meals with excellent service under these trying times!

A variety of small group programs allow for plenty of opportunities for engagement while maintaining physical distancing. It has certainly been a challenge to safely schedule the things we took for granted before, such as entertainment and community celebrations. We are managing it with creative room use and scheduling, space management, and the enthusiastic assistance of our wonderful residents. They have been resilient and positive in the face of adversity throughout this last long year.

Our residents have access to all types of movement from walking to gardening, to exercise classes and dancing.

Yes. Please contact the community directly for hours and to schedule an appointment for your loved one.

Yes! We can accommodate seniors who have a need for a more supportive living arrangement. Assisted Living offers a particularly safe option now as we are among the first in the nation to be vaccinated. Visit our Move-In Guidelines webpage for detailed information.

Throughout the pandemic we have worked with families and our Professional Referral Partners to ensure a smooth transition into one of our communities while safeguarding everyone’s health. We continue to follow our stringent safety measures. Learn about our move-in process, and protocols that protect the health and safety of of our entire community.

YES! As state-mandated restrictions have lifted, we have offered more and more social and fitness programming opportunities.

Resident “Quality of Life”, our #1 priority, goes beyond physical safety and health – it speaks to the importance of social interaction, personal dignity and just plain feeling engaged in life. Obviously, the physical distancing of the last year impacted all of our lives. Throughout it all our team members made every effort to keep residents engaged through exercise, entertainment, outdoor walks, and personal interaction.

We always care for our residents as social beings, and we continue to do our very best to boost involvement, independence and spirits. Family support and participation over the last year was key to creating most of our best moments as our “good news page” highlights!

Our team continues to work diligently, providing the very best care and services for our residents that we can.

We faced many challenges and difficult circumstances spanning a year. We are so proud of our staff who live our Right Values every single day, every hour. They showed determination, compassion and courage every day to fight this pandemic knowing they might be putting themselves and their own families at risk.

So many families sent along words of support and love over this very long year. The understanding, patience and support of our residents and families means more than we can adequately express. Thank you!

Our kitchens are cleaned, disinfected and sanitized constantly – all the time, not just during the pandemic. Food prep is done with the utmost care following universal precautions, and all of our chefs and cooks are Serv Safe certified. We put into place some precautions during the pandemic that we intend to continue, such as using a special wash for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Our universal infection control practices have always included proper hand washing and infection control training for all employees – not just during the pandemic. As always, we:

• Frequently disinfect high-touch areas like doorknobs, elevator buttons, faucets and handrails with CDC approved antibacterial/germicidal cleaning materials
• Frequently clean high-traffic common areas such as dining rooms and activity spaces
• Provide thorough housekeeping services in every apartment
• Thoroughly deep-clean apartments prior to a new resident moving in
• Thoroughly deep-clean and sanitize apartments of current residents moving back home to the community following a hospitalization

We have several systems in place to ensure sufficient, clean air flow:

• Each SLR community has an ERE makeup air system, which takes fresh air from outside and circulates it with the air inside the building to ensure proper air circulation
• Filters are changed regularly on all HVAC systems at all SLR communities to maintain air quality
• All vacuums have HEPA filters in them to ensure efficiency standard of air filters

Yes, for now we have enough supplies. Like every other Assisted Living community, Nursing Home and Hospital in the country we are still working hard to source PPE (personal protective equipment, which includes gloves, masks, gowns, goggles, face shields, and booties). Senior Living Residences’ (SLR) Home Office staff is keeping track of inventory at all SLR communities. SLR has been successful at obtaining back-up supplies which they provide to communities if/when needed. Also, local public health agencies, including Boards of Health and Emergency Preparedness Departments have been very helpful providing resources to some of our SLR communities.

If you can donate any PPE, we would gladly accept it. So many have donated cloth masks to our communities (thank you!)

No. We want to reassure families that our food supply is in excellent shape. Although you may see empty shelves in your local grocery store, the commercial food supply chain which caters to businesses like ours ordering in bulk, has been less impacted by this crisis. We are lucky to be part of a nationwide group purchasing organization through our management company, Senior Living Residences, that provides us with plentiful options. Even with large meat processing plants hampered due to outbreaks of coronavirus, we are able to source all types of meat. Additionally, through our partnership with Baldor, a New England company that represents dozens of local farms, we will continue to have access to a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables that change with the season. Farmers have been deemed essential workers.

No, residents’s medications continue to be prescribed, filled and dropped off at our communities by local  pharmacies, or dropped off in filled weekly pill-packs by families. Many of our residents are on a medication management program and our Resident Care Department continues to provide daily reminders to take their medications at the right time, in the right doses. Some residents handle their medications independently, and we are checking in with them to ensure that they are receiving their medication refills on time.