Meadowbrook Adapts to Life With COVID

PLATTSBURGH | As one of the first senior living facilities to close their doors to visitors, Meadowbrook Health Care has been on the forefront of fighting the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus that has ravaged some nursing homes across the country. Now with mandated testing, the facility is adjusting to life with the contagion – thinking of new ways to allow residents to meet with loved ones while keeping health and safety as their top priority. Community Relations Coordinator Sandra Geddes said she is proud of the work the facility had done prior to the state's mandates. By closing the facility as soon as early signs of the virus emerged, Meadowbrook has not seen any of their residents test positive for COVID. This week, a second Meadowbrook staff member tested positive and was quickly quarantined. One employee had previously tested positive for the virus in late April, however there is no evidence so far of other employees or patients contracting it from the facility. The pandemic team was created in early March, Geddes said, and the decision was made to close their doors by March 11. "We shut down within a day, and had alerted the entire community – all the residents, all of their family members, all of the staff – and within I would say probably an afternoon, this team worked like a machine. We had designated entryways, we had a screening area set up, we had screeners in place," she said of their initial response. "It was really, in my humble opinion, [the] finest piece of teamwork that I've ever been a part of. I still feel proud of those days." Every week since, the facility's pandemic team meets to discuss worst-case scenarios and run drills to prepare in case of another outbreak. TESTING Meadowbrook will begin testing each employee on a regular basis this week as well. With the state mandating two tests every seven days, the hope is to prevent the severe outbreaks seen in other states during the early days of the pandemic. However, Geddes said the testing will not be fool-proof and will only paint a limited picture of COVID's reach. "One point I really want to make is that the testing results will simply be a temporary picture of the status of the virus. For our employee population, there will be a percentage of false positives and false negatives and testing will not go on forever," she said. The first round of testing begins this Thursday and Friday, with the second tests starting on Monday. All employees must submit to the test in accordance with the state's new guidelines. Until a vaccine becomes available, however, Geddes said she doesn't see the facility fully opening to visitors. VISITING AREA In addition to increased testing, Meadowbrook has developed a visiting area for residents to meet with loved ones – albeit through a glass partition. After more than two months of increased isolation, this feature will go a long way in allowing families to safely reunite with their older relatives. "Family members get to come to the outside of the building. We have created partitions for them to go into, and to allow the next family visiting to have social distancing," she said. Meadowbrook has set up lighting that will allow families to see their loved ones, however the window between them will not be opened. A phone will be needed for visitors to speak to residents, but the ability to finally see the faces of parents and grandparents is a welcome addition for everyone at Meadowbrook. "Many of our families have been our biggest cheerleaders throughout this whole process, because what we emphasized to them time and time again, is that their loved one's health and safety is our number one priority," said Geddes. "Every single thing we do is to protect them. And so, we have some really dedicated families that have been here to cheer on staff as we come in the doors. They send us cards; they bring food for us." The support of these families makes the work they do here all that more meaningful. Unlike most jobs, those working at Meadowbrook are literally coming into peoples' homes every day. Geddes said the level of care between staff and residents is palpable and adds another layer of responsibility for employees. "Our CNA's and our nursing staff and all the people that work here, we have relationships with the people that live here. There's love. So, it's a different beast for us because we're so afraid of getting somebody sick. [It] keeps us on our toes."

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