Blog

We’ve all had those awkward moments when we can’t remember a word, or when we spot someone familiar but can’t put a name to the face. As our loved ones age, we may notice this type of thing happening more frequently, and we may worry that it’s more than just age-related memory loss. So, how can you tell the difference between normal aging and dementia?

To stop the spread of coronavirus, health officials have instructed the public to practice social distancing, which means staying home, avoiding crowds, and keeping your distance—at least 6 feet—from others. Many people who have been self-quarantined for the past week feel lonely and frightened, although they know their isolation is for the greater good.
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Senior living communities, if managed properly, can provide significant advantages to residents and their families with strong prevention protocols, access to medical monitoring, and safe socialization. 

The Governor of the State of Colorado has issued a stay-at-home order also known as a shelter-in-place order effective at 6:00 am Thursday, March 26th.  This order means at that time, residents of The Retreat at Sunny Vista will not be allowed to leave the community except for essential medical visits.
 
All previous virus mitigation restrictions continue to remain in place regarding dining, limited life enrichment, and only essential care visitors. Only essential businesses continue to operate; senior living providers are deemed as essential businesses. All community employees are considered to be essential workers and will continue to report to work as scheduled, providing they are well.
 
All Retreat at Sunny Vista employees and care essential visitors will continue to be screened, and temperatures checked before entering the community. We maintain daily virus-mitigation cleanings and careful assessment for any signs or symptoms of COVID-19.
 
At this time, we DO NOT have any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our community.
 
We will continue to update you as the situation evolves. Please check back to this website and Facebook page for the latest updates and information.
 
​As always, the health and safety of residents and team members are the number one priority. Thank you for your support during this COVID-19 health crisis.

They say challenging times bring out the best in people.  Anyone who has tried to buy toilet paper recently may disagree with that statement.  In a broader sense, however, we see evidence this is true.  Neighors are reaching out on Nextdoor social media offering to purchase groceries and run errands for older neighbors; teachers are providing nonperishable food to low income students while schools are closed, and most importantly, the majority of Americans are following guidelines for social distancing. 

Nevertheless, social isolation can bring problems of its own.  If you have a family member living in a nursing care, assisted living or memory support community you may especially be feeling that isolation. Fortunately, readily available technology can aide in alleviating some of the loneliness and anxiety about your loved one while helping to build community at the same time.  
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There are multiple free or very low cost ways to connect with loved ones through technology.  The most obvious and lowest tech one is the phone.  A daily phone call can not only make your family member feel important, but it is a good way to check up on their mental wellbeing.  

We continue to work closely with state and local officials to balance resident safety, team member safety, and access for families and healthcare partners during heightened COVID-19 concerns. While no cases have been identified in Sunny Vista, we are now implementing new CMS and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment directives to restrict access to our assisted living, and memory support neighborhoods. This means that no visitors will be allowed within the assisted living, memory support neighborhoods at this time unless they are part of the required care team for an individual resident. Compassion visits may be accommodated for loved ones of a resident who is actively in an end of life situation. Such visitors will be screened and their temperatures taken before entering the community.