Laws and Rules to Follow, with Kelley Smith

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio. Welcome back, everyone, to answers for elders radio and we are back with our wonderful Kelly Smith from care partners living and Kelly, thank you so much for sharing your side to the story and no, no doubt this is a very emotional, upsetting thing for somebody, specially an organization like yours that does so much for our love beloved seniors and and you know, there’s nobody that fights more for your you know, fights more than you guys do for the wellness and health of our elders. And you know, from the bottom of my heart, I know who you are and I am your biggest fan and, like I say, you know, but I really I think one of the things that was brought up in our last segment, Kelly, that I really want to take a minute and talk about this segment is about the you know, when you say you get things from Governor Insley, tell us a little bit about what the procedures are. How does it change and you know, tell us a little bit about that. We are all the sister livings and nursing homes receive information from the State rather quickly. Okay, if we get told we have to change a procedure due to a new face, as in the disease in our state, we don’t have a choice. We have to act vary. So we may be in different levels of walk down and it’s not negotiable and it’s okay. We’ve learned how to deal with it with our residents and and try to make their life is more comfortable possible. But, for example, we are cleaning common areas right this exacting common areas like crazy. Everybody’s wearing masks, gloves. I can’t even go into a building just to grab something quickly without them checking my temperature. I have to wear a bracelet that are, you know, a paper bracelet showing I’ve been tempt and checked. The residents are tempt and checked daily. Staff check tempt daily. If there’s one one SMEDLE COVID even if they’re not in the building. If one of our employees tests anywhere, then the entire building is checked for covid right, and it’s just it’s a constant, constant, but we are common areas constantly, bathrooms, everything is constantly wipe down. Clean, clean, clean, clean cleaning. And it does make a difference. That PPE that our staff is wearing nexttion different. I mean, I hear I am I’m just stales. I’m getting used to glove. It’s kind of cool. But again, and that everything we’re wearing makes a difference. It really does. You, you you are protecting yourselves, but protecting the residents. Families want to see them. You have to have the inside outside right. You have to everything we’re doing in exactly what the governor’s telling US hows to be done, right to the letter. But again, if it’s protecting your residents, you’re doing it and top of what you’re saying is really you know, it’s every minute being mindful of an environment, but it’s also understanding that it’s their home and at it’s your residence, homes where they live. And if you are dealing also with dementia, you’re dealing with the whole other aspect of this, because I’m certain that a lot of your residence that are in dementia care. They don’t understand the whole pandemic, do they? They don’t understand, you know, why things are going, why people are massed up and every day is different. You Bet it is. I mean you’re going to get a resident with dementia to wear masks? HMM, now, probably not now. So again, you also have to take a look at the fact that in a dementia community, you have to take to look at the fact that this is also they’re like you said, it’s their home. If you were at home with mom and use in her house and she has dementia and we going to make her going to room and stand our room all day, no, so it’s the same thing in our community. We’re also being realistic about the expectations. So here’s the expectation. Mom’s not going to stay in home room, okay, and we’re not going to make her. She has dementia. Are So she’s going to come down into the living room. We are going to keep those living areas clean. We’re also going to be made sure that we since we are the outlier. Okay, I can get in my car and go to the store. MOM’s can’t. MOM has dementia. So I’m the one that needs to make sure that my conduct outside I am not putting myself at risk, I’m not overly anywhere I need to be. You see what I mean. We’re making sure that everything that we’re doing. For example, we had a situation where we had some people from out a town one know if they could come and visit. No, the answers no, not, unless you can isolate for three days prove that you had a pod negative covid test, and then you still can’t be in the building. See what I mean? So we’ve got all these weird things that we have to do, but it protects our residents at the end of the day. Is Not correct. We’ve even had the set us that we do tours. Tours are virtual. They have to. You can you can see through a glass glass to be able to see what the room looks like, but you can’t tour becoming area isn’t not until then here’s some beauty, as I have seen on your mountlake Ras community do a window photo up over Thanksgiving that I thought was so creative. We actually stared in on our facebook page about what you know, family can come and stand on the other side of the glass and they had the whole thing set up where the resident could be there and it’s like a family photo, which was so yeah, the rest of the year they’re doing some out outside of I’m so sick of the phrase over the box that have it. But it is true they’re trying to come up with some better ideas, some new things they can do to families like there’s still some involvement by and it’s that prostrition. And we’re not doing we’re not doing anything different than our neighbors. We’re all doing the same things and everybody’s getting the same information from the government. And you can people can roll their eyes stick of the government. I’m tired being told what to do. But you know what, at the end of the day, when you look at the numbers and you look at the fact that right, yeah, we’re going to have we’re gonna have a charage ever here and there, you’re going to have a resident that’s going to test everybody does. If they say they’re don’t, they’re not telling you the whole story. It’s going to happen. We’ve got too many cases in Washington state. You’re going to have them. It is what it is. What are you doing about? And he’s the most places are being very, very good about protecting their vulnerable adults. So when you read these horrible stories, you got to take a look at the big picture, and the big picture is you’re residents are safer in these kinds of environments really when they are at home most of the time. Right, just these plays, right, are being so active and so clean and so their nurses or above and beyond that, and the food is good, the activities are are you be shocked at really how well getting careror inside of the community versus outside. You actually will be shot right, and that’s the thing that I think is so amazing, because you guys have continuously had to come up with being creative because, again, nobody wants to be locked in. I. You know small apartment. You know, some of them are two hundred and fifty, three hundred square feet, I mean tiny. You can’t live like that for a you now we’re going on what ten months now, nine months. This is this pandemic. Art It it, you can’t. You have to find a way to keep the humanity in a community and there for the staff like you guys have to be even more diligent than anyone out there, which is you’re putting your lives on hold and they’re they’re in lies. I think one of the things that I’m so grateful for all of our care providers, like their partners, that you guys are there for loved one and certainly you know you. We all owe you, as a community a heartfelt thanks for all the work that you do, and so I’m curious what are some of the things you guys are doing over the holidays? Now, with the new lockdown, obviously we’re not going to be involved in in in the you know, being able to go places or do things. The things aren’t opening up until after the first of the year. Now, what do you guys have plans for the holidays with your residents? All good, Lord. Well, we’ve got it’s been kind of fun watching but like, for example, of you look, they got all the holiday stuff out here and they’ve had the residents helping them decorate. So first, their first holiday in an environment like this, they’re getting to put stuff away and decide how they want my decorations here, and that’s been fun for them. And they’re also giving also to plan the Menus for the holiday, whatever they want this year, and that’s been fun for them to sit down with the chef and decide what kind of stuff they want. You know, maybe they don’t like Turkey, maybe they’d like duck. You know, I’m just saying they get to. They just make some decisions, which is fun because, again, why is it just because you go to assistant living? Why do people assume the are many Clai quite can’t need a beginning? And that’s, I think that I love about what we do, is that the chef, the nurse, everybody to get together and they go, you know what’s breads, some life into this place and they do it and it’s fun. Is All the communities. What they’re doing is is they’re also doing some some things. They made these carts. I wish you could see them all trying to sense and pictures to you to put on your website, but they need these carts that got these great big televisions on them, they got these killer sound bars and then they got these really neat cameras that this they’re taking them around to the residents who can’t start mobile families can’t now and that it’s not a fault. So it’s not you know, mom’s faces two inches tall. It’s a bamp warm mom and they’re taking these things. Now we’re getting so that you can actually sit and visit with mom and there she is. And so to people put all these neat things that they can do. So that the families can feel like they got some no quality time with their loved ones, but they’re getting them involved in the decorating, they’re getting in involved in the decision making and and I guess you know, and the residents are loving it. That’s the cool things, mm one, and just to think about too, just the whole idea of bringing the spirit of the season in and and keeping the conversation, you know, light and fun and you know so much, especially with those with dementa. I just really want to give you a heart felt thank you from the bottom of my heart and all of our communities at all you’re doing to help our seniors during this time. And Mary, Mary Christmas. I know that you’re going to be with US next week, but I really wanted to have the special segment with you. And so, Kelly, how do we reach you, you guys who the best way to reach us is to check us out online, because when you can see all of our communities and the growth is company has you know again, we’re not perfect. We’re going to make mistakes, but the one thing you learn about care partner senior living, care partners Livingcom, you’ll find out that, even though we’re human, we do give a WHO. We love these people and you’ll see it on those interres. You be the heart on the website, so check us out. Care Partners Livingcom is the best way to find us. Well, Kelly, I’m so glad you were with us today and you have a wonderful week and we’re going to see you next week, so I can’t wait. I love you, guys man well, we love you to take care. The preceding podcast was provided by care partners living and answers for elders radio. To contact care partners living, go to care partners livingcom.