A Reflection on 2020 From a Caregiver’s Perspective
With more than 30 years of experience in senior care, I can confidently say 2020 presented challenges that I and many of my colleagues at Grace Pointe Senior Care Community would have never imagined. Despite this year’s difficulties, our commitment to the “Three C’s” – Community, Connectedness, and Comfort has remained constant.
Grace Pointe Care Staff
As a locally and family-owned company, Grace Pointe early identified the need for community support. We worked with local businesses to purchase goods for residents, team appreciation meals, and other care items. As local nonprofits virtually changed or canceled events, we found ways to help and exceeded previous years in fundraising. To create and maintain a culture of community internally, our dedicated activities team restructured regular group happenings for safe social distancing and found alternative virtual programs for residents to enjoy.
To support a sense of connectedness, we created the Care Mail program to receive online submissions of stories, videos, and photos and placed a physical mailbox outside for people to drop off heartfelt notes and items. We also launched an outside visitation program for residents to be with loved ones at a safe distance.
For residents, comfort is now found in our commitments to quality care, increased sanitization, safe social practices, routine PPE preparedness, acting responsibly, and much more. We have taken action by monitoring resident vitals multiple times daily, implementing Infection Control Policies, sourcing PPE from local partners, and we are blessed with owners who invested in the installation of ‘air scrubber’ systems that mitigate impurities and will fight against illnesses for years to come.
As this year of uncertainty comes to a close, I find peace in knowing that one thing is certain: Grace Pointe’s core values of Community, Connectedness, and Comfort will continue past the pandemic.
Jennifer Peterson, Director of Marketing, Grace Pointe Senior Care Community. jennifer.peterson@continuumhealth.com, (970) 304-1919. To learn more about Grace Pointe and its services, visit www.gracepointegreeley.com or explore its quarterly C.A.R.E. Reports at www.gracepointegreeley.com/carereport.