Residents at private senior residences enjoying life again

Despite the ongoing pandemic, life is back to normal for Charles Fox, a resident at Amica Riverside, an Amica Senior Lifestyles residence in Windsor. Within the residence’s protective bubble, the 80-year-old widower is doing things he enjoys, and COVID seems a world away.

“I feel very safe here,” he says. “Everyone makes sure we stay healthy, and every precaution is taken to make sure we enjoy life freely.”

Since moving in this past January, Fox’s schedule has been a busy one. His daughters felt he would enjoy the social aspects and diverse programming Amica Riverside offers, while providing him with medical care when he needs it.

“I’ve made a lot of friends here,” says Fox. “We shoot pool together once or twice a day, play Wii bowling and have meals together. And on Mondays, I rehearse with my barbershop quartet over Zoom in hopes we can perform for fellow residents in the fall. I really love keeping busy.”

Providing the best senior living experiences to residents at any age continues to be a top priority for Amica, which operates more than 30 Senior Lifestyles residences, in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. When the pandemic hit, the teams were already prepared and quickly implemented safety protocols that ensured its high standards of care, socialization and enrichment programs created safe places for seniors that were safer than outside, in terms of both physical and mental wellness.

“In the first and second waves, we really focused on screening and testing to create a protective bubble,” says Andrea Prashad, Senior Vice President, Resident Experience and Risk Management. “Now, 16 months into it, we have been prioritizing vaccinations. We’re proud that more than 95 per cent of our residents and 85 per cent of our team members have been vaccinated nationally.”

The attention to safety and health has paid off for residents. As Prashad points out: “Seniors and team members were able to access vaccinations first. We were able to construct a beautiful, safe zone. Things are opening and residents are enjoying meals with others and socializing. Masks are no longer mandated inside our walls. It feels like pre-COVID times.”

Being able to pivot has been an important strategy for Amica. Early in the pandemic, they were able to put protective protocols in place quickly, she notes. Now, with herd immunity within its residences, a return to normalcy has happened at a more rapid pace than outside of them, which has been comforting to many residents’ families.

Amica has conducted research into its COVID response. Along with a survey, it held conversations with residents and families to delve deeper into their experiences about living through the pandemic and their hopes for the future. More than 90 per cent said they were happy with the company’s response. Ninety-seven per cent of its residents said Amica acted in the best interests of their safety – findings that contradict common perceptions about seniors’ residences over the last year and a half.

Since many people confuse senior living residences with long-term care, many are surprised when they learn what life is like now at Amica residences.

“There are still misconceptions about senior living,” says Kelly Gillespie, Regional Director, Sales and Marketing with Amica. With our high vaccination rates among staff and residents, our herd immunity is higher within Amica than it is outside in the community at large.”

Amica’s residents enjoy their days with others who are at a similar stage in their lives, Gillespie notes. “They are surrounded by peers, not isolated. We take care of meals and housekeeping, provide help where needed, so that our residents are free to live life to the fullest.”

Upon arrival, Amica residents receive a lifestyle assessment to discover their goals, interests, likes and dislikes, and efforts are made to customize experiences with a range of recreational activities, including glass-blowing, painting, swimming, scotch-tasting, current events discussions and an array of exercise classes, on the premises. Residents also decide when and what they want to eat, and help develop menus.

Amica residences are well equipped to accommodate a wide range of clients, from recent retirees and those able to live independently to seniors requiring advanced medical care aided by nurses and doctors available on-site.

“One of the biggest differences at Amica is that you can live life on your own terms,” says Prashad. “From medical care to activities, they’re all very personalized, and residents are secure in knowing we can accommodate their needs as they change. That’s a big deal.”

Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with Amica. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.