Ensuring physical safety was top priority during the pandemic. But many also saw immediately that mental well-being would also be a health and safety challenge. Isolation, uncertainty, grief, and lack of control take a toll. Many of the usual comforts and coping mechanisms are out of reach. That’s what led to the How Right Now…

According to a 2013 study in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, 90 percent of adults in the United States have been exposed to at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. Think of how many in your community might have gone through a natural disaster just in the time they have been residents there—and then…

Whitney Austin Gray, PhD, LEED AP, WELL AP, senior vice president at the International WELL Building Institute, wants you to think about a fact: You spend about 90 percent of your life indoors. And she’s dedicated to making that 90 percent a healthier experience. While there are multiple standards for sustainability, cleanliness, and function of…

Even in ordinary times, managing swallowing disorders can require complex coordination and care in senior living communities—and these are not ordinary times. With the limitations and precautions the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed, senior living operators have had to make adjustments to ensure residents who suffer from swallowing disorders continue to receive the close attention that…

The look and feel of the entrances to many senior living communities has changed drastically since February 2020. In addition to a huge reduction in the number of people going in and out—visitation restrictions and quarantines, those who do come in may face a number of safety measures including screening questions and remote temperature sensing.…

From the beginning of the pandemic, even before the coronavirus was discovered to be a greater airborne threat than a surface one, senior living communities turned their attention to air circulation. The knowledge that air matters in infection prevention and control is basic to people in senior living, who take all steps possible to keep…

It happens to everyone, whatever your age: You’ve covered family, work, and the weather, and the conversation stalls. What do you say next? That’s where CircleTalk™ comes in: training and curriculum designed to create meaningful and authentic social interactions—a chance for “older adults to connect with each other and feel accepted and valued by others.”…

Everyone knew it was a problem that could get bigger. Reports and education covered it, many discussed it, and nearly everyone in senior living made it part of their mission to address it. But when the pandemic hit, another epidemic was revealed: Loneliness and social isolation. It affects health—reports put it at more dangerous than…

The Essential Caregiver (EC) program is a simple concept: Allow a single person, a family member or loved one, to have a controlled visit and help someone in senior living, even during times of restricted visitation, in order to counter the often severely detrimental health effects of loneliness and social isolation. But the implementation of…