CAROLINA ALBAN-STOUGHTON
Director of Communication & Engagement
CARLSBAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
When it comes to emergency preparedness in Carlsbad, there is no doubt our senior and independent living facilities deserve a lot of praise. In charge of housing and caring for a population that’s at the highest risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19, the stakes at these facilities have been incredibly high. As of press time, there haven’t been any outbreaks of COVID-19 in any of Carlsbad’s congregated care communities. According to City of Carlsbad Assistant Director of Emergency Services and Co-Chair of the Ready Carlsbad Business Alliance, David Harrison, leaders and staffers of these communities have been under a high amount of stress and pressure since March, staying in constant communication with the City of Carlsbad Emergency Operations Center. However, according to Harrison, it was one particular facility that stood out. “The
Las Villas de Carlsbad team, under the leadership of Charlie Bloom, has provided a positive, supportive and caring home for its residents and workplace for its staff during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Harrison. He adds Las Villas got involved with the City from the get go. “Early during the COVID-19 outbreak, Las Villas de Carlsbad played a leadership role in assisting to define the city’s engagement with residential and long term care facilities.”
Because of this and many other reasons, Las Villas de Carlsbad was recognized with the RCBA Commitment to Emergency Preparedness Award, given every year at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce’s State of the Community event. “I was pleasantly surprised,” said Las Villas de Carlsbad Senior Executive Director, Charles Bloom. “It lifted my spirits as it did a lot of people’s spirits.”
In charge of Las Villas since 2016, Bloom said winning this award means “that the heroes that work here are recognized for the exemplary work they’ve done to keep those most vulnerable amongst us safe.”
However, getting to this place has had its challenges. “The hardest thing I think was changing the mindset of those that live here that they are participants in their safety when it comes to COVID-19. That they have a role to play in washing their hands more regularly. The residents have a role to play in wearing masks when they are interacting with other people, that was the difference with (disease) prior to COVID,” said Bloom adding that before COVID-19 only staff was trained in infection control. “We were the spreaders of the infection. So we would make sure we were trained and we knew what to do. With COVID we had to make sure that people that live here knew what to do as well. The training and the education of the residents was by far the biggest difference in addressing COVID-19 than any other disease.”
Bloom said the hard work the staff put into educating the residents paid off because of how they incorporated infection control into what he calls their “culture of caring.” “The culture of caring, which we are proud of, included now being safe and keeping the employees safe first, and so that they were vested in the infection control. They knew that they could take this home to their loved ones as well if we didn’t take this seriously from the onset.”
Bloom adds that the culture of caring involves carrying out every task in a way that “the health of everyone is the prime driver. And then we go ahead to be good caring staff. To be a good nurse or a good care giver or good CNA is not good enough anymore. Now you have to be one who promotes a culture of health.”
While usual interaction at Las Villas has suffered under strict public health protocols, they have managed to continue to find ways to keep residents’ spirits up. “Since early March, the facility staff has given extra assistance to its residents’ mental health to help relieve the stress of COVID-19 related isolation. Las Villas de Carlsbad leadership implemented virtual visits, hired dog walkers to support resident’s dogs so they were continued to be cared for and provided a safe environment for family members to visit with their loved ones,” said Harrison.
However, Bloom still looks forward to going back or as close as possible to pre-COVID times as there is one thing he misses the most. “Socialization, having residents come out of their apartments and once again be able to dine in and go places and enjoy the Village, and being able to once again immerse ourselves back into day to day lifestyle in the Village and allow those residents now the freedom they don’t have right now.”
Living in the Village, differently
Located in the heart of Carlsbad Village, Carlsbad by the Sea also sprung into action as soon as word got out of a global pandemic arriving to San Diego County back in March. Executive Director, Joan Johnson, vividly remembers what that moment was like. “My first reaction to news of a ‘possible’ pandemic was ‘please God, not here’. We started immediately by providing education to residents and staff related to washing your hands often, how to wash your hands, reminding folks to cough into their elbow, using a tissue to sneeze into, etc. This was followed up in writing with letters to residents. Within about the first week I pulled out our Emergency Operation Plan and reviewed the specifics related to a Pandemic with our leadership team. Following our emergency plan and our Incident Command System, staff were assigned particular positions. We started to meet daily for a ‘Covid’ meeting and continue to do so today.”
As news spread out about PPE shortages, several volunteer residents took matters into their own hands, literally, making cloth face masks “initially one per resident and a few weeks later, they made enough masks for everyone to have a second home-made cloth face mask,” said Johnson. But the care they had for one another also expanded beyond the facility as residents learned about how much local businesses were suffering. “Residents have also contributed financially, which enabled us to purchase a meal about one time each week from one of our local restaurants so we could also support them.”
Realizing the importance of keeping some sense of normalcy and not making too many changes on top of all the early adjustments, Carlsbad by the Sea made very important decisions regarding their staff and their programs. “We have not furloughed any employees; the same staff still greet them and provide support for them whether it be their housekeeper, the dining staff or caregivers. We quickly moved to technology to support ongoing programs, ie. Fitness classes, Zoom discussions, Zoom socials and recently we opened some limited outdoor dining for lunch and for dinner as well as some small group activities and socialization opportunities. We were able to open our salon and last week (last week of August) we opened the fitness center on a limited basis. We encourage residents to maintain hobbies, connect with family and friends, stay positive and have a sense of humor!”
Johnson believes being in Carlsbad during this health crisis has been key for them to weather it. “The City of Carlsbad has been a huge support to us; they have called and checked on us, asked what we need in the way of PPE, they organized Zoom sessions with other Carlsbad providers, donated cloth face masks made by Carlsbad volunteers and delivered PPE to us. It has been reassuring to know that we have local support.”
While staying positive has been at the core of all the adjustments, Johnson understands that it may be a while before things can go back even remotely to how they were before COVID. “I believe the rest of the year looks much the same as now related to visitation and protocols such as screening employees and residents and outside visitors. We look forward to begin to carefully and safely reopen the community and allow for more programs, activities, engagement and socialization. I think our residents look forward to joining their friends for meals and socials and being able to see their loved ones. Personally, I look forward to the same thing – giving hugs and receiving hugs!”
Using experience to succeed
La Costa Glen Executive Director Keith Kasin said that in a way they have been preparing for something like COVID-19 for years, basing their current protocols for COVID-19 on previous experiences with other outbreaks. “Our Emergency Operations Plan already has a biological component,” said Kasin adding that the first protocol they implemented was social distancing. “In mid-March, we were scheduled to have a townhall meeting in our Catalina Hall with 200 chairs. We cut that down to 60 chairs, six feet apart, and everyone who didn’t have a seat watched it on our closed circuit TV. We moved staff meetings from the cozy conference room to the large gathering hall and, eventually, online.”
It’s been six months since public health orders took effect and Kasin says La Costa Glen staff has adapted to “additional responsibilities with calm and acceptance.” However, this has not been that easy for residents, who according to Kasin, became less optimistic about the changes by April. “Our mantra here is ‘safely getting to yes.’ We’re slowly starting to bring back services, but in a very thoughtful way. We’ve had to take the proverbial box and turn it inside out. Literally. Everything that can be moved outside has been moved into the open. Our restaurants are serving lunch outdoors and are preparing to expand into dinner. The gym equipment is outside; the beauty and barber shops are outside; exercise and art classes, even ukulele lessons are being held outside. Until recently, we didn’t allow visitors, but now we’re scheduling visits outside with masks and social distancing.”
Through it all, Kasin believes the pandemic has taught everyone some lessons. “Most importantly that it’s not all about the mighty dollar; it’s about connection with family and building our relationships again.” Even then, nothing will be exactly the same as before until those physical distancing barriers people have built around them to protect themselves are gone. “What I look forward to most when this is all over is being able to reconnect with people, going out and seeing a resident’s whole face—no mask—and giving them a hug if they need it. So much is communicated in a hug. That whole physical connection is so important to all of us.”