At Silvergate Retirement Residences, response to the national onset of the COVID-19 crisis was swift and carefully executed. Management worked alongside all of its communities to carefully develop a comprehensive set of protocols following CDC and county health guidelines to keep residents protected and safe from the spread of the coronavirus.
“We are working quickly to find the best ways to provide our future residents with a protective bubble from the virus,” said Sondra Brakeville, Executive Director for Silvergate Rancho Bernardo. “We have developed protocols to manage the risk of exposure to both incoming residents and our new staff with enhanced safety procedures, increased social distancing, heightened disinfecting, and of course testing once available.”
Enhanced Safety Precautions at Silvergate
The comprehensive set of protocols and precautions enacted by Silvergate has given residents and their families the peace of mind they need to weather the worries of the coronavirus pandemic. Those precautions include:
- Daily temperature readings for nearly 500 residents and staff members.
- Restricted, essential-only visitor access.
- Screening of all residents, staff and visitors for travel history and recent illness.
- Increased social distancing of at least six feet.
- Group activities limited to less than 10 people, while maintaining social distancing.
- Staggered dining room mealtimes and/or meals offered in resident rooms.
- Increased sanitation to all high-touch surfaces throughout the community.
- Augmented staff education concerning health protocols and procedures.
- Personal protective equipment required for all caregivers including, face masks, hand washing, etc.
- Negative COVID-19 testing results required prior to new resident move-in.
Silvergate Rancho Bernardo, the newest luxury retirement community in the area, will open its doors in July with more than 200 residents moving in over the summer. The same stringent set of safety protocols and social distancing measures will be required for all staff, residents and limited visitors as the community begins operations. A carefully orchestrated move-in process has been planned for the community with staggered move-ins taking place from July to September.
Safety Record Renews Confidence
Silvergate continues to enact additional safety measures as they become available. Beginning in June, all Silvergate communities will be adding daily pulse oximeter readings to their arsenal of safety screening measures. These simple tests measure blood oxygen levels and can help identify asymptomatic carriers of the virus who are not experiencing a fever, which is an important aspect of early detection of a COVID-19 infection. To learn more about the benefits of pulse oximeter readings, click here to read an insightful article titled “They don’t struggle to breathe—but COVID-19 is starving them of oxygen” recently featured in National Geographic.
Silvergate’s success at keeping its residents safe has given other local seniors renewed confidence about transitioning to retirement living. Many seniors have delayed their search for assisted living solutions due to the outbreak of the virus and state-imposed stay-at-home orders. As those restrictions begin to lift, seniors are becoming more comfortable touring senior living properties, like Silvergate where they have a proven safety record in the midst of the pandemic.
To help accommodate different levels of comfort with venturing out into the public, Silvergate now offers multiple ways in which to connect with their communities. New virtual tours and videos are available online. Live “Face- Time” tours also are being offered. For those who are comfortable, privately scheduled, in-person tours allow family members and prospective residents to experience the community directly. Silvergate Rancho Bernardo offers independent living, assisted living and memory care accommodations. To learn more, call Pam Rundle, Marketing Director for the community at (858) 451-1100 or visit www.SilvergateRR.com.