Learn how we’ve made our community safer than ever
What we've learned
Lessons from our preventative experience and response to the pandemic
UPDATE June 2021: We are happy to share that many changes have come since our earlier post on this matter. We have continued to learn more about the effectiveness of the vaccines and are thrilled that our vaccination status and overall successes have allowed us to offer more activities, indoor and outdoor visitation, and safe returns for residents leaving the building to visit friends or family.
Though we have experienced cases of COVID-19, most have remained asymptomatic or developed only mild to moderate symptoms. We believe our strong and quickly acted upon infection control measures have protected our assisted living community from any major outbreaks since the beginning of the pandemic and continue to through today.
During this time, we are proud to have continued to upgrade and enhance the offerings of our community for our residents. There have been major additions to increase outdoor community space; new added in-house activity programs; the introduction of our “MG TV Channel” where residents can go for activities, menus, announcements, and more; and all-new air filtration and purification systems throughout the building which far surpass the standards assisted living.
With these additions we are on track to not only return to “normal”—but to surpass it.
We thank our trusted team of staff for their devoted service over the past many months which has made all of this possible—and the residents and families for their cooperation and support.
As per NJ Department of Health requirements, our Outbreak Response Plan remains available above for anyone interested in downloading a copy. More of “What We’ve Learned” from earlier (late 2020) is available below.
Please contact us for more information or questions on our pandemic response.
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December 2020: The pandemic has brought new challenges and concerns for people all over the world. We have learned a lot during the past many months--and witnessed first-hand the effectiveness of many measures we have always practiced.
First and foremost, we have truly experienced that preventative measures and consistent communications, practiced and enforced by outstanding staff, are vital to the safety of everyone in our community and beyond. It takes training, planning, proper protection (PPE, screenings, testing, etc.), and coordination inside communities like our own--and outside among the public, healthcare providers, and departments of health.
We have also learned of the emotional strain that some of these vital measures can put on all of us, such as “quarantine”, “isolation”, and “social distancing”. These emotional strains can intensify concerns or fears of “the unknown” and other distresses. This makes open and accurate communication a necessity to easing these stressors, which we provide through regular updates to residents and responsible parties. It also highlights the importance of alternatives to spending time together in-person. These days, new and ever-more prevalent technologies like Video Chat make face-to-face communication possible and a necessary fixture of our response plan. While it may be an imperfect replacement for seeing loved ones in-person, so much more can be conveyed and shared when the faces of those we are talking to are visible—at very least, it's a vast improvement from phone calls, letters, or emails.
These are just a few of the more-encompassing lessons we have learned, not to mention the countless details about the specific virus many of us have heard from public health experts and researchers. One such lesson is that being outdoors and in well-ventilated areas is ideal for socialization. We have been able to provide outdoor visits among residents and loved ones since June, and plans for moving indoors for visits in appropriate areas are expected as we approach cooler weather.
As we continue to provide First-Class Assisted Living services and amenities to our residents through these times, we will no doubt continue learning and coming up with further new and enriching experiences for our residents. We are excited to get back to the active lifestyle our residents enjoyed prior to the pandemic. Our activities and outings will no doubt include old favorites (with some adjustments) but also all new experiences for our residents and our Mill Gardens Community as a whole. We have continued a beautiful transformation of our outdoor seating areas and grounds and have other technological enhancements in the works—all of which we know will provide an ever-more vibrant and enriching community, resident lifestyle, and residence.
