Atria Senior Living Gives Update on COVID-19 Efforts
"Stay Safe, Stay Together™" Initiative Protects Communities and Helps Promote Future Safety
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 22, 2020 /CNW/ -- Atria Senior Living, a leading operator of senior living communities across the United States and Canada, reports strong progress in protecting its communities from multiple "waves" of COVID-19 with the help of aggressive infectious disease control measures under its "Stay Safe, Stay Together™" health and safety initiative. Atria's health and safety practices have also put the company in a solid position to combat lingering and future potential disease activity in North America.
Beginning in early March, Atria quickly implemented escalating infectious disease protocols and other extensive measures throughout its communities in the U.S. and Canada to help protect residents from COVID-19. Believing that seniors need daily social interaction, the company applied its protocols under the mantra of "Stay Safe, Stay Together." The campaign covers a vast array of efforts to keep seniors and staff informed and vigilant on safety practices ranging from social distancing to hand sanitization to personal protective equipment (PPE) and engagement programs.
Through the company's intense use of data to track disease dynamics, Atria was able to forecast early that the most dramatic and perilous impact of COVID-19 would be in the New York City Metro area, where Atria is the largest provider of senior assisted living. Atria addressed this "first wave" of the disease not only with aggressive protocols on PPE and quarantine, but also proactive testing of staff and third-party support, which helped seal off communities from positive-testing employees. Before any state-mandated testing, Atria developed a collaboration with Mayo Clinic Laboratories to obtain the testing capability for all of its 14,000-strong employee base in its U.S. communities, and by May 12 had completed its first full round of nationwide testing. Data from the testing indicates it was a proven weapon in protecting Atria communities from the disease. Atria also equipped its entire New York workforce with enough masks to not only wear at work and on their commutes, but also enough for their family members, which helped reduce exposure to Atria communities.
By late March, Atria had placed all of its communities in the U.S. and Canada under full quarantine protocol. With restrictions prohibiting visitors, Atria's Stay Safe, Stay Together efforts became critically important. Through the company's Engage Life® events program, residents enjoyed meaningful daily experiences for continual learning, fitness, connection, personal growth and fulfillment, and programs adapted for safety. The company also accelerated development and deployment of a resident well-being app to communicate resident COVID-19 symptom tracking and important announcements in real time.
As the disease waned in the Northeast, a second "wave" of disease activity – substantial, but still much less severe than the New York outbreak in the spring – began across Atria markets in the South and West, including Arizona, California, Texas, Florida and Georgia. The company continues to use its in-house data capabilities to track disease dynamics and to combat COVID-19 with aggressive and proactive testing. To date, more than 100,000 tests have been performed with Atria residents and staff across the company.
"We believe that, collaborating with Mayo Clinic Laboratories and working with state and local agencies, testing has been one of our greatest weapons in fighting COVID-19," said Atria Chairman and CEO John Moore. "We always want our residents in a position to live their best lives in any circumstance. We still have a wary eye on COVID, and we're not claiming to have figured everything out yet with this disease. However, we do feel good enough about our experience-tested pandemic procedures that we 'pity the flu' that tries to rear its head this fall and winter."
By July, all Atria communities had sufficiently passed disease activity progress thresholds to emerge from full quarantine. As of this month, the company is in a "COVID-19 Watch" phase, which allows for greater use of community amenities but with safety triggers in place to escalate protocols again if needed.
"The disease clearly hasn't left the country, but we're at a point where we can thoughtfully and safely pursue our 'dual imperatives' of keeping our residents safe while also helping them live their best lives now. We're very proud of everyone, including our residents and their families, our frontline employees, our community management teams, our Support Center staff, and our state and local health officials, who continue to work with us through the COVID-19 environment," Moore said. "With our 'Stay Safe, Stay Together' philosophy at the forefront, we believe seniors can live their best lives both now and into the future."
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Stay Safe, Stay Together™ is a trademark of Atria Senior Living, Inc.
About Atria Senior Living
Atria Senior Living is a leading operator of independent living, assisted living, supportive living and memory care communities in more than 200 locations in 26 states and seven Canadian provinces. Atria is the residence of choice for more than 20,000 older people, and the workplace of choice for more than 14,000 employees. The company creates vibrant communities where older adults can thrive and participate, know that their contributions are valued, and enjoy access to opportunities and support that help them keep making a positive difference in the world. For more information about Atria, visit AtriaSeniorLiving.com or follow the company on Facebook. For career opportunities and more information about working for Atria, visit AtriaCareers.com.
SOURCE Atria Senior Living
Bill Todd, [email protected]
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