The Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be one of the greatest challenges we’ve faced at Kaplan in our 40-year history. We want to extend a sincere thank you to our hardworking, dedicated staff and our engaged community members who followed guidelines and did everything they were able to protect themselves and one another.
Our daily lives have been impacted for well over a year, but with recent vaccine rollouts across the country, we’re starting to slowly experience a return to our former way of living. This means more time spent together and in group activities!
For now, we’re able to return to communal dining and indoor, as well as outdoor, social activities for those who are fully vaccinated. But, as we know, new research is always coming to light—listen to public health agencies, like the CDC and WHO, for the most up-to-date information.
The following recommendations are all based on the recently released CDC guidelines for those fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Please follow all local and state laws and restrictions, depending on where your senior living community is located.
Basic Guidelines Following Full Vaccination
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has laid out the following guidelines as of April 27th, 2021:
- Indoor and outdoor activities pose minimal risk to fully vaccinated people.
- Fully vaccinated people have a reduced risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 to unvaccinated people.
- Fully vaccinated people should still get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms
- Fully vaccinated people should not visit private or public settings if they have tested positive for COVID-19 in the prior 10 days or are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
- Fully vaccinated people should continue to follow any applicable federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations.
Below we’ve broken down what this guideline update means for the staff and community members in senior living communities.
Communal Activities for Fully Vaccinated Seniors
Group Activities & Socializing
Socializing is an integral part of senior living, and we’re excited to get back to seeing one another. In groups of fully vaccinated community members, we’re able to forgo distancing and masks.
Dining
Communal dining is back on the table! In dining situations where everyone has been fully vaccinated, you no longer need to keep your distance and can enjoy your meals together again.
Outings
When venturing into the community beyond your senior living residence, remain as safe as possible. Continue to use distancing measures and avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces.
Visiting Family and Friends
If you’re taking advantage of your completed vaccine regimen and reuniting with friends and family, please continue to follow physical distancing and personal protection recommendations in other people’s homes. The exception to this is if, as per the interim guidelines, everyone present has been fully vaccinated as well.
Changes for Fully Vaccinated Staff
With Community Members
When working with community members, it’s important to protect their privacy around their health information. They are also entitled to the same privacy regarding their vaccination status.
We don’t want to ask our community members about their vaccine status in public or in front of other residents. In this case, putting your personal knowledge of your community members to use will help keep track of who’s vaccinated and who’s not. You can also try using prior sign-up for any communal activities where it is necessary to ask about vaccination status.
Otherwise, it’s best to keep up with distancing and protection protocols when working with our community members for the time being.
Take Caution, Care for One Another, & Stay Healthy
Some things haven’t changed:
- If you are feeling unwell, stay home.
- Always keep up proper hand washing and hygiene.
- When you have Covid-19 symptoms, regardless of your vaccination status, follow public health guidelines and get tested.
- Keep looking out for your friends and neighbors, as we’re all getting through this together.
We look forward to returning to normalcy and are so grateful to have you with us, safe and healthy, as we begin to do so. Continue following public health protocols and remain open to new information and research from trusted sources. Thank you for taking care of our communities in this challenging time!
