When the reality of COVID 19 hit, few knew how to react, much less respond. Now as one reflects back on 2020 it has become the year that changed society, and how we go about our daily lives.

This new normal has not come easy, especially for the frail and high risk among us. Yet there are some stories from the time that inspire us towards hope. Stories that encourage. One of these is the story of New Life Community Services.

New life Community services manage several retirement villages and a Frail Care. Very difficult for businesses to run amid a viral pandemic, when all your charges are high risk and frail. Yet the unusual steps they took to keep COVID at bay resulted in an unprecedented 8 months Covid free record. Achieving this during the first and worst episodes of the pandemic is worth noting. The care and protection they afford their residents from harm, as a result, has been unmatched by similar facilities.

Kim, the Frail care manager explains what they did. When the pandemic hit, our management determined immediately that no matter the cost, we had to ensure a covid Free Zone for those in our care. So, we embarked on a ‘Covid safe’ campaign.

We immediately moved all our critical and care staff on our facilities premises. We ensured that their personal daily needs were catered to. We began a rigorous testing and isolation routine for all staff members when returning to work after having a break off-site. We kept this in place for over 8 months, housing, feeding, and testing our staff.

In this way, we made substantial financial losses. Our staff made extensive sacrifices in family time to allow this to work, many not going home for weeks at a time. Yet we were one of the few places that created a safe zone, or ‘bubble’ where we could continue to care for our residents knowing we were at ‘zero’ risk.

This is not so unusual. Yet what is unusual is that with such high-risk patients in our care we had not even 1 case of COVID in over 8 months.

This story is testament to a dedicated staff compliment and heartfelt business directors. Their compassion and wisdom with decisive action enabled this outcome. They put people and staff first, in a pandemic with massive uncertainty – and that’s what won the day.

For more you can contact Kim at New Life Community Services


info@newliferetirement.co.za

021 975 0408

074 583 0712

www.newliferetirement.co.za

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