Residents, families praise senior living community’s ‘bubble’-like approach to pandemic

July 7, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by Dow Rummel Village.

Living on an acreage near Alcester in southeast South Dakota, Clark and Helen Anderton realized it probably was time to find somewhere new to call home.

“It was getting lonely on the acreage, and if something happened to one of us, what do you do?” Clark said. “We figured we’d have to move anyway, and we might as well choose senior living.”

Little did he know how isolating life really could have become.

The Andertons moved into Dow Rummel Village in September 2018 after looking at what felt like almost all senior living options in Sioux Falls, Helen said.

“We kept coming back to Dow Rummel because of all the things they offered and especially because they have nursing care,” she said. “If one of us should need it, the other one is here and doesn’t have to get in a vehicle to go see the person in nursing.”

But the pandemic forced many senior living communities to dramatically isolate their residents, limiting interaction with friends and neighbors in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19.

That wasn’t the experience for the Andertons and their neighbors-turned-friends at Dow Rummel.

At Dow Rummel, the approach was to create a “bubble” for residents, CEO Darla Van Rosendale explained.

“Our approach from the beginning was to make Dow Rummel as safe of a bubble as we could for residents, so they would feel safe in their home just like you or I,” she said.

But in their case, the rest of Dow Rummel – its “Main Street,” coffee spots, crafting studio, movie theater and more — is part of their home too.

“So we did as much as we could to keep it safe, so residents could get out and about within Dow Rummel,” Van Rosendale said.

That meant regular health screenings, “being very cautious with staff,” requiring masks for staff and strongly encouraging them for residents in most situations unless eating or drinking.

Independent-living residents were free to go about the common areas, and in assisted living and nursing care, “we tried to do things strictly within their buildings, so we didn’t intermingle too much until we went through vaccine clinics in December and January, and then we started loosening things up as nearly all residents had been vaccinated,” Van Rosendale said.

When there were positive cases – which wasn’t often – a calling tree alerted residents and families. Residents who weren’t comfortable in a socially distanced dining room could have food brought to their room.

“We had residents who learned woodworking or stained glass, so they learned new things during this time, which kept them busy and active,” Van Rosendale said.

“I had several residents say they enjoyed being able to go down to the theater and watch a movie or call a friend and play cards in small groups.”

The Andertons agreed.

“One thing that’s nice here is you get together with people for breakfast, and we could still do that during the shutdown,” Clark said, adding he also was able to play cards and bean bags with friends.

“And I was able to go to the shop. We weren’t completely shut out.”

He is a wood turner, and Helen enjoys stained glass and painting.

“And coming from an acreage, some places we looked at didn’t have balconies. And that was a must for me. I had to get out and get fresh air and see the trees and birds,” she said.

“And we Zoomed with the family and, of course, talked on the phone.”

Families appreciated the approach too.

“From a family perspective, it was nice because we knew she was in a protected environment,” said Mike Jamison, whose mother, Rae, has lived at Dow Rummel in independent living for about seven years.

“We felt if she had been in an apartment during the pandemic she might never have left it. I would have seen her staying home a lot. At Dow Rummel, even though they changed their protocol, they could still get out in the hall, go to the common space, go to a movie and at least be able to see people.”

For the first three months, the family talked with Rae from her balcony. After that, they could visit through plexiglass.

“She had built relationships, and people checked in on each other, so it provided her that sense of family even though we as a family couldn’t physically visit,” Jamison said. “Between the friends she’s made and the staff making things happen, we were fortunate. She has a small group of friends that really held each other up and helped each other through it.”

His mother and her friends would go to a wellness class and then have coffee, he continued.

“They were a controlled group, and they could mix and mingle more than I could out and about,” he said. “There were times it felt like she had more freedom than I had.”

He also appreciated ongoing updates, including weekly voicemails from Dow Rummel’s leadership, about how the pandemic was being handled.

“It helped a lot of us feel more comfortable, and I sent the recordings to my brothers because everything was changing pretty dynamically for a while,” Jamison said. “We’ve been very blessed to have that team as part of the family.”

At Dow Rummel today, staff continue to wear masks. Visitors are allowed at scheduled times to manage how many are in the building at once, other than in independent living where they’re always available.

“I got thanks and kudos over and over for keeping residents safe and how much families appreciated that, especially those who don’t live around here,” Van Rosendale said. “As a whole, the families were really pleased with the few number of cases and how safe we were keeping residents.”

The Andertons are enjoying getting back to normal. They just moved into a different Dow Rummel apartment and are grateful they were able to go through the pandemic staying healthy and remaining social.

“We stayed healthy, didn’t get COVID, and after we had our shots, we went to Texas and went into Mexico without masks and were just fine,” Helen said.

“And now, everything has opened, and everyone is very happy. It’s amazing how, no matter where you go here, if you want to make friends you can always make friends.”

“Looking back, I think they did an outstanding job,” Clark added.

His wife agreed.

“Being a CEO, that’s a huge responsibility for all the people here, so I thought Darla did very well,” Helen said. “I think they did as good as they possibly could do.”

To learn more about life at Dow Rummel Village, click here or call 605-336-1490.

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Residents, families praise senior living community’s ‘bubble’-like approach to pandemic

Think about what you assume it would be like in a senior living community during the pandemic – now prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

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