If you or your loved one is considering Independent Living, Assisted Living or Memory Care at a Canadian retirement residence, you may be wondering about safety given COVID-19. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to hear that thanks to leading-edge vaccination rates and herd immunity, emergency monitoring and on-site nurses available 24/7, accessible design and enriching activities with peers, senior living at Amica is likely safer than living alone at home.
Screening, testing and vaccinations have worked, says Andrea Prashad, Amica’s Senior Vice President, Resident Experience and Risk Management. “We’re proud that as of July 2021, more than 95 per cent of our residents and 85 per cent of our team members have been vaccinated nationally.”
How Amica Senior Lifestyles achieved herd immunity
Imagine savouring a delicious meal indoors, playing billiards, visiting the spa and gardening with friends — all without a mask. It’s happening at Amica residences. Since the start of the global coronavirus pandemic, Amica prioritized the health, well-being and safety of Amica residents with stringent safety protocols. We worked with public health authorities to vaccinate Amica residents, team members and essential family visitors and care partners as swiftly as vaccine supply allowed. Today, residents and their families appreciate that herd immunity at Amica residences is higher than the outside community.
Senior care with safety
Research confirms what many experienced first-hand: seniors living alone during COVID-19 suffered isolation. (Read 5 tips to combat social isolation for seniors to find out more.) Accessing health care and a patchwork of in-home services became difficult and fraught with anxiety given coronavirus concerns. In contrast, new Amica residents enjoy engaging activities, outstanding amenities and personalized, professional care within a safe bubble. A range of senior care levels, from Independent Living to Assisted Living to Memory Care, gives seniors and their families reassurance that they can live an active, optimistic life with their evolving care needs met. Attentive wellness staff, emergency monitoring, 24/7 on-site nurses and tailored services are all part of Amica’s best-in-class care. (Learn about the 16 seniors who moved to Amica White Rock this year, for instance, who are keeping healthy, busy and fulfilled.)
Fun and engaging days with friends
While many seniors at home remain somewhat housebound due to changing guidelines about what is open and what is not, life is back to normal at Amica. Supported by caring and friendly staff, residents can attend cooking and art workshops, entertain guests in their suite or a private dining room, and freely pursue their own hobbies and interests. Charles Fox, an 80-year-old widower who moved to Amica Riverside in January 2021, values that. “I’ve made a lot of friends here,” says Fox. “We shoot pool together once or twice a day, play Wii bowling and have meals together. I feel very safe here.”
Spaces designed for safety
If you’re a family caregiver who worries about their parent managing household chores and navigating stairs and other trip hazards at home, you’re not alone. It’s reassuring that at Amica, seniors can live in elegant surroundings that have been thoughtfully designed for safety and accessibility. Read How Amica residences are designed to enable seniors to flourish to better appreciate how good lighting, grab bars in all the right places and other design details help residents stay independent.
Helping seniors stay physically, mentally and socially active
It’s easy for seniors at home to get into a rut of watching TV, going outside less and less and falling out of touch with people. (Especially in the last year.) Amica residents, on the other hand, are spoiled with activity choices ranging from current events discussions and exercise classes to swimming, glassblowing, scotch-tasting and painting. (See what we’re up to today on social media.) Residents also decide when and what they want to eat and help develop menus. Encouraging fitness and enriching moments and meals with friends — tailored to your tastes and interests — is all part of Amica’s holistic approach to supporting your emotional, physical and cognitive health.
Seeing is believing, so consider booking a virtual or in-person tour of your nearest Amica residence to truly understand the differences between long-term care and Amica’s private senior living lifestyle with premium amenities. What are you waiting for? As Prashad says, “We take care of meals and housekeeping, provide help where needed, so that our residents are free to live life to the fullest.”
Book a virtual or in-person tour to find out what it’s like to enjoy living on your own terms in an elegant Amica residence with outstanding dining, amenities, activities, senior care and safety measures.
