As we monitor daily developments of COVID-19, we continue to rapidly respond to any issues that arise but also apply our proven and approved protection practices that help keep residents and staff safe.  This journey with COVID-19 threatening our vulnerable population will require our continued vigilance for many months to come which we are deeply committed to as we strive to keep all 4,500 residents and staff across the west coast safe from this virus.

That said, each day and each week we are enduring new challenges that arise.  As of today, we have 12 residents and 11 staff members who have tested positive. Of those, a handful are asymptomatic and in most cases we have only one case in the community. The communities with single cases include, Callahan House, Las Vegas, Kirkland, Rodgers Park and Madison, with other cases managed at Fremont, Marymoor and Kent. Broader testing is underway in each community in which many test results have already returned negative but we are awaiting additional test results.

The partnership that we’ve developed with a private testing lab has given us some more access to additional testing capabilities. While labs continue to experience capacity challenges, we are working with them to get a process that quickly tests residents and staff after a confirmed case in a community.

We have developed a testing practice, based on expert guidance, that focuses on contact tracing – identifying and testing those staff or residents that may potentially have been in contact with the positive person in the community.  Families are always notified immediately via email and kept abreast of any new test results. We remain vigilant in our protection practices that continue to help us manage the spread of the virus.  This month, we added one more layer of protection for our residents. With access to more supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), we’re asking residents to wear a surgical mask that we can provide each time they leave their apartments.

Putting the ‘social’ back in social distancing.

From hallway concerts to doorway exercise classes, to centenarian celebrations, Aegis Living has made it our daily mission to put the ‘social’ in social distancing. But we pulled out all the stops for Mother’s Day Weekend with a special menu, new video montages for families and flowers for every lady; plus special desserts for staff to take home to their moms too. Although we may have safety limits in place, love proves limitless, as recently seen in our South San Francisco community.

We were honored to celebrate the 100^th birthday of our South San Francisco resident, Rhoda Kay, with a steady parade of well-wishers, balloons, signs, and of course, a cake with 100 candles burning bright.   Her family traveled from near and far, and the SSF mayor even paraded by too, to honor this incredible milestone that was seen in media stories in print such as the  San Francisco Chronicle,  and radio across the west coast – thanks to the Associated Press. Rhoda showed us all that joy has no boundary.