What an amazing Memorial Day Weekend! In every Aegis Living community across the West Coast we had the privilege to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice as well as our resident military heroes and our staff members who are veterans.

From the sound of Taps played at a flag raising ceremony at Aegis Living Granada Hills, CA to this ceremony in Seattle at Aegis Living Madison — each community transformed its traditions to be safe. Employees holding American flags lined the Madison lobby 6-feet apart, while each was honored and pinned. Family members joined from outside the building to watch loved ones honored through the lobby windows.

Army Veteran and Madison Care Director Ashley Besmehn wore her uniform to pin veterans, including Fred Shiosaki, (pictured). Fred is one of the last Japanese American soldiers called Niseis surviving from the highly decorated 442nd Regimental Combat Team — the most honored WWII unit. Resident and fellow Nisei veteran Frank Nishimura who shares the 442nd RCT history was honored as well. What a thrill for us to serve them all.

We have terrific news this week in our battle against COVID-19; the dedication to protocols and prevention has yielded solid results to contain the spread of the virus in the few communities where we had positive tests last week.  Currently, our company only has one single resident who remains positive for the virus in our 32 communities. We are humbled as each day and each hour is, of course, a fluid battle. But we savor the victories as we fight to protect our seniors and our colleagues in this pandemic. Meanwhile, we’re also happy to report that we have fewer staff affected. Companywide we only have 6 staff members who remain positive. Given our 4,500 people made up of about 2,000 residents and 2,500 staff, the 7 total cases are being managed in the communities of Las Vegas, Kent, Aegis Living Kirkland, Rodgers Park, Pleasant Hill and Fremont. 

We continue to conduct contact tracing testing – 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 if their loved one is being tested and are informed of any new test results. We remain vigilant in our heightened sanitation and protection protocols that continue to help us manage the spread of the virus, including asking our residents to wear a surgical mask each time they leave their apartments. Meantime, we have new resources to support families and neighbors during these uncertain times. Our goal is to share our expertise and promote wellness in those we serve directly and indirectly.

New Expert and Family Resources

Explore our website to see Our COVID-19 Response pages and learn more about our protocols, plus link directly to great resources to help keep your family safe. Enjoy some of the hero stories from our frontline employees. Each day they are working to bring happiness to each resident in our communities. Their tireless commitment to entertain, engage, raise energy and draw smiles is undaunted and inspiring.

We will be adding much more to these webpages as we grow our expertise and prepare for the future with coronavirus and any other unknown threats.