Updates

Our Culinary teams outdid themselves with delicious Thanksgiving feasts! November was also full with meaningful Veterans’ Day celebrations in our communities, honoring our residents and staff who have served our country—with service spanning each decade since World War II. We kicked off the holidays with Hanukkah celebrations this week and are heading into the 12 Days of Holiday Cheer next week—our Life Enrichment and Culinary teams have collaborated on wonderful festivities for each day, from tree decorating to caroling and seasonal treats.

While we are closely monitoring the emergence of the Omicron variant globally, our positive COVID cases have stayed in the single digits across our 5,000 employees and residents. We continue to adhere to our rigorous infection prevention protocols to help us keep everyone safe and healthy.

We have hosted COVID booster clinics in all our communities and are pleased to have this important added layer of protection. The CDC now recommends a booster for all adults ages 18+ who were fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine over six months ago or the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over two months ago, and we encourage all family members visiting our communities to schedule a booster at their local pharmacies if they have not already done so.

If you have any questions about the COVID booster or other COVID news and guidance, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website.

Our communities were hopping in October with our first-ever Aegis Games, two weeks of more than 25 Olympic-inspired games, designed to tap mind, body, and spirit and provide ways for every resident and team member to participate. We have now turned our attention to all the fall holidays and look forward to everything our Life Enrichment teams have planned over the coming weeks.

Residents and team members have been receiving their COVID booster and flu shots and we are thrilled to have the added layer of protection. Positive COVID cases have been in the single digits across our 5,000 employees and residents, and largely presenting with mild or no symptoms. However, we continue to adhere to rigorous infection prevention protocols to help us keep everyone safe and healthy.

If you have any questions about the COVID booster or other COVID news and guidance, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website.

Our residents and team members are enjoying all that the change of season brings—cooler air, football, pumpkin everything, preparations for all our fall festivities. We are pleased to share that across our communities, we are still seeing incredibly strong protection from vaccination. In the small number of positive COVID-19 cases we have seen since the emergence of the Delta variant, most residents and staff have remained asymptomatic or experienced mild illness.

We will be further protected by a COVID booster. Now that Pfizer boosters for seniors have been given the green light by both the FDA and CDC, we are hosting Pfizer vaccine clinics in our communities, sometimes in conjunction with the flu shot. Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters are not yet authorized but we are keeping a close eye on guidance.

We continue to adhere to rigorous infection prevention protocols and are grateful to our families, whose cooperation and support have helped us to keep our residents and team members safe and healthy.

If you have questions, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

The Delta variant continues to be top of mind as we are learning more and more and understand that it is far more transmissible than previous variants. The good news is, the COVID-19 vaccine is still incredibly effective in preventing severe illness and hospitalization, and we are seeing that first-hand in our communities as nearly all of our staff and residents are vaccinated. In the small number of positive cases we have seen over the past month, most residents and staff have remained asymptomatic or experienced mild illness.

We are proud to have taken a leadership position early on in making the vaccine a requirement of employment, as there is nothing more important we could do to keep our residents and team safe. We will be offering the COVID booster shot in our communities as soon as it is formally recommended (pending the FDA and CDC data reviews and recommendations coming soon). We are hoping to offer both COVID booster and flu shots to protect our communities at the same time.

We continue to seek expert leadership and guidance in navigating the evolving COVID landscape. Our team, under the direction of Senior Vice President of Clinical and Health Services Constance Schein, is in consistent communication with medical and public health authorities. Our Coronavirus Advisory Council, made up of leading doctors and researchers, continues to advise us and provide support.

We have continued to require screening and masks for all visitors entering the community, and beginning September 9^th, we will require that all visitors show proof of either vaccination or a negative COVID test. The California Department of Social Services, along with the California Department of Public Health, issued these new guidelines last week and we have decided to implement them in our communities across all three states to help ensure they are the safest places they can be.

We have not let up on our health and safety protocols through this journey and are continuing our practices that have helped to make our communities safe. Our teams remain committed to COVID safety and infection prevention protocols and keeping our residents healthy and happy is our number one priority.

If you have questions, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand

In the face of rising COVID cases across our country, and the highly contagious Delta variant, vaccination continues to be our most powerful weapon. Thanks to the support of our residents and their families, almost everyone in our communities is fully vaccinated. Since July 1^st, vaccination has been a requirement of employment at Aegis Living, and we have seen nearly 100% team participation. We are proud to have taken a leadership position in healthcare with this important mandate.

Since we honor federally mandated religious and medical exemptions, we have added safety and infection control protocols for our very small group of exempt employees, including masks, shields, routine testing, and restrictions on dining and congregating. These continue to be evaluated based on the latest science and research.

As of today, there are zero cases among our 2,200 residents and six cases among our 2,500 staff members. We have not let up on our health and safety protocols through this journey and are continuing our practices that have helped to make our communities safe. Our teams remain committed to COVID safety and infection prevention protocols and keeping our residents healthy and happy is our number one priority.

If you have questions, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

We are thrilled to share that we continue to have zero cases among residents or staff.

We are also excited to announce that as of yesterday, July 1^st, COVID-19 vaccination is a condition of employment at Aegis—for both current team members and those who will be joining the company. As a healthcare company entrusted with the care of some of our society’s most vulnerable citizens, we have a responsibility to do everything in our power to keep them—and our team—safe. We know that the COVID-19 vaccine has been and continues to be the most powerful tool we have in our toolbelt. Of course, we will continue to honor both religious and medical exemptions for employees; the small number of exempt employees will be required to wear additional personal protective equipment to ensure safety for all.

With this great news and the holiday weekend approaching, our communities are excited to celebrate the Fourth of July – from festive food to community gatherings, and more. 

ZERO Cases at Aegis Living

We’re thrilled to share that there are currently ZERO cases of COVID-19 in any of our 33 communities, across both our 2,200 residents and 2,500 team members. Since our vaccination clinics were completed, we have seen rapid decline in case numbers. Having zero cases in our communities is a testament to the vaccine’s efficacy, and the safety precautions that our team members are taking to ensure the safety of our residents and each other. As of today, nearly 95% of residents and over 91% of our team members have already been vaccinated.

To ensure the safety of our residents and teams, we continue to follow established state and local guidelines for long-term care settings along with our own safety and infection protocols and practices. We are asking all residents—regardless of vaccination status—to wear a mask when they are not eating or drinking. We are also maintaining our mask requirements for staff. We continue to monitor public health updates and evaluate our own data to inform any future changes to these practices.

As life starts to feel more and more normal, we are feeling the positive energy and seeing the joy being spread throughout our communities. We are happy to see our residents and their families spending time together at our communities. We had a fantastic time with Memorial Day celebrations and are looking forward to summer.

Where We Stand Today

We are happy to report that we have zero cases among our 2,200 residents and just one case among our 2,500 staff members. We have seen case numbers rapidly decline since our first vaccination clinics were completed. As of today, nearly 95% of residents and more than 90% of our team members have already been vaccinated.

To ensure the safety of our residents and teams, we continue to follow established state and local guidelines for long-term care settings along with our own safety and infection protocols and practices. We are asking all residents—regardless of vaccination status—to wear a mask when they are not eating or drinking. We are also maintaining our mask requirements for staff. We continue to monitor public health updates and evaluate our own data to inform any future changes to these practices.

Where We Stand

We are feeling the energy and excitement in our communities as life continues to feel more and more normal. We are delighted to see our residents enjoying spending time with family and friends! Spring is fully here and Mother’s Day celebrations were lovely and fun.

We continue to have no COVID-19 cases among our 2,200 residents and currently have only four cases among our 2,500 staff members. Thanks to high vaccination rates, most communities have not seen an active case since we completed our community vaccine clinics and all participants were considered fully vaccinated. As of today, nearly 95% of residents and 90% of team members have been vaccinated.

While the CDC recently released updated interim guidance on masking for fully vaccinated people, we continue to follow our own guidance and established state and local guidelines for long-term care settings. We are asking all residents—regardless of vaccination status—to continue to wear a mask when they are not eating or drinking. We will also continue to require staff to wear masks. We will continue to monitor public health updates and evaluate our own data to inform future changes to these safety practices. We know everyone is eager to keep moving forward safely—as are we.

Where We Stand

We are happy to report that we have zero cases among our 2,200 residents and just one case among our 2,500 staff members. We have seen case numbers rapidly decline since completing our vaccination clinics. As of today, 94% of residents and 89% of team members have been fully vaccinated.

Last week, our communities received updated guidance related to communal dining and activities for long-term care that aligns with the recent CDC recommendations. These changes reflect the continuing progression toward a more normal experience for all of our residents. Fully vaccinated residents may now eat together at the same table and we have more flexibility with group activities. While we will continue to approach changes cautiously, we are so happy that step by step life in our community is looking much more normal and residents are able to enjoy spending time with their friends.

If you have questions, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Coronavirus Council Meeting

This week, we met with our Coronavirus Council as part of our continuing commitment to keeping Aegis Living a safe place to live and work. While many great insights were shared, the key takeaway was this: Vaccinations are working, and they are key to beating the virus and returning to a place of normalcy.

Where We Stand Today

We are happy to report that we have zero cases among our 2,200 residents and just one case among our 2,500 staff members. We have seen case numbers rapidly decline since our first vaccination clinics were completed. Our vaccination efforts continue to move full steam ahead, with 96% of residents and 90% of staff already vaccinated. During this transitional time, we are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information

Family Reunions

It’s been heartwarming to see families reunited after a long year in this pandemic. Stories have been pouring in describing the joyful reunions that have been taking place. Residents are also excited to be reconnecting with community friends in small group activities, outings and shared meals. With vaccinations nearly complete and our communities reopening, we are excited to welcome new families to Aegis.

Where We Stand Today

This week we are managing one case among our 2,200 residents across California, Nevada, and Washington. Our teams continue to diligently follow CDC guidelines, including social distancing, sanitation practices and consistent use of masks. In addition, as of this week, 93% of residents and 87% of staff are already vaccinated.

During this transitional time, we are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to visit sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

A Week Full of Family Visits & Reopening Activities

Our hearts are full after a week of family reunions with indoor, in-person visits and a variety of other activities now approved across all Aegis Living communities. Residents and families couldn’t be happier to be together again. In addition to our small group activities and distanced dining, many of our communities are also beginning to offer activities like salon services, scenic drives and more. Mandatory quarantines have also been lifted for vaccinated residents who are just moving into an Aegis community. While we are all enjoying these moments of joy and happiness, we continue to take every precaution to make sure that we reopen our communities safely and responsibly.

Where We Stand Today

This week we are managing one case among our 2,200 residents and one case among our 2,500 staff members across California, Nevada, and Washington. Our teams are to thank for the extremely low case count, as they continue to diligently follow CDC guidelines, including social distancing, sanitation practices and consistent use of masks. In addition, as of this week, 96% of residents and 85% of staff are already vaccinated.

During this transitional time, we are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Recognizing Our Team & Residents

Normally we wouldn’t celebrate an advertising campaign, but last year was far from normal. Aegis recently won an Aging Media Network award for COVID-19 Messaging & Communication and this award goes to our team and our residents that made it possible. While our communities were closed to outside visitors and photographers, our teams took out their phones and cameras and our residents invited them in to capture moments of joy and happiness for the world to see.

If you haven’t had a chance to see some of our recent videos, take a moment to enjoy a few like Dancing, SKA Time, and Spray It. 

Exciting Updates to Washington State Guidelines

Late yesterday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee held a press conference and announced updated guidance for long-term care facilities and communities like Aegis. We are thrilled that Washington has now approved indoor, in-person visits when either the resident or visitor has been vaccinated. We will be working through the weekend to finalize our plans with the goal of reuniting residents and their families first of next week.

While we are eager to bring residents and families together right away, we also must be certain we are doing this in the safest way possible for all. With more than 95% of residents vaccinated and zero active cases of coronavirus in our Washington communities, we believe Aegis is one of the safest places on the planet. We are excited to take this next important step back toward normal and can’t wait to welcome our families back. Meanwhile, our residents are enjoying being out and about in their communities, playing games and joining in on fun activities (see photos below!).

In California, where these guidelines vary from county to county, we are working closely with the CDC and local health officials. Our General Managers will share news as they have it in each community, and we look forward to sharing more with our residents and their families across all states in the coming days. 

Where We Stand Today

We are happy to report that we have zero cases among our 2,200 residents and just one case among our 2,500 staff members across California, Nevada, and Washington. We have seen case numbers rapidly decline since our first vaccination clinics were completed. Our vaccination efforts continue to move full steam ahead, with over 96% of residents and 85% of staff already vaccinated.

During this transitional time, we are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Aegis Living is Certified by Great Place to Work

We are proud to announce that Aegis Living has been Certified™ as a great workplace by independent research firm Great Place to Work®. Great Place to Work evaluates organizations across more than 60 criteria of team members’ experience on the job, including employee pride in the organization’s community impact, belief that their work makes a difference, and feeling their work has special meaning. Aegis has long been recognized for its people-first culture, having been named a Top 50 Best Places to Work by Glassdoor.com’s Employee Choice Award and recognized as a best place to work by KING 5, Seattle Business Magazine, among others over the years.

We are so proud of these results and being recognized as a Great Place to Work. Just this month, we celebrated two of our team member’s 20-year anniversaries with the company. We could not be more thrilled with the kindness, compassion, and strength of our team.

Updated CDC Guidelines

The CDC issued updated guidance this week pertaining to vaccinated populations and long-term care settings. We are working directly with the CDC and local health officials to understand how our local regulations will change in the near term. Across our communities, we follow guidelines from both national and local health authorities. We are hopeful we will have updated guidance soon and are eagerly awaiting the moment when we can bring residents and loved ones together again. We are getting closer each day!

The communities are full of life with small group activities in full swing – from flower arranging to guitar classes, trivia, art projects and more. Everyone is also thrilled to be back dining together again.

Where We Stand Today

We are happy to report that we have zero cases among our 2,200 residents and just one case among our 2,500 staff members. We have seen case numbers rapidly decline since our first vaccination clinics were completed. Our vaccination efforts continue to move full steam ahead, with 96% of residents and 85% of staff already vaccinated.

During this transitional time, we are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

We are VACCINATED!

We are proud to say that all of our 32 communities have completed their second vaccine clinics, which has resulted in over 95% of residents and 85% of our teams being vaccinated. It is an incredible feeling to have the vast majority of our communities vaccinated, creating some of the safest places in the world for our residents and staff. If you missed it, we encourage you to watch this short video highlighting vaccine clinic celebrations and the joy our residents and team members are experiencing.

With this great news, our communities are now enjoying a number of activities – from small group exercise classes to distanced dining and more.

We are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today – Just Two Cases

This week, we are managing just two cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and zero cases among our 2,500 staff members. We are thankful for the diligence of our teams who have been strictly following our safety practices and infection protocols. We are continuing these safety practices with the goal of bringing our case number back down to zero. Our top priority is keeping our residents healthy. We are also ensuring that our visitor policies strictly follow the CDC and state safety guidelines to ensure our residents, their families, and our staff are healthy and safe at all times.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page. 

All Communities Have Completed Their Second Vaccine Clinics!

We are ecstatic to announce that we have completed second vaccine clinics at ALL 32 of our communities! Our amazing team members have been working around the clock to make sure these clinics were scheduled quickly and executed with ease. As of this week, over 95% of our residents and over 85% of our team members have received their first shot, an incredible milestone and we believe this number will continue to grow. As more and more people in our communities are vaccinated, there is a feeling of joy and optimism among our staff and residents. Check out this short video highlighting vaccine clinic celebrations and the joy our residents and team members are experiencing.

We are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

This week, we are managing just one case amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and two among our 2,500 staff members. We are enthusiastic about the low case number and intend to continue to bring those cases down to zero. During this time, we are remaining diligent and vigilant with our infection control and safety practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing. We are also ensuring that our visitor policies strictly follow the CDC and state safety guidelines to ensure our residents, their families, and our staff are healthy and safe at all times.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page. 

Vaccination Participation is Growing Every Day!

We are so proud that we have continued to have outstanding participation levels at our COVID-19 vaccination clinics! Many of our communities have already wrapped up their second clinics and the rest will be completed by the end of February. Then, we have third clinics scheduled for anyone who still needs their second dose coming in March. Additionally, Washington state has eased restrictions in our Safe Start Phase 1 Guidance to allow us to have controlled small group activities, small group dining, and limited salon services at our Washington communities. These changes are going quite well, and you can feel the heightened energy among our residents.

We are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

This week, we are managing two cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and three among our 2,500 staff members. During this time, we are maintaining our current, vigilant infection control and safety practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff affected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page. 

Monoclonal Antibody Treatment at Aegis Living

While we await the day when COVID is just a distant memory, there is more great news to share. In November, the FDA granted emergency use authorization for two monoclonal antibody treatments: Eli Lilly’s bamlanivimab and Regeneron’s casirivimab and imdevimab. A recent study by Eli Lilly of the treatment’s use in a skilled nursing facility shows high potential for our residents. Researchers found a risk reduction of up to 80% in contracting symptomatic COVID-19 infection among residents who got the drug, compared with those who got a placebo.

We are now able to make use of this treatment in all our communities, so we want to make sure Aegis families are aware of this opportunity and know we are here to answer any questions you may have. Below you will find a few of the most common questions and answers, as well as sources for more information. You can also reach out to your community’s Health Services Director, who also has all the details and is happy to discuss them with you.

We certainly hope to have very little occasion to use this medicine—there should be less and less possibility with each vaccine administered—but it is reassuring to have such a powerful treatment available to us.

Helpful sources:

Skilled nursing facility study:

“Eli Lilly’s antibody therapy helps prevent Covid-19 in nursing homes, drugmaker says,” CNN.com, January 21, 2021

“Drug Prevents Coronavirus Infection in Nursing Homes, Maker Claims,” The New York Times, January 21, 2021

“Lilly: Drug can prevent COVID-19 illness in nursing homes,” Modern Healthcare, January 21, 2021

FDA documents: 

Bamlanivimab emergency use authorization announcement

Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers (Bamlanivimab)

Casirivimab and imdevimab emergency use authorization announcement

Monoclonal Antibody Treatment: Frequently Asked Questions

When should monoclonal antibody treatments be administered?

These drugs are indicated for the treatment of adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 who are at risk for progressing to severe COVID-19 or hospitalization. Most of our residents who contract COVID would be considered at risk, as being age 65 or older is considered a risk factor.  There is a list of requirements to qualify for this treatment that our nurse will review. They must have received a positive PCR or antigen test for COVID-19—antibody tests do not count. The treatment must be given within 10 days of symptom onset.

Who should not be given this treatment?

Again, this treatment is only for those who have tested positive for COVID-19, are within 10 days of the onset of symptoms, and are considered high risk. It should not be given to those who are already hospitalized with COVID-19 or those who require oxygen therapy due to COVID-19 or other underlying health conditions.

How does the treatment work?

These monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins that are directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. They are designed to block the virus’s attachment and entry into human cells. Based on preliminary studies, the IV infusion treatment reduced progression to severe disease, reduced viral load, and reduced the risk of hospitalization and emergency department visits.

What are the side effects?

Reported side effects include nausea, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, pruritus, and vomiting. In the bamlanivimab test group, there was one case of anaphylaxis reported.

Sources: Fact Sheet for Health Care Providers Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of Bamlanivimab; FDA announcements on casirivimab and imdevimab and bamlanivimab

How will this work within an Aegis Living community?

Please reach out to your Health Services Director for details.

Second Dose Vaccine Clinics Are Underway!

We are happy to share that every Aegis Living community has completed its first clinic, and many second clinics have also already been completed! All second clinics will be done by the end of February, and we have scheduled third clinics for each community as well. We are so grateful for our amazing teams who have worked so hard to make these important events a success. We continue to be thrilled with the energy at each clinic and residents’ and team members’ eagerness to receive the vaccine.

We are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

This week, we are managing 28 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 29 among our 2,500 staff members. During this time, we are maintaining our current, vigilant infection control and safety practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing. Our visitor policies will also remain the same until we hear otherwise from medical experts and local health authorities.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff affected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Celebrating Lunar New Year & Valentine’s Day

This Friday we wish a happy Lunar New Year to all who celebrate it in our communities, especially in our Aegis Gardens communities in Newcastle, WA and Fremont, CA who are celebrating with several socially distanced activities for our residents. At Newcastle, one of our beloved residents, whom we affectionately call Mrs. Happy, is making her famous Turnip Cake recipe to share with her friends. We can’t wait to try it! We have a fun week planned for our residents with activities including singing traditional Lunar New Year songs, passing out “lucky” treat bags and an in-house Lion Dance parade from the Life Enrichment team! Our culinary team has also put together a beautiful Lunar New Year menu.

Additionally, Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and our residents have been having so much fun in small activities groups again. This week they enjoyed a lot of Valentine’s Day crafts during our Craft Corners. To make our residents feel special, our Life Enrichment teams have been pulling out all the stops including decorating our residents’ doors and planning virtual Valentine’s Day parties and door-to-door Valentine deliveries.

First Vaccination Dose Complete – On to Round Two!

Today we reached an important milestone: Every Aegis Living community has finished its first round of vaccines! Second clinics are well underway, and all second and third clinics are now confirmed by CVS. Staff and resident participation has been phenomenal, but we’re not done yet! We’re eager to reach a point where all of our residents and staff are fully vaccinated. We’re happy to report that nearly all residents and staff are opting to receive the vaccine. Our goal continues to be full participation and we aim to get there by the third clinic conducted at each community.

We are continuing to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

This week, we are managing 13 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 14 among our 2,500 staff members. During this time, we are maintaining our current, vigilant infection control and safety practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing. Our visitor policies will also remain the same until we hear otherwise from medical experts and local health authorities.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff affected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

First Vaccination Clinics Have Been Scheduled!

We’re excited to share that our first COVID-19 vaccine clinics have been scheduled for all 32 Aegis communities—and 75% of the communities have already hosted that first clinic. We have now turned focus to scheduling our second and third vaccine clinics and are optimistic those will all be confirmed soon as well. We have been blown away by the enthusiasm of both residents and staff participating in vaccine clinics thus far. Nearly all residents and staff are opting to receive the vaccine. Our goal continues to be full participation and we aim to get there by the third clinic conducted at each community.

Our community teams have not only worked hard to prepare for the vaccine clinics, but to make the days extra-special celebrations – from choosing creative themes like “COVID No More” and “Saturday Night No Fever” to bringing in custom t-shirts, photo booths, balloon displays, and special treats like Jell-O “shots” and cookies decorated with masks.

As we get the vaccine out to our communities, we continue to seek out the latest insight and guidance from the expert doctors and researchers on our Coronavirus Advisory Council, which has been instrumental in helping us keep our residents and teams safe over these past several months. We will continue to follow our infection control and safety practices until we are certain it is safe for us to begin adopting new practices and protocols. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

This week, we are managing 17 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 26 among our 2,500 staff members. During this time, we are maintaining our current, vigilant infection control and safety practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing. Our visitor policies will also remain the same until we hear otherwise from medical experts and local health authorities.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff affected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Over Half of Our Communities Vaccinated

Vaccination clinics are underway at Aegis Living, and we have now hosted the first clinic at over half of our 32 communities. We are anticipating all communities will have hosted clinics by early February, which is very exciting news. We are already working hard with our pharmacy partner CVS to schedule the second dose of the two-part vaccine for all residents and staff. According to the CDC and other medical sources, for those who complete their second dose, we can expect the vaccine to be in effect within two weeks. Our goal continues to be having 100% of our residents and staff vaccinated, an incredible milestone to help us better protect one another. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

This week, we are managing 34 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 36 among our 2,500 staff members. During this time, we are maintaining our current, vigilant infection control and safety practices, including mask-wearing and social distancing. Our visitor policies will also remain the same until we hear otherwise from medical experts and local health authorities.

For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff affected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

This past Monday, we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and all that he stood for. We are thankful for the diversity of our teams and residents. We are grateful that, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what our life experiences are, we are part of a loving community that supports and encourages one another. At our Moraga community, the Life Enrichment team put together several activities, such as playing Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches for our residents and reflecting on the ways that we can continue to make a difference in our communities by advocating for everyone. Dr. King remains an inspiration for all of us.

Vaccination Clinics Underway!

We’re excited to share the fantastic news that after this weekend, we will have completed vaccine clinics at almost half of our Aegis Living communities, and we have dates for our other communities coming very soon. In every clinic, we’ve been able to vaccinate almost all of our residents and over 75% (on average) of our team members. It’s important to note that there has not been a single adverse reaction. As we schedule second follow-up clinics, we are working toward 100% vaccination, which is what is going to keep our communities safe.

Our Life Enrichment teams have been doing a great job turning every vaccination clinic into a party – with balloons, food, drinks and fun. We owe an immense debt of gratitude to our team members who have been organizing clinics in partnership with our CVS pharmacy partner. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

We are continuing to remain diligent in our infection control and safety protocols, which includes taking extra preventative measures, such as weekly testing, and requiring our teams to wear both masks and face shields. This week, we are managing 30 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 33 among our 2,500 staff members. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. As always, we are communicating regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

A Fabulous 100^th Birthday Celebration

Our amazing Life Enrichment teams strive to make birthdays, holidays, and every day fun and memorable for our residents. Earlier this month, our team at Lynnwood had the honor of celebrating the 100th birthday of resident Kay Gilmore. They decorated for the party and arranged a Zoom celebration with Kay’s family. Kay spent an hour and a half on the Zoom call with four generations of her family. Over the course of the day “Happy Birthday” was sung to her about 15 times! It’s a moment like this that reminds us how special our job is and how privileged we are to be a part of our wonderful residents’ lives.

Our First Vaccine Clinic

Our Vaccine Task Force is hard at work scheduling COVID-19 vaccine clinics for residents and staff at every one of our communities. While the rollout nationwide has been slower than anticipated, we’re happy to share that our first vaccine clinic was held this week at our community in Moraga, California. We have several additional communities confirmed, and we’re working fast and furiously with our CVS Pharmacy Partner to schedule the remaining vaccine clinics. We are grateful for our amazing teams who have been working diligently to prepare for the clinics and making sure we are ready to go. If you have questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Additionally, we are participating in a trial with The Gates Foundation and Corteva with the goal to test 100,000 people in one day in one lab. Their goals include demonstrating the ability to increase testing capacity in small labs and large which will help to reduce the cost of testing, increase testing frequency, and enable more viable testing options throughout the world. This week our communities received Corteva Collection Kits and are beginning the process of acquiring samples.

Where We Stand Today

It is now more important than ever that we stay vigilant and diligent in our infection control and safety protocols. We will continue taking extra preventative measures, including frequent testing, and remain laser-focused on everything we can do to keep the virus out of our communities. This week we are managing 44 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 40 among our 2,500 staff members. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Cheers to 2021!

Last week, our communities made sure to create fun activities for our residents as we rang in the new year. Several communities threw socially distanced celebrations and wheeled champagne and Martinelli’s door-to-door. In 2021, we are dedicated to continue to help every resident find moments of joy each day – whether it be a phone call with family, playing them a special song that brings about fond memories, or just being by their side to talk about how the day is going. We love spending this quality time with our residents. Cheers to the new and better year ahead!

Vaccinations Starting in January 2021

We are excited to announce that we are currently scheduling our first round of COVID-19 vaccines for our residents and team members, with the first clinics confirmed for the first week in January 2021, in a few of our Washington communities. With two highly effective COVID-19 vaccines approved from Pfizer and Moderna, we are optimistic that in 2021, we will start to slowly rediscover a sense of normalcy in our everyday lives. If you have any questions regarding our approach to rolling out the vaccine across communities, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions. You can visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

We are remaining vigilant on our safety procedures and conducting more frequent testing across all communities to ensure we are doing all that we can in fighting the virus. This week, we are managing 33 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 41 among our 2,500 staff members. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com.

Holiday Celebrations & a Happy New Year

Last week, our communities celebrated the holidays with a multitude of festivities. Families visited their loved ones safely via Zoom in our Chat Suites or in person in our Outdoor Living Rooms which were adorned with festive décor and cozy pillows and lights (see photo). We also had surprise visits from Santa at many of our communities, which brought lots of smiles. And at our Kirkland community, our residents got to cuddle with the community dog Bob and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Bob listened to over thirty residents – what a sweetie! We’re looking ahead to a great 2021 and can’t wait to celebrate the new year in our communities with our wonderful residents. Cheers!

Upcoming Vaccinations

Our Vaccine Task Force is hard at work getting our first COVID-19 vaccination clinics scheduled at all of our communities. Our goal is to get our residents and staff vaccinated as quickly as possible and we’re hopeful that the vaccines will be available for our communities in early January. The COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna showed up to 95% efficacy in preventing COVID-19 disease during the trial phase. Safety is the most important requirement for a vaccine and is assessed in trials by independent experts. If you have more questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

We are continuing with our added safety measures and more frequent testing across all communities to ensure we are doing all that we can in fighting the virus. This week, we are managing 32 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 35 among our 2,500 staff members. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Happy Holidays

The holidays are in full swing this week, as we get ready for Christmas celebrations across our communities. Our communities have been adorned with festive décor throughout, and our residents have been in the holiday spirit, sharing lots of laughs and smiles. Families have been able to visit their loved ones in our Outdoor Living Rooms and via Chat Suites, and our 12 Days of Holiday Cheer Program was full of holiday-themed activities for our residents to partake in. Although the holidays look a bit different this year, we’ve been so thankful for our amazing staff and the resiliency of our residents who have made our communities thrive. Nothing has brightened our days more than to see our communities come alive this special time of year.

Important Vaccine News This Week

We are eagerly awaiting getting the COVID-19 vaccines to our communities. Aegis Living has formed a Vaccine Task Force that includes our pharmacy partner CVS, and our clinical experts alongside our care and safety teams, working together to ensure we have everything necessary to get this vaccine to our residents and teams as quickly as possible. We’re excited to see momentum this week as local hospital teams started to receive the vaccines and began this process. CVS will soon be sharing dates for vaccination clinics at all Aegis Living communities.

There is broad agreement in the scientific community that the vaccine is safe and effective, with the approved Pfizer vaccine having shown 95% efficacy in clinical trials. The Moderna vaccine which is likely to be approved soon shows similar promise.

If you have more questions, we encourage you to review our Frequently Asked Questions and visit trusted sources like the CDC website for more in-depth medical information.

Where We Stand Today

We continue to strictly enforce safety protocols as we work hard to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We are asking our team members, as well as residents and their families, to diligently follow CDC and our added Aegis Living protocols, such as face shields and gloves, heightened screening and regular staff testing.   This week, we are managing 40 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 53 among our 2,500 staff members.

We will continue to communicate regularly with our residents, their families and the staff in impacted communities, and report the results of universal testing. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com.

12 Days of Holiday Cheer Continues!

The holiday festivities are well underway this week as we continue our 12 Days of Holiday Cheer program, where each community has its own unique event calendar, including a variety of safe and socially distanced celebrations. This week communities enjoyed activities like wreath making and Hanukkah fun. We’ve been sharing more photos of the festivities on our social media channels, so go check them out!

Important Vaccine News This Week

Earlier this week, the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee overwhelmingly recommended the approval of the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use, with first priority going to older Americans and healthcare workers. This is fantastic news and paves the way for formal FDA approval, which is expected shortly. After such a long and challenging year, we’re excited to have a vaccine that is shown to be 95% effective with no serious safety concerns.

There have been a number of news articles written highlighting FDA published data and research along with various expert views, such as this CBS story which provides a brief primer on the research. There is broad agreement the vaccine is safe and will quickly provide critical protection to those who receive it.

We will be announcing our vaccination schedules for both residents and staff soon.  If your loved one is living in an Aegis Living community and you have any questions or concerns about the vaccine or vaccination schedule, please reach out to your community’s General Manager.

Where We Stand Today

We continue to strictly enforce our infection control and safety practices and protocols. We are asking our team members, as well as residents and their families, to diligently follow CDC and our added Aegis Living protocols, such as face shields, masks and gloves. This week, we are managing 28 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 44 among our 2,500 staff members. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com.

We will continue to communicate regularly with our residents, their families and the staff in impacted communities, and report the results of universal testing. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Spreading Holiday Cheer!

This week, we kicked off our 12 Days of Holiday Cheer program, which will go through Monday, December 21st. Each community has its own unique event calendar, which includes safe and socially distanced celebrations every day for twelve days. So far, there have been several joyous activities, such as a tree decorating day at our Granada Hills community, a menorah lighting celebration to mark the beginning of Hanukkah at our Marymoor community, wreath making and lots of holiday card creations. Be sure to check out photos of the celebrations and activities on our social media channels!

Holiday Happenings at Aegis

As December gets underway, it feels everyone is getting into the holiday spirit earlier than ever this year—and we’re excited to start celebrating, too. For residents, our “12 Days of Holiday Cheer” program will kick off Thursday, December 10th and go through Monday, December 21st. All communities have their own unique event calendar, which will include safe and socially distanced celebrations, with special treats and drinks, entertainment, crafts, and more. Each community will also be transformed into a Winter Wonderland for residents to enjoy!

Where We Stand Today

As cases continue to rise, we remain dedicated to our heightened safety and infection control protocols as we work to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We are strongly encouraging our team members, as well as residents and their families, to diligently follow public health official guidelines and our added Aegis Living protocols. This week, we are managing 12 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 31 among our 2,500 staff members. For details about a specific community, please reach out to that community’s General Manager or email questions@aegisliving.com.

We will continue to communicate regularly with our residents, their families and the staff in impacted communities, and report the results of universal testing. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Don’t forget! Dec. 10th Webinar

Dr. Joe Pizzorno: Wellness During the Holidays

Next week, on Thursday, December 10th at 4pm, we will be hosting a webinar featuring Dr. Joe Pizzorno on wellness during the holidays. Dr. Pizzorno is an expert in science-based natural medicine, founding president of Bastyr University (a world-renowned academic institution focused on the natural health arts and science), and a member of the Aegis Living Coronavirus Advisory Council. The discussion will focus on prioritizing health and wellness during the holiday season, and he’ll share some practical tips and take your questions.

*Correction: In the email that went out on Wednesday, December 2^nd, from our Founder/CEO Dwayne Clark and our President Kris Engskov, we shared that a vaccine from Oxford was formally approved in the UK. However, the vaccine that was formally approved in the UK was from Pfizer.

Making Thanksgiving Memorable

Our teams have been working hard to create a wonderful holiday program that will allow our residents to celebrate the season safely. Our communities are now filled with festive décor, residents are enjoying a variety of community gratitude activities, and everyone is looking forward to the “Any Way You Slice It” pie bar with to-go apple, pumpkin, pecan pies and more. The teams are scheduling visits in our Outdoor Living Rooms and Chat Suites for families to enjoy. For those of you coming to the Outdoor Living Rooms, be prepared to enjoy seasonal scents, decorations and music. It’s sure to be a memorable day for each and every one of our residents.

Where We Stand Today

We are entering the Thanksgiving holiday with heightened infection control and safety protocols as we work hard to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We are strongly encouraging our team members, as well as residents and their families, to diligently follow CDC, local public health and our added Aegis Living guidance to stay extra safe during this time. We are double screening staff at every shift, conducting extensive retraining of infection control and safety protocols, and continuing our education efforts around safety practices outside of work. All staff will be tested after the Thanksgiving holiday and we will have regular testing thereafter. 

We are currently managing 6 cases amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 28 among our 2,500 staff members. Communities impacted include: Fremont, Napa, Dana Point, Ventura, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Shadowridge, Carmichael, Shoreline, Rodgers Park, Callahan House, Kirkland Lodge, and Redmond.

We will continue to communicate regular updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff in our communities impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Upcoming Webinars for You to Enjoy

On December 2nd at 3pm we are hosting a FREE Webinar, Nourishing Your Soul Through Nature, with Sonja Bochart, a wellness design leader with an extensive background creating spaces to support both human and ecological wellbeing. In this webinar, Sonja will focus on how experiential concepts including plants, water, natural materials, sacred geometry, fractal patterns and other elements can calm the nervous systems through natural design. With the current year we’ve had, this class is sure to relax and inform you about the rejuvenating healing powers of nature. This event is open to all, and we would love to see you there.

As part of our continued support of Aegis Living residents and families, we will be hosting a webinar featuring Dr. Joe Pizzorno, an expert in science-based natural medicine and founding president of Bastyr University. He is also a member of our Coronavirus Advisory Council. On December 10th at 4pm, Dr. Pizzorno will lead a Zoom discussion on prioritizing health and wellness during the holiday season. He’ll share some practical tips and also take your questions. If you are a current family member or resident and are interested in this complimentary event, please RSVP to Kelly.Schaefer@aegisliving.com.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving

With COVID-19 cases rapidly increasing across most of the country, many families are rethinking plans for traditional holiday gatherings. Many of us that normally gather with family and friends have made the important but difficult decision to celebrate Thanksgiving virtually. As we enter the holiday season our Aegis Living team members will be working extra hard to keep our residents safe, while also providing ample opportunities over the holidays for joy and happiness. From our festive Outdoor Living Rooms and virtual visits, to our “Any Way You Slice It” pie bar and gratitude activities, we’re focusing on creating a wonderful, safe way for our families to celebrate with their loved ones.

Where We Stand Today

We are continuing our heightened safety protocols as we work tirelessly to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. This week, we are managing 45 positive cases, with 18 amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, and 27 among our 2,500 staff members. We are managing the virus this week in Newcastle, Callahan, Lodge, Shoreline, Rodgers Park, Dana Point, Napa, Ventura and Moraga communities. We are continuing to communicate and reinforce safety protocols daily with our teams and are encouraging virtual Thanksgiving gatherings in order to reduce the risk of exposure. We also are conducting contact tracing testing, and we will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected. We remain transparent in our status and will report the results of the testing in our communities to those impacted. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Upcoming Webinar with Dr. Joe Pizzorno

As part of our continued support of Aegis Living residents and families, we will be hosting a webinar featuring Dr. Joe Pizzorno, an expert in science-based natural medicine and founding president of Bastyr University. He is also a member of our Coronavirus Advisory Council. On December 10th at 4pm, Dr. Pizzorno will lead a Zoom discussion on prioritizing health and wellness during the holiday season. He’ll share some practical tips and also take your questions. If you are a current family member or resident and are interested in this complimentary event, please RSVP to Kelly.Schaefer@aegisliving.com.

Honoring Hundreds of Veterans in Our Communities

This past Wednesday we celebrated the 328 military veterans who live in our communities. Together they served America for an incredible 1,562 years! Across Aegis we honored them with activities and celebrations to show our gratitude for their service to our country. Our Aptos community hosted a pinning ceremony parade, while Moraga veterans were gifted a goodie bag, balloons, and flowers. In Corte Madera veterans sipped champagne and sampled hors d’oeuvres while listening to live music. Additionally, we hosted a company-wide Veterans Day Zoom Happy Hour during which our veterans were officially recognized for their service and enjoyed a live USO-style show from The Memphis Belles.

Where We Stand Today

We remain in a state of heightened safety protocols as we work every day to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We’ve seen national and statewide spikes in positive cases with the broader spread of the virus. This week we are managing 27 positive cases. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, we have 13 positive, and 14 cases among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include the Lodge in Kirkland, Callahan House, Newcastle, Rodger’s Park, Issaquah, Madison, Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, and Napa. We remain diligent in our protocols that have helped keep our residents and staff safe. To combat these cases, we’re conducting additional training for our teams to keep our practices well-executed, and we continue to conduct contact tracing testing as part of our rapid response culture. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Announcing Our Family Link App

This month we are thrilled to debut our Family Link app for iPhone and Android. The app allows our families the ability to see photos and activity participation of their loved ones, as well as receive important notifications from the community. This is another big step in giving families peace of mind as they can stay connected with their loved ones, right on their phones. For a more in-depth look at the Family Link app and its capabilities, check out this animated video.

Happy 22^nd Anniversary to our First Community in Pleasant Hill!

Our first community in Pleasant Hill, CA. which was founded in 1998, celebrated its 22nd anniversary! President of Aegis Living, Kris Engskov, paid a visit to the community for the occasion to express our gratitude for the team’s care and hard work over the years. He also recognized two of our team members, Yatra and Olga, who have been there since the beginning. We’re so proud of the community that started it all – congrats to the entire team at Pleasant Hill!

Where We Stand Today

We continue to ensure rigor in discipline in the execution of our infection control protocols and practices. We are diligently following strict safety protocols and go above and beyond the CDC guidelines in our communities. This week we are managing just two cases among our 2,200 residents and ten cases amid our 2,500 staff members in communities including Granada Hills, Issaquah, Rodgers Park, Shoreline, Madison, Laguna Niguel, Pleasant Hill and San Francisco. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Election Day Voting

This week was the election, and one of our Newcastle residents, 100-year-old Evelyn, filled out and signed her ballot alongside her daughter in our Outdoor Living Room. It was such an empowering experience for her, and we are so proud that our residents are continuing to exercise their right to vote.

Winterizing our Outdoor Living Rooms

As temperatures begin to drop, we’re preparing to make visits safer and more enjoyable. Our design teams have brought some beautiful changes to “winterize” our Outdoor Living Rooms over the next month in every community. We’ve brought in portable electric fireplaces, market lights, and have added walls to use if the temperatures dictate, to be sure everyone is warm and comfortable during visits. Our West Seattle Living Room has even gotten some fall-inspired décor!

Where We Stand Today

We strive every day to have zero infections in our communities, ensuring rigor in discipline in the execution of our infection control protocols and practices. We are diligently following strict safety protocols and go above and beyond the CDC guidelines in our communities. This week, we are happy to report that we have zero cases amid our 2,200 residents. We are managing eight cases amid our 2,500 staff members in communities including Bellevue, Newcastle, Madison, Queen Anne Galer, Issaquah, San Francisco, Moraga and Dana Point. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Our Communities Celebrate Halloween

It’s Halloween week and Aegis team members and residents are celebrating with some amazing activities all over our communities. In Rogers Park in Queen Anne, our amazing Life Enrichment team threw residents a festive Halloween get-together, complete with pumpkin carving, sweet treats and a sing-along concert from our music therapist. At Granada Hills, our team members went all out in their costumes and surprised residents with door-to-door treats. We even had a contest to determine the favorite costume of the group! It’s been a fun and Spooktacular week and our residents have been enjoying all the festivities.

New Developments from our Coronavirus Advisory Council

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve been seeking guidance from experts in the medical and science community to help us consistently evolve our care with best practices. Dr. Eric Sievers, one of our Coronavirus Advisory Council members, is leading an early-stage clinical trial for an oral, DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine with Symvivo, a biotech based in Vancouver, BC. His team’s goal is to create a vaccine that targets the immune system of seniors in much the same way that the successful Shingles vaccine works. You can read more of his insights on our Council update webpage. Our Coronavirus Advisory Council meets regularly and we promise to continue to share how their insights are helping guide our best practices.

Where We Stand Today

It’s our commitment to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy. We are doing everything we can to diligently follow strict safety protocols and go above and beyond the CDC guidelines in our communities. This week, we are happy to report that we have zero cases amid our 2,200 residents. We are managing six cases amid our 2,500 staff members in communities including Bellevue, Newcastle, Madison, Napa, Moraga and Dana Point. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Kindness from our Marin Library Neighbors in Corte Madera

Partnerships in each and every neighborhood we serve are so important to both our residents and our team members. This week we have a perfect example of how simple, yet powerful the connections can be. At our Corte Madera community, we’ve partnered with the Marin Library who have gifted us with several creative activity kits for our memory care residents. Local teen volunteers assembled packages with books, classic music albums, crafts, trivia and flash cards that are specialized for all levels of dementia. We’re so grateful for the kindness of our neighbors and the positive impact these kits are having on our residents.

Where We Stand Today: Four Weeks with Zero Resident Cases Company-wide

We are committed to keeping you updated on where we stand with coronavirus cases. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have implemented and followed the protocols, guidelines and expert advice that protects our residents and staff from COVID-19. As a result of this diligence across the company, in any given week company-wide, we remain 99% free of the coronavirus. That is among all our 2,200 residents and our 2,500 employees. This week, we are grateful to share that we have zero across all our staff and residents as of today. We remain humble and believe that a single case is one too many. So, our teams continue to work hard to find new ways to better keep residents happy and healthy.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Introducing Starkel Nutrition!

We know how critical it is to make sure food is not only filled with the best flavors, but the best nutrients as well. With that, we’re excited and proud to announce a new partnership with Starkel Nutrition, a Seattle-based team of nutritionists that will help our residents nurture overall wellness of the mind and body. We believe our residents will not only appreciate the added support, but that they will love the new fall menus arriving this month too. Along with Starkel Nutrition’s guidance, our chefs are incorporating more foods into our menus that reduce inflammation, as well as offering more variety in terms of gluten-free, plant-based, and heart healthy options. 

Re-vitalizing Residents with a Vintage Drive-Thru Car Show

Bringing our residents joy is always our top priority – we love seeing them smile. We’ve been keeping our communities busy with fun activities that spark happiness. This week at Aegis Living Ventura, our amazing staff organized a drive-thru vintage car show. Featuring cars from almost every decade, the show wowed our residents and brought back lots of fond memories. Residents lined the sidewalks outside our building to watch all the cars parade down the street. It was especially fun for the many car enthusiasts in our community.

New York Times Article Penned by Member of Aegis Living’s Coronavirus Advisory Council

Our Coronavirus Advisory Council meets regularly as we continue to evolve best practices. And we’re proud to share recent insights from Joshua Schiffer, M.D., whose editorial was published earlier this week in the New York Times. Dr. Schiffer leads infectious disease research at the prestigious Fred Hutch Center in Seattle and also sits on Aegis Living’s Coronavirus Advisory Council. His editorial in Sunday’s NYTimes.com confirms what we see every day in protecting our seniors. The basics — masks, face shields and testing, used together, are incredibly effective in keeping people living in close proximity safe. Until we get a vaccine, we’re doubling down on PPE and diligently following strict safety protocols to keep the virus out of our communities.

Where We Stand Today: Three Weeks with Zero Resident Cases Company-wide

It’s our commitment to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy. Every single day we are doing everything we can to diligently follow strict safety protocols and go above and beyond the CDC guidelines in our communities. We are happy to report that for the third week in a row we have zero cases amid our 2,200 residents. We are managing just one case amid our 2,500 staff members at our Napa community. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We appreciate the support of our families and residents as well.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Sharing Our New Ad Campaign!

This week we’re excited to roll out a whole new Fall ad campaign that celebrates our biggest stars—our staff and residents!

When we look at the best part of our company, we only need to look at how each of our staff care for each resident in all the special ways that they do. From culinary, to the concierge and care teams. From Life Enrichment, to housekeeping and maintenance. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve faced challenges with courage and passion, and bring a contagious joy to combat the ways the coronavirus has changed our communities.  Our positive outlook is captured in the advertisements that we could not be prouder to share with the world. Our campaign titled, ‘Living Happily Together,’ shows our teams and residents having fun, and staying active and engaged.

Aegis Gardens Newcastle Celebrates its Mid-Autumn Festival

This week, Aegis Gardens Newcastle kicked off its Mid-Autumn Festival, a celebration of Chinese heritage and the changing of the seasons. Our very own Mrs. Washington was there at the community to hand out lanterns to families who wanted to join in on the festivities. Each family who participates will be decorating a lantern that will be displayed in our community for our residents. It’s a fun and cheerful way to brighten up the season and bring happiness to our residents.

Where We Stand Today: Zero Resident Cases Companywide

It’s our commitment to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy. Every single day we are doing everything we can to diligently follow strict safety protocols and go above and beyond the CDC guidelines in our communities. This week, we are happy to report that we have zero cases amid our 2,200 residents. We are managing just two cases amid our 2,500 staff members – one at our corporate office in Bellevue and the other at our Moraga community. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We appreciate the support of our families and residents as well.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Connecting with Chat Suites

Our Chat Suites have rolled out to all our communities and our residents are loving the ease and convenience of catching up with their families on the big screen. Easy to see and hear via large scale monitors and state-of-the-art microphones, the Chat Suites have been one of the ways we are keeping our residents consistently connected with their loved ones. The photo below was taken at our Granada Hills community in our “seaside” Chat Suite.

Delivering Joy to the Doors of our Residents

Making our residents smile is one of the best parts of our job! Even in the midst of this pandemic, we are dedicated to continuously bringing joy to our residents. One of the ways we do that is through our door-to-door cart service where we bring our residents snacks and drinks and take time to chat with them and hear about their day. From “Christmas in August” brought by the team at Dana Point —to gorgeous desserts at West Seattle, our top servers, chefs and Life Enrichment teams are putting joy on wheels to make sure these days are fun!

Where We Stand Today: Zero Resident Cases Companywide

It’s our commitment to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy. Every single day we are doing everything we can to diligently follow strict safety protocols and go above and beyond the CDC guidelines in our communities. This week, we are happy to report that we have zero cases amid our 2,200 residents. We are managing three cases amid our 2,500 staff members in two of our California communities – Moraga and Corte Madera. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We appreciate the support of our families and residents as well.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Celebrating a 100^th Birthday in Style

We love celebrating our residents, and this week we were thrilled to throw our Callahan House resident, Hannah, a fabulous 100^th birthday party. The party was featured in Shoreline Area News, and Aegis Living was touted for our ability to keep our residents safe while simultaneously creating special moments for our residents and their families. Within a safe space via our Outdoor Living Room, Hannah was visited by her two children and their families, enjoyed a champagne toast and was celebrated with 100 cupcakes and balloons. The Aegis team also surprised Hannah with a special poster from her hometown, a place near and dear to her, along with a signed and framed 100th tribute. We love making our residents feel special, even amid these trying times.

Families Show Our Ventura Community Some Love!

Taking care of your loved ones is an honor and privilege that we are grateful for every day. It’s humbling and touching to see the gratitude pouring in for our staff. Earlier this week, our Ventura community’s staff was surprised with a drive-by appreciation parade organized by the families of the residents in the community. It warms our hearts and fills us with joy to know that we are making a difference in the lives of so many. We’re proud of the passion our staff brings to their work and their dedication to making every resident and family feel cared for and loved. Thank you to the families of Ventura for making our staff feel so appreciated!

Where We Stand Today

Every day in our communities we are doing everything we can to protect our residents from the virus. It’s our priority to keep our staff and residents healthy and safe. This week we are managing five positive Covid-19 cases in our communities. We are happy to report that none of our 2,200 residents are affected. The current 5 cases are amid our 2,500 staff members in three of our California communities – Moraga, Ventura, and Corte Madera. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We are in constant contact with our families and residents as transparency is very important to us. In addition, we continue to exceed CDC protocols. For additional helpful information for your family, please visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

How We’re Preparing for Flu Season

With the Autumn months comes flu season, and at Aegis Living we are ready for it. Preparations are underway for staff and residents, and we are fully stocked with plenty of PPE materials to protect us this Fall. In October, we will be providing flu vaccines to all residents and staff on-site for their convenience. Each of our communities will communicate directly with resident families about the timing and logistics of the flu vaccinations. If you have any questions, please contact your community’s General Manager for details and exact timing.

Chat Suites are being fully implemented across all Aegis Living communities – a private room where our residents can virtually and safely connect with friends and family, as well as their doctors for telehealth appointments. Already, the Chat Suites are being used for a variety of celebrations and keeping our residents connected with their loved ones. At Rodger’s Park in Queen Anne, one of our residents celebrated his 100^th birthday using our Chat Suite to host a virtual birthday party. Take a look at this special video below to see how our Chat Suites are impacting our residents and bringing us closer together while staying safe and social distancing. (Click image to watch.)

Where We Stand Today

Safety for our staff and residents is our top priority, and we are working diligently to keep the virus out of our communities. This week we are managing seven positive cases in our communities. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, we have three positive, and four cases among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include Newcastle, West Seattle, Queen Anne on Galer, and Corte Madera. As always, we are conducting rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We’re dedicated to transparency and are in constant contact with resident families and the staff affected about the results of the testing in our communities.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

A Socially Distanced End of Summer BBQ

At our communities, it’s our mission to bring joy and fun experiences into the lives of our residents. To celebrate the sunshine and the last bit of summer after Labor Day, we hosted our third “campout” themed barbecue lunch at our Callahan House community in Shoreline. Our residents enjoyed all the fixings of a great BBQ including baked beans, chips, and burgers prepped by our fantastic chef! The Life Enrichment team went the extra mile to make it special and even put up a tent in our courtyard to play up the camping vibes. To make sure we’re socially distanced, we’ve hosted this barbecue for the last three Monday’s in a row so that we could ensure all our residents had their time to be outside and enjoy enough space.

Looking Ahead: Labor Day

It’s Labor Day weekend and we could not be more proud and grateful for each dedicated employee at Aegis Living! Not only do our teams show up every day on the front lines to protect our residents from COVID-19, but they often go above and beyond to bring a smile to our residents’ faces in big and little things. In fact, just this week, our Kirkland Lodge community’s care staff wanted to surprise residents, and what better way than to go all out for an ice cream party. Their theme was “banana splits” so they dressed up in banana costumes and went door-to-door serving ice cream and banana splits to residents. The hallways were filled with laughter as residents enjoyed the treats and silly costumes of our amazing care staff.

Preparing for Flu Season

As we head into Fall, flu season preparations are underway for staff and residents. In October, we will be conveniently providing flu vaccines to all residents and staff. Each of our communities will communicate directly with resident families about the timing and logistics of the flu vaccinations. Additionally, we are fully stocked with plenty of PPE materials for our staff and residents to protect them this Fall.

Where We Stand Today

This week we are managing eleven positive cases in our communities and are doing whatever we can to reduce that number back to zero. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, we have eight positive, and three cases among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include Corte Madera and Shadowridge. We always do consistent and rigorous contact tracing and testing to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We’re dedicated to transparency and are in constant contact with resident families and the staff effected, about the results of the testing in our communities.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Celebrating the 100^th Birthday of Edie (She Beat COVID!)

We strive to continue celebrating life’s best moments, and this week, we celebrated the fabulous life of Edie from our Marymoor community. An incredible woman who has survived cancer, she also beat COVID-19 just a few months ago and now she’s celebrating her 100th birthday. WOW! Her strength and determination are inspiring to say the least! We have been there for Edie every step of the way and were ecstatic to be a part of this huge milestone. We threw her an incredible party and our staff made sure that her family could join the festivities virtually via our Chat Suite. It was a very special day for a strong lady!

Chat Suites arriving and upcoming flu season

We are constantly looking at how to safely connect our residents with their loved ones. It’s extremely important to us! We are committed to expanding our virtual connection options by developing what we call ‘Chat Suites’ in each community. These specially designed rooms are being set up in each community to help your loved one have a whole new video calling experience so that they can more easily see and hear you on Zoom, Facetime, or Skype calls.

We found that small screens such as cell phones are hard to hold, and hearing can be difficult for many. For our Chat Suites we’re installing a large-scale monitor, speakers, and a microphone so that residents can connect and enjoy video calls much better. They’ll be able to connect with loved ones as well as connect with their doctors for telehealth appointments. Plus, we’ve even added a meditation video feature called, Zen-spiration to help our residents relax and nurture their emotional health.

Where We Stand Today

We strive every day to have zero infections in our communities, ensuring rigor in discipline in the execution of our infection control protocols and practices. We are currently managing 15 positive cases in our communities and are doing whatever we can to reduce that number back to zero. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, we have seven positive, and six cases among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include West Seattle, Queen Anne Galer, Queen Anne Rodgers Park, Marymoor, Newcastle, Shadowridge and Corte Madera. We are constantly conducting contact tracing and testing in an effort to control the spread and protect our residents and staff. We’re dedicated to transparency and are in consistent contact with resident families and the staff affected about the status of the results of testing in our communities.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Preparing for Flu Season

With Fall on the horizon, flu season is right around the corner. Just as we do each year, we are preparing to fight this virus as well. You’ll begin to hear more about our annual flu season vaccines coming up for both residents and staff in October. Know that virus control has always been part of our business of serving seniors, and rest assured that our care team leaders bring decades of deep expertise in this area. Our community general managers will be sharing more details with family members and residents in the coming weeks as we approach flu season.

Smiling. Working. Living life to the fullest.

Our care teams work hard. They bring a big smile to each task and do all they can to protect residents. You’ll notice that we now have face shields as an added layer of protection. It is one more way to keep residents and our team members safe. But they can get warm. Our Ventura general manager found a way to bring a smile under those masks and shields with some cool Kona Ice as just one more way to show staff appreciation. We are big believers that happy employees make happy residents.

Where We Stand Today

We are continuing to stay diligent in our safety protocols and are working tirelessly to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. Along with national and statewide spikes in positive cases with the broader spread of the virus, we are managing 30 positive cases. Amid our 2,200 residents and 2,500 staff members across the west coast. The communities managing the virus this week include Shadowridge, Newcastle, Rodgers Park, West Seattle, Madison, Pleasant Hill, Marymoor and Corte Madera. We continue conducting contact tracing testing as part of our rapid response culture, and will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities.  

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Our Newcastle Community Celebrates a 100^th Birthday!

It was a special day at our Newcastle community this week as we celebrated our resident Evie’s 100th birthday! Wearing her feather boa and a crown, the birthday girl had a fabulous party complete with flowers, balloons and cupcakes. To make the day even more special, she was able to safely celebrate her big day with her family in one of our Outdoor Living Rooms. Our Outdoor Living Room experience is incredibly important in helping our residents continue to connect with loved ones during the pandemic. The plexiglass wall provides a safe barrier while still allowing for connection and conversation. It brings us so much joy to ensure our residents are still able to celebrate these special milestones together. Make a wish, Evie! By the way, don’t forget National Centenarians Day is coming up September 22^nd!

Washington Governor Announces Guidance for Long-Term Care Communities

On August 6, 2020, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee announced guidance that allows long-term care communities to offer limited visitation and other activities under controlled conditions. This gradual restart plan for long-term care will give Aegis Living, as well as our residents and families, direction for resuming activities such as visitation. This week, in accordance to the Governor’s guidance, we rolled out a robust strategy that outlines our processes and conditions for community access, visitation and personal outings.

We are proud to share that our previously developed opening plans were, in large part, consistent with the recently released Washington State guidance to gradually reopen our group dining experience, small group activities, and offering visitation options that are consistent with the state’s plan for each of our operating Counties.  We are pleased that our Counties have given permission to those Communities who are in Phase 2 to offer limited and controlled Salon Services to our residents.

As family and friends look to visit their loved ones, Aegis Living continues to take every precaution to make sure that visits are safe, and our residents are protected. We are recommending technology-enabled visitation options wherever possible, such as phone chat or video chat. In communities that are in Phase 2 counties in Washington, we are offering limited and controlled scheduled outdoor visits via our Outdoor Living Rooms. All visits must be scheduled with the community before a visitor will be allowed on the premises so we can maintain our vigilant safety standards and work to keep the virus out of our communities.

These visitation options are being offered across all our communities in Washington state who are in Phase 2, but also in our communities in California and Nevada, in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Where We Stand Today

We remain in a state of heightened safety protocols as we work every day to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We’ve seen national and statewide spikes in positive cases with the broader spread of the virus. This week, we are managing 48 positive cases. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast we have 25 positive cases, and 23 cases among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include Shadowridge, Madison, Corte Madera, Rodgers Park, Newcastle, Marymoor, West Seattle, and Granada Hills. We continue conducting contact tracing testing as part of our rapid response culture. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities.  

Innovations in Memory Care

Tactile stimulus is a terrific tool for those who live with dementia. At our Memory Care community in Kent, Washington, we have installed a Helios Touch light wall – a series of hexagon shaped touch panels that have heat sensors and respond to the lightest of touch. We sanitize the wall in-between uses to keep it clean and available for our memory care residents to interact with. This week, one of our residents, Ted Moser, explored the light wall during an escorted walk around his community. We’re passionate about continuing to find new and exciting ways to engage our residents every day.

Our Commitment: A Partnership with Fred Hutch

As part of our commitment to join with some of the smartest minds working to make a significant impact in this pandemic, we are excited to share updates on Aegis Living’s partnership with Fred Hutch, where our goal is to help fund and execute a virus tracking research study, broadly in assisted living communities. This past month, we met with Dr. Josh Schiffer, Fred Hutch Infectious Diseases Lead, and a member of Aegis Living’s Coronavirus Advisory Council, to discuss raising money from across the industry. Together, we will launch a study in the Fall. Aegis Living looks forward to contributing and participating to catalyze the study and discover ways to support senior safety and wellness overall during this pandemic and beyond. We expect to have results in the Spring and use them to help inform and guide our decisions as we work to lead the industry in raising heightened safety standards.

For more resources and information from the CDC visit our Expert & Family Resources page.

Where We Stand Today

We remain in a state of heightened safety protocols as we work every day to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We’ve seen national and statewide spikes in positive cases with the broader spread of the virus. This week, we are managing 46 positive cases. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, we have 24 positive cases, and 22 among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include Corte Madera, Shadowridge, Madison, Rodgers Park, Aptos, and Newcastle. We continue conducting contact tracing testing as part of our rapid response culture. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities.  

Keeping the Fun Going

Even in the midst of these uncertain times, we are dedicated to enriching the lives of our residents and are continuously exploring safe and fun ways to spark joy in our communities. This week in Granada Hills, our staff threw residents a “Disney Day” complete with Disney themed foods and a Zoom sing-along. Each department created their own Disney “float”, which they showed off to residents who were safely seated in their doorways to watch as the parade came down the hallway. We understand how isolating this time can be, especially for those who are higher risk. Our Life Enrichment Teams and Care Managers are working around the clock to find ways to continually bring a smile to our residents faces.

Rockin’ their 90s as Tech Savvy Seniors

Our Dynamic Lady Duo Inspires Others to Stay Connected

Living a curious life is a way of life we encourage throughout Aegis Living communities. And these days, lifelong learning has never been more important. That’s why we celebrate when we see seniors embracing the technology we introduce aimed at bringing friends and family together like these two ladies who are truly rocking their California community as tech savvy influencers. The residents live at Aegis Living Dana Point and are inspiring others to socialize safely and much more often via video calls.

To start, our Life Enrichment team happily assisted them in setting up Facetime calls. But now these ladies are pros and urging other residents to connect via their smart pads. The dynamic duo calls each other daily from the comfort of their own rooms using their iPads and are happily connecting with others to keep the conversations going.

Meantime, we remain in state of doubled down, heightened safety protocols as we work every day to keep COVID-19 out of our communities. We’ve seen national and statewide spikes in positive cases with the broader spread of the virus. This week, we are managing 35 positive cases. Amid our 2,200 residents across the west coast, we have 11 positive, and 14 cases among our 2,500 staff members. The communities managing the virus this week include Corte Madera, Shadowridge, Madison, Rodgers Park, Aptos, Shoreline, Dana Point, Lodge, Las Vegas, Fremont and Laguna Niguel. We continue conducting contact tracing testing – identifying and testing those staff or residents that may potentially have been in contact with a positive person in the community, as part of our rapid response culture. Our team members are working tirelessly to get back to zero. We will continue to communicate regularly with updates via email and phone to our residents, their families and the staff effected, to remain transparent in our status and report the results of universal testing in our communities.  

World’s #1 Shark Expert Leads Zoom Speaker Series for our Residents

Our Life Enrichment Team has been working around the clock to produce a stimulating and interesting speaker series via Zoom for our residents to enjoy virtually given COVID-19. This past week, our residents tuned into a Zoom presentation from wildlife photographer and videographer, Chris Fallows, who presented from South Africa where he is currently filming wildlife footage for the Discovery Channel. Chris told us countless captivating stories about his adventures around the world documenting amazing species, including the Great White Shark. Residents certainly enjoyed hearing from Chris, and they continue tuning in each week to hear the stories from our other speakers in the series, which includes a former Olympic gold medalist, an historian, an astrophysicist and more. This custom Aegis Living series is one more way we nurture lifelong learning.

Aegis Living Celebrates 23 Years of Changing Lives

We’re excited to be celebrating Aegis Living’s 23^rd birthday this month! In 1997, our founder and CEO, Dwayne Clark opened our very first community in Pleasant Hill. Since then, we’ve grown to 32 communities throughout Washington state, Nevada and California, with several others in development. We are so thankful for our amazing residents and their families, as well as the dedication of our 2,500 fantastic staff members, who are the reason why Aegis Living continues to grow and lead the assisted living and memory care industry. The year 2020 has proven to be a pivotal time for us as we look to redefine the future of senior living amidst a global pandemic. Aegis Living is proud to be a leader of our industry with proactive innovation that sets a higher bar of quality for all others.

Where We Stand Today

We remain dedicated to adhering to strict safety protocols in order to contain of the spread of the virus. As of this week, there are five positive cases among the 2,200 residents, with 20 staff testing positive across our 3 states. We are continuing to conduct contact tracing testing, identifying and testing those staff or residents that may potentially have been in contact with a positive person in the community, as part of our rapid response culture. We are committed to Enhanced Sanitation and Protection Protocols, and daily health screenings to get our positive cases back down to zero. We are emphatic about our efforts to keep everyone safe and informed, and will continue to alert our residents, their families and the staff of positive cases that are a result of universal testing in our communities.

The Aegis Gratitude Page

We appreciate all the love and support that has poured in from our many family members and residents praising our staff. To capture your kind words, we recently launched a Gratitude page on our website where you can leave a message of appreciation or encouragement for one of our team members. In these stressful times, we know gratitude and recognition can go a long way. Here are some examples of the feedback we have received via the Gratitude Page:

Tyra from Dana Point – “Your leadership and your entire team are doing an amazing job during this difficult time. I really appreciate being kept in the know so I can share the updates with other family members.”

The Hayes Family from Kent – “Our family wants to express our appreciation to you for taking such excellent care of our loved one. We can rest better at night knowing Bob is in good, caring hands. Thank you so much to all of you.”

This Week

While maintaining safe environments for our residents, we’ve also been creative in the ways we’re safely reuniting our residents with their loved ones. Aegis communities are cautiously beginning to reopen social spaces within a comprehensive, five-phase plan to carefully phase in services, activities, and dining. Each phase listed below will be carried out for at least two weeks and we’ll host controlled pilots of key activities before programs are implemented across all 32 communities.

• Phase 1: Limited Internal Opening with Physical Distancing
• Phase 2: Limited Ancillary Services
• Phase 3: Limited Visitors
• Phase 4: Expanded Activities and Services
• Phase 5: Expanded Dining and Visitation

Phase 1 is being initiated on a community-by-community basis and in accordance with state reopening orders and city and county directives. Please contact your community general manager with any questions.

Six Feet Apart Never Felt So Close

We are dedicated to safely reconnecting residents with loved ones and are doing so by utilizing our Living Room Experience and diligently enforcing social distancing. This week, residents Sandy and Bert celebrated their 60^th wedding anniversary in our “Living Room Experience.” The two had not been able to see each other for 106 days prior to their anniversary due to the pandemic. It’s moments like these that warm our hearts and inspire our dedication to bring residents together again.

Where We Stand Today

We remain diligent in our infection control and safety protocols at each community. We are pleased to report that Aegis Living communities have remained more than 99% clear of coronavirus company-wide since the beginning of the pandemic. As of today, we have 13 positive cases among staff and residents. Of our nearly 2,200 residents, currently two residents have tested positive, and there are eleven positives out of our 2,500 staff members. The communities that are currently managing these positive cases are in California: Shadowridge, Carmichael, and Laguna Niguel. In Washington state: Aegis Lodge, Aegis on Madison, Rodgers Park and Kent all have a single positive case in each.

We are performing contact tracing testing to track down any further exposure and our teams are exercising the highest infection control processes and testing broadly with no further positive results to date. As we mentioned in our Commitment video last week, we are committed to staying transparent with the communities we serve. We are intent on not letting our foot off the gas pedal when it comes to taking every possible precaution to ensure we do not expose our residents or our employees to the virus.

Our Commitment

We’re excited to debut a high-level view of the company-wide commitments to advance our resident care and operations during COVID-19. These commitments span all aspects of our organization: from leadership and operations, to nutrition and care. Aegis Living has several core strategies to redefine safe and happy living amidst the pandemic.

We understand there is continued uncertainty as coronavirus cases rise nationwide, and we understand the worries and pressures families endure these days. That is why we’re leaning into the pandemic in a variety of ways. Aegis Living has made commitments to how we will move forward and we’ve collected them for you to see.  The commitments and strategies include: our Coronavirus Advisory Council, appointing a Chief Infection Control Officer, sponsoring a research study in partnership with Fred Hutchinson, continuous COVID-19 training across all our teams, and more. Some initiatives have been rolled out and some are well into development. See it all in this short 2 ½ minute video.

Reviews of Outdoor Living Room Experience

Meantime, rave reviews are coming in from residents and families using our specially designed Outdoor Living Rooms. Approved by infectious disease experts, they have continued to be a huge success in bringing families safely together with their loved ones. Each of our 32 communities has created a uniquely beautiful outdoor space for families to meet face to face after so many months of being apart. Our outdoor living rooms have comfortable furnishings in lovely outdoor settings, and all have a large plexiglass wall to limit any chance of exposure while families visit. Contact your neighborhood Aegis Living to learn more.

Where We Stand Today

Aegis is proud to have remained more than 99% clear of coronavirus company-wide since the beginning of the pandemic. As of today, we have 14 positive cases among staff and residents. Of our nearly 2,200 residents, currently only three have tested positive, and 11 positives from our 2,500 staff members. We are working hard to get that number back to zero and we are continuing our contact tracing testing protocols to prevent any further spread of the virus. The communities that are currently managing these positive cases are in California: Granada Hills, Corte Madera, Shadowridge and Carmichael.  In Washington state: Aegis Lodge, Aegis on Madison and Kent all have a single positive case in each. We are happy to report that our cases remain so low despite both Washington and California seeing significant increases in overall new cases over these last two weeks. This week, California reported its highest number of new cases in a single day since the beginning of the crisis: 9,500. Many other states are seeing the same.  It’s a stark reminder that all of us need to remain incredibly vigilant in sticking closely to our infection control protocols, ensuring we’re taking every possible precaution to ensure we don’t expose our residents, our teams or ourselves to the virus. 

Our vulnerable residents, their families and our team members are counting on each of us to always do the right thing – follow CDC and our added Aegis Living protocols. We know they are incredibly effective in keeping the virus OUT of our communities. 

We cannot say thank you enough to each resident and family and our everyday hero staff members for doubling-down on our infection control basics. We’re doing all the right things.  

Celebrating Love and Unity this Independence Day Weekend!

In this year of many challenges, we celebrate American strength, diversity, love and the fact that we are unified under a common set of values and principles that make our country great. And we know that if we stay committed to healing, that we will build a better future — together. That in mind, we wish you all a safe and Happy 4^th of July weekend in this weeks’ update.

This Week

Our teams have been working hard to create more opportunities to connect our families with experiences and opportunities for our residents to visit safely.

Outdoor Living Rooms

Since mid-June, all 32 of our Aegis Living communities have implemented our specially designed Outdoor Living Rooms amid rave family reviews! Each community has one unique to its location and features comfortable furnishing, beautiful décor, and large plexiglass walls to safely keep residents and visitors separated. They are designed in conjunction with epidemiologists. You can take a  look here to see some examples of these beautiful visitor seating areas.

But these spaces are more than just pretty and comfy. The living rooms have given so many an opportunity to reconnect in person after months of being apart. One wonderful example of these spaces connecting people comes from our Las Vegas location where Bert and his wife Sandy were able to sit down for a meal together to celebrate their 60^th wedding anniversary after being apart for 106 days, thanks to our Outdoor Living Rooms. Reunions like this one are a heartwarming reminder of why we strive to lead our industry in innovation during this pandemic.

Distance Dining

In addition to our safe gathering spaces, Aegis Living has also begun to reopen our dining rooms as part of phase one of our reopening plan in all 32 communities. Our residents are offered the opportunity to participate in one small group dining experience each day with individual escorts and all parties wearing a mask and staying physically distanced. While we are taking this process slowly and carefully, the results so far have been encouraging and show the value in the group dining experience for our residents. We are continuously monitoring the impact of this effort to ensure our procedures remain safe and effective.

Where We Stand Today

We are emphasizing with all families, residents and staff that it is just as important as ever to maintain the highest level of safety and caution as states have begun reopening and cases nationwide are on the rise. We remain diligent in our infection control and safety protocols at each community and are currently managing just 14 positive cases companywide. Of our nearly 2,200 residents, five have tested positive, along with nine staff members. Of course, we believe that one case is too many, and we are working to get back to zero. The communities managing the coronavirus cases this week are Granada Hills (nearly clear), Carmichael, Madison, and Corte Madera. We are performing contact tracing testing to track down any further exposure and our teams are exercising the highest infection control processes and testing broadly with no further positive results to date.

Again, we hope you are all staying healthy and that you enjoy the long holiday weekend ahead. From all of us at Aegis Living, we wish you a happy and safe 4^th of July celebration.

It has been a busy month for everyone and we hope everyone is staying healthy and safe as we approach the end of June. Last week we had great success in our Father’s Day celebrations across all 32 Aegis Living communities. Residents enjoyed a delicious curated menu and BBQ’s, a special photography book gift for all our dads and male residents, plus gifts and cards dropped off by families. Everyone was loving the festivities.

Taking it Outside

Just in time for Father’s Day celebrations, our new Outdoor Living Rooms are a huge hit for families to enjoy face-to-face time for the first time in months. The reunions were emotional and joyous! All of our communities have created these living rooms, custom designed with epidemiologists, for family and friend visits in gorgeous spaces with large plexiglass panels for their safety. This has been a highly important and successful step in our reopening process.

We are continuing to slowly move forward with our reopening plan and small group activities. Last weekend also marked the Summer Solstice and some communities organized walking groups to enjoy the sunshine and some fresh air, like our Queen Anne Rodgers Park community pictured below. We are cautious in our activity attempts and continue to prioritize masks and safety protocols throughout these gatherings.

Where We Stand

We are pleased to report that our coronavirus cases remain unchanged companywide. We have zero new cases anywhere within Aegis Living. In total, we currently still have only six positive cases among our nearly 2,500 staff members and 2,200 residents. Our Granada Hills community is almost clear, and all six people are in recovery. The staff members remain home, and residents remain safely in their apartments. Meanwhile, we continue to maintain our high level of safety protocols throughout all our communities and we will remain diligent and humble in our efforts to keep everyone safe and healthy.

Celebrating PRIDE Month

June is PRIDE Month! With so much going on in the world and large gatherings canceled, we haven’t been able to celebrate PRIDE Month in the usual fun and vibrant fashion we would like to. At Aegis Living, we are so proud and honored to have diverse team members and residents alike. We believe our diversity is what makes us a stronger and better organization. We want everyone in our communities to feel seen, loved and always appreciated as we work to promote a culture of belonging and inclusivity. Kent Marketing Director, Vince Wadsworth-Stansbury, says it best, “At Aegis Living, we celebrate diversity every day!  Every team member is appreciated for who they are and what they bring to the table.  From our leadership team, staff members and our residents, it is in the fabric of our culture and who we are as a company.” We love you Vince! And all our LGBTQ community members.

Our teams have been working hard to prepare for our Father’s Day celebrations this weekend, chocked full of ways to make dads feel special. Plus, this week we begin celebrating National Nursing Assistants Week, and we have been moving forward with our small group activities in phase one of our reopening plan. No doubt it has been a busy week and there is much to celebrate!

Success in Small Groups

Last week, we informed you that Aegis Living has created a comprehensive 5-phase reopening plan for all of our 32 communities. Phase one will allow for some small group activities, five or fewer people, with the hope of helping our residents return to some level of normalcy in their communities. Our Life Enrichment teams are busy creating plans for people to gather safely in activities like group walks, gardening club, and more. As we proceed forward slowly, we are monitoring everyone’s health closely and maintaining our diligent safety protocols.

Where We Stand Today

As phase one of our reopening plan cautiously gets underway, our safety protocols and daily health screenings remain our top priority. And our systems are working extremely well. We’ve been able to maintain our low number of positive cases for the fourth week in a row to just a handful companywide. Currently we have six cases of COVID-19 among our nearly 2,500 staff members and 2,200 residents. The cases are being managed at our Granada Hills community. The staff members are resting and recovering at home while the residents who tested positive are being cared for and monitored closely in their rooms. We are testing all residents and are performing contact tracing to track any other potential contact. Though our numbers show that we have been 99% virus-free since the pandemic began, we remain humbled and diligent every day by the tenacity of Covid-19 and continue to innovate to get in front of it.

Father’s Day Celebrations

Feel the buzz in the air for dads? Everyone is working hard preparing for our Father’s Day celebrations planned for this weekend. We are connecting our residents with their loved ones through gift drops offs, videos and photos. Each of our communities will have a table set up at the main entrance for families to drop off gifts and cards to be sanitized and delivered to residents. Our Life Enrichment teams are also assembling videos, created using family photos, to share with the residents. Additionally, every male resident will be gifted a copy of the National Geographic book, “Simply Beautiful Photographs” by Annie Griffiths.  And, as we mentioned in last week’s update, all of the Outdoor Living Rooms have shipped to the communities and should be available for family visits on Father’s Day. Please call your community directly and speak with the Concierge to confirm the Outdoor Living Room is ready and to schedule your visit.

Father’s Day Menu

We are also excited to be providing a specially curated menu on Sunday, for all to enjoy, that includes hearty breakfast options, delicious comfort food for lunch, and a choice of prime rib or barbeque chicken for dinner. Our hope is to make all our male residents feel loved and appreciated this Father’s Day even with the untraditional celebrations this year. We recognize how important celebrating holidays and hearing from loved ones is for our residents’ health and morale during these trying times and we sincerely appreciate everyone who is helping make these special events happen. A Happy Father’s Day goes out to all our families.

In honor of Father’s Day, we would also like to take a moment to highlight a wonderful example from our Aegis Stories. Bill and Rick are a father and son duo who embody what it means to nurture each other through the many stages of life. They show us in this sweet video how they’ve remained close through baseball, music, and Aegis Living activities.

Finally, can’t say THANK YOU loud enough to our hardworking nursing assistants in honor of National Nursing Assistant Week. Your dedication, kindness and expertise help keep our communities running smoothly and we appreciate everything you do for our residents!

Another week of Zero Resident Cases of Covid-19 Companywide

It’s been an exciting week of innovation in our company as our teams work to keep our safety record at the highest level – which is one case short of perfection amid our 4,500 people made up of 2,000 residents and 2,500 staff with a near perfect record and a brand new innovation.

We are happy and humbled to report that again, this week, we have no positive cases of coronavirus amid any of our residents in any of our 32 communities. And we wrap this week with only one positive case of a staff member, the first case in Granada Hills. As always, we conduct our contact tracing in a community effected as part of our rapid response culture for infection control. Meanwhile, we continue to maintain Enhanced Sanitation and Protection Protocols.

Our Safe and Sure Reopening Plan

In preparation to align with easing state restrictions, we’ve created a comprehensive 5-stage Reopening Plan that exceeds CDC, state and federal regulations, and local health departments. The plan provides a framework for easing current restrictions and gradually phasing in additional experiences and services for our residents. The reopening process will unfold in phases and will specifically address personal protective equipment, dining, activities, visitors, and additional services. Each phase will last about two weeks with a pause between each to confirm there are no cases of coronavirus. The plan varies slightly from community to community. The reopening plan begins in all 32 of our communities on June 15^th.

Introducing: Our Exclusive Outdoor Living Room Experience!

Getting back together! As part of our reopening plan we are proud to debut our newest innovation, our exclusive Outdoor Living Rooms. Our brightest minds in design have partnered with epidemiologists to craft safe custom living room spaces in all 32 communities, for families to gather and visit with residents in person. Each Outdoor Living Room will have clear sealed dividing walls made of plexiglass, and standing about 7-feet tall, to separate the seating areas and prevent potential virus exposure. We completely understand how difficult it has been for our residents and their families to be apart for so long and during such uncertain times. So now, visit, get your selfies and enjoy! All Outdoor Living Room Experiences allow for two visitors at a time and are scheduled with the community staff.

As we enter June, we are faced with both new and continuous challenges. At Aegis Living, we recognize the impacts of racial injustice, and we stand firmly with anyone who suffers from it. In our company, our teams fight an hourly battle against COVID-19, and every day, in each community we work hard to serve and protect our seniors. It takes amazing people to succeed. And that’s what we believe we have — amazing, beautiful people. Throughout our company we celebrate diversity in age, race, religion and sexual orientation. And we’re working tirelessly to nurture the safety and wellbeing of each and every one.

Where We Stand Today

This week we are happy and humbled to report that as of today, we do not have a single case of Covid-19 amid any of our 2,000 residents at our 32 communities. And we are pleased to also report that amid our 2,500 staff members we have only four currently recovering at home. These cases are being managed in the communities of Kent, Aegis Living Kirkland and Pleasant Hill.

The dedication of our staff and management to stick to safety protocols and prevention has continued to result in containment of the spread of the virus. We also continue to conduct contact tracing testing – identifying and testing those staff or residents that may potentially have been in contact with a positive person in the community, as part of our rapid response culture. We are continuing to maintain our Enhanced Sanitation and Protection Protocols.

In Washington State, the department of health is now requiring that we offer complete universal testing for all of our memory care residents and staff. We are working with the state and complying with these new requirements and we will be notifying family members via email as testing gets underway. We remain dedicated in our efforts to keep everyone safe and informed, and we will be sure to alert our residents, their families and the staff of any positive cases that are a result of the universal testing.

Proudly Introducing: Our Coronavirus Advisory Council

This week, we proudly announced the creation of the Aegis Living Coronavirus Advisory Council, a group comprised of renowned physicians and experts from some of the nation’s leading medical and research institutions whose expertise is critical to the health of our senior residents and our staff members.

The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the urgent need to provide leading-edge care for our most vulnerable citizens. As one of the nation’s top providers of assisted living and memory care services we recognize the long-term effects of the virus on the safety, health and wellness of our residents, families and caregivers. Aegis is taking bold, new steps guided by this new advisory council to keep our residents and staff safe and healthy during this unprecedented health crisis and beyond.

For over 20 years, Aegis Living has used clinical experts to help develop and inform our high standards, practices and approaches to exceptional resident care. The new council will extend this expertise even further to prepare for today and well into the future. They will meet regularly starting in July 2020.

The council is launching with the following seven members representing epidemiology, immunology, geriatrics, psychology, naturopathy and more. Meet the team!

You can learn more about each of the council members and plans for the council on our website. We have dedicated a page on our Covid-19 response website to all of the developments, news and plans that our new advisory council is working on and we encourage you to visit it for more information and continuous updates.

It’s been a terrific week at Aegis Living as we look ahead to the coming weeks to evolve from sheltering-in-place to socializing safely, slowly and surely. We will be providing consistent updates on this page regarding our evolution and we are communicating directly with families and residents alike.

The dedication of our staff and management to stick to safety protocols and prevention has continued to show promising results to contain the spread of the virus. Currently, we are pleased to report that we still have only one resident amid nearly 2,000 company-wide who has tested positive with the virus at this time and five staff members who are home.  This is total amid our 32 communities and 2,500 staff members. These cases are being managed in the communities of Kent, Aegis Living Kirkland, Pleasant Hill, Granada Hills and Fremont.

We continue to conduct contact tracing testing – identifying and testing those staff or residents that may potentially have been in contact with a positive person in the community, as part of our rapid response culture. Plus, we are maintaining our Enhanced Sanitation and Protection Protocols that continue to help us control the spread of the virus, including asking our residents to wear a surgical mask each time they leave their apartments.

We also have new resources to support families and neighbors during these uncertain times.

New Expert and Family Resources

We encourage everyone to further 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. Included on our updated site are 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. Our goal is to share our expertise and promote wellness in those we serve directly and indirectly.

This is how we LOVE to Shock and Awe!

Last week the Life Enrichment team at Aegis Living Kirkland hatched a delightful idea for an ice cream truck delivery to surprise their residents with cold treats, music and a happy hello! They came up with the clever idea in the morning and had executed the whole plan by that afternoon, including building the truck using a shopping cart, cardboard, and a cooler. We always encourage our teams to find creative ways to keep their residents engaged and supported. This story is a wonderful example of thinking outside the box to bring joy door-to-door while safely practicing social distancing. You can tell by the residents’ faces that they loved the sweet surprise and hope to have this special ice cream delivery every week!

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.

As we head into this Memorial Day Weekend, we want to take a moment to thank those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country as well as recognize all veterans who have served. In our communities we have the great honor and pleasure of serving residents who have storied military lives crossing many wars, as well as veterans within our employee ranks. We cannot share enough gratitude for your service. We are in your debt.

An update on our response to COVID-19: our tireless work to prevent the virus from entering our communities continues as we manage a small number of cases this week. We are pleased to report that we have no new communities affected. Currently we have reports of 9 residents and 8 staff members who have tested positive of our 4,500 people. Those communities include Aegis of Las Vegas, Kent, Kirkland, Rodgers Park, Marymoor, and Fremont. In a few communities there is only one positive test. Three of these communities are working through final medical clearances as their residents and staff are all fully recovered.

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 for families and neighbors to take advantage of on our website.

New Expert and Family Resources

Explore our website to learn more about our protocols, get quick access to great resources to help keep your family safe and well at home and enjoy some of the hero stories from our frontline employees. Each day they are creating moments of joy in our communities. Their tireless commitment to entertain, engage and raise the energy and smiles of residents is undaunted. And enjoy the heartfelt stories of our teams and their good Samaritan acts of kindness. We will be adding much more to this website, so stay tuned.

Intergenerational Love and support from all ages!

Without being able to welcome visitors into our communities over these past few weeks, we’ve been particularly missing the energy and happiness of children in our halls. Intergenerational programs are an important part of our communities. But like all other things we are adjusting and finding new ways to connect kids and seniors together.

We are thrilled to share an online art gallery provided by San Ramone students – all sisters. We want to thank Apara Sai Jella, a caring high school sophomore, and her sisters, Ghrini 4^th grade, and Sri Tulaja Jella, a preschooler. Recognizing that seniors sheltering in place could use all the color they can get in these challenging times, these sisters created an online library of hundreds of pieces of uplifting artwork and they were kind enough to give us access to all of it so that we can share them with our seniors! These kids are proving that heroes truly come in all shapes and sizes, and no effort to help is too small.

If you know someone who could benefit from seeing children’s artwork, you can view it all: click here. We’ve been given permission to distribute this art to residents and share the love in our communities.

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.    

This week, we’ve been honoring and celebrating our nurses for National Nurses Week. We have remarkable staff serving as Health Services Directors and Wellness Nurses all across our company. In fact, over the years, Aegis Living nurses have been humbly honored with top awards from the California Assisted Living Association and the Washington Health Care Association.  It goes without saying that our nurses are more important than ever before.  

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 8 residents and 14 staff members who have tested positive for coronavirus. Impacted communities include Bellevue, Issaquah, Callahan House, Kirkland, Fremont, Marymoor, Las Vegas and most recently Kent. Broader testing is underway in each community and we are awaiting results.

The partnership that we’ve developed with a private testing lab has given us some access to testing. 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 past week, we added one more layer of protection for our residents. With access to more supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), we are asking residents to wear a surgical mask, that we can provide, each time they leave their apartments.

Celebrating All Moms

Looking ahead, this Sunday, May 10^th is Mother’s Day!  We recognize that families will not be able to visit their moms in the same way as they have in the past, but we embrace the opportunity to be creative! Our teams in every community are excited to offer some very special ways to surprise moms this weekend with a big celebration that includes:

• A customized Mother’s Day celebration menu for all our residents all day with special selections such as savory eggs benedict, watermelon salad, seared salmon, chocolate covered strawberries and champagne, and much more!
• We’ll also be delivering fresh flower bouquets to all of our female residents across the entire west coast on Sunday. Our goal is to make sure every mom feels the love and appreciation she deserves — even, and especially under these unusual circumstances.
• We are also pleased to provide families with an opportunity to send moms a personalized Mother’s Day video!
• Gift Drop-off stations will be available outside in front of every community for families to safely deliver cards, flowers and gifts.

Finally, we are celebrating our employees and especially our mothers, for Mother’s Day as well.  We have arranged for all staff to bring home a special dessert that they can use to help honor their mothers or enjoy themselves.   We honor the many dedicated mothers that care for and love our residents each day. We are incredibly grateful to have them amongst our Aegis Living family.

The last few months have been a journey and we’ve learned a lot. First and foremost, how a rapid response culture starting with early preparation, monitoring daily developments of COVID-19 and quickly evolving to incorporate new protection practices has paid off. Working proactively with federal, state and local health experts has resulted in managing the risk to both residents and staff — to the point that we’ve had times— where amid a total of 4,500 combined residents and staff across the west coast, we’ve been free of diagnosed COVID-19 cases company-wide. Clearly that remains our goal.

That said, each day and each week we are enduring new challenges that arise.  As of today, we have 6 residents and 13 staff members who have tested positive for coronavirus. The impacted communities are Bellevue, Issaquah, Callahan House, Kirkland, Fremont, Marymoor and Las Vegas. We have developed a partnership with a private testing lab that has given us new access to testing. As such, we have developed a testing practice, based on expert guidance, and focused on contact tracing – identifying and testing those staff or residents that may have been in contact with anyone positive.  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. And our thoughts and support are with those staff recovering at home and with our residents that we are safely caring for as they recover.

This week we are adding one more layer of protection for residents and staff. With access to more supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), we’ll begin asking residents to wear a surgical mask that we can provide each time they leave their apartments.

Aegis Superheroes at work…

When preparation meets opportunity, you never know how many lives you can save. When Moraga GM Bill Phelps and Pleasant Hill GM Luis Olivas got a call for help from a nearby hospital needing hand sanitizer, they jumped into action. With their own communities prepared, they decided to heed a call for help from the Walnut Creek Medical Center — which had a critical need for sanitizer and other types of PPE.  Together the Aegis teams donated over 75 gallons of hand sanitizer on behalf of Aegis.

Other Aegis communities are offering a helping hand in their local cities — from Aegis Living Laguna Niguel partnering with the Orange County Sheriff’s department to pack bags of food for needy seniors  to — Aegis Gardens Newcastle coordinating a dry goods drive with the local YMCA and city to gather and distribute goods to seniors in need.  

Aegis and the Clark Foundation are continuing to drive fundraising for several vulnerable senior-focused non-profit organizations in the Seattle-area.  Aegis is partnering with Bartell Drugs to support the Pike Market Senior Center/Food Bank and Sound Generations (Meals on Wheels), all delivering food and supplies to homeless and in-need seniors. To date we have raised more than $225,000 of support for these organizations. Learn more here.  https://www.seattleseniorsstrong.com/  

Perhaps nothing makes us prouder of where Aegis Living is today, than being able to humbly celebrate the Good Samaritans in our midst. They are anonymous heroes to many.

Our momentum in the battle against the virus remains strong companywide. We are confident that through this time, we can weather through the challenges we may face as we all fight against coronavirus.  This week, we are addressing a few positive COVID-19 tests in Aegis Living Kirkland; and we have one case in Aegis Living Las Vegas.

At Aegis Living Las Vegas, a staff member tested positive after working in another workplace outside of Aegis Living where COVID-19 was present. The other two staff members at our Kirkland community that tested positive became symptomatic and thus were tested.  Our teams are executing on CDC protection protocols and we are continuing to test staff and residents more broadly. Communications with families continue directly via email to keep them all updated. And we are confident in the tireless commitment of staff as they double down their protection efforts in these two communities.

Meanwhile, in all other 30 Aegis Living communities across the West Coast, both residents and staff, remain clear of any diagnosed cases of the virus. And we are humbled by the recognition that families have given our teams throughout this journey.

Our team at Granada Hills was surprised with this sign that Heroes Work Here at their California community. A family member drove 60 miles to set it up at night and surprise the morning staff. And boy, were they! Some were in tears. The message resonates across our company as many care staff, and nurses in senior living do not typically receive the same recognition as those who work in hospitals. It meant the world.

This is a tough time for so many of our seniors.  If you know of someone who needs help, perhaps it’s a friend or neighbor struggling to care for a loved one at home – please ask them to reach out to us.  We’re here to help, whether they need a home like Aegis or just need some basic resources or advice that may provide some relief.  Reach out to any Aegis Living location for support.

We have a ray of sunshine to share this week. Aegis Living Marymoor, our community that was most impacted, has gone through healing and as of today has no diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in the community.  In fact, we can share today that Aegis Living is free of confirmed cases of the virus in all 32 of its communities along the West Coast. It is a momentum we’re tirelessly working to maintain jointly with over 2,000 residents and 2,500 teammates.

While proud of this recovery, we recognize that the virus remains prominent in cities and states nationwide, thus, we remain vigilant in all our protection practices for our vulnerable population. All communities continue to have residents remain safely in their apartments, complying with local stay-at-home orders. We are safely allowing residents to get movement outdoors and needed fresh air through accompanied outdoor walks but continue to practice physical distancing guidelines, use of masks and sanitation practices to protect the health and well-being of residents and staff.

We are grateful for the support from families and our residents as we ask them to make sacrifices for the resident’s protection. And we are immensely proud of our staff on the front lines of protection as they demonstrate what adhering to Aegis protocols can do to support resident health. All the while, they show up every day with high spirits and big smiles.

This weekend we welcomed one of our seasonal essential service workers, the Easter Bunny.

We would be remiss not to note that during these uncertain times, this past week’s festivities were a great way to safely connect through new forms of celebration, decorating, crafts, and worship. The joy of springtime, Easter, and Passover was felt throughout all of our communities.  Easter egg hunts during walks in the sunshine, making tulip bouquets, and photos with the Easter Bunny all brought smiles and fond memories.  And some family members left loving messages and chalk drawings in the parking lot for their loved ones to see.

Meanwhile, our new initiative, Seattle Seniors Strong, has raised nearly $25,000 toward its goal!  Founded by Aegis Living and the Clark Family Foundation, our initiative was formed to help seniors who are homeless, homebound, or simply too afraid to leave their homes during the threat of COVID-19.  Through May 31, 2020, all donations from businesses and individuals will be matched dollar-for-dollar, with a goal of $100,000 to support Sound Generations and the Pike Market Senior Center. Learn more about how you can get involved at SeattleSeniorsStrong.com.

We continue to have little news to report on new coronavirus cases at Aegis Living. Aegis Living Lynnwood had one staff member test positive for coronavirus. This staff member has not been in the community for over a week and no other residents or staff members have tested positive or shown any symptoms at this time. We have implemented additional precautions to ensure we continue to protect our residents and staff and are happy to report the Lynnwood staff member is recovering well at home.  Aegis Living Marymoor continues to recover and has had no new cases to report for the past two weeks. 

While we have been focused on our residents and staff, our concern for seniors during this challenging time extends beyond our own communities.  There are many struggling that may be homeless, homebound, or simply too afraid to leave their house with the coronavirus threat. To help Seattle-area seniors, we have created Seattle Seniors Strong, a new charitable initiative founded by Aegis Living and the Clark Family Foundation. 

Seattle Seniors Strong is a $100,000 community-match campaign to support homeless and homebound seniors in the Seattle region.  Funds are being dedicated to two area organizations that provide critical support for those 65 years and older: Sound Generations and Pike Market Senior Center (PMSC).  Sound Generations supports the aging population in King County with the Meals on Wheels program and Hyde Shuttle with a fleet of 38 vans providing door-to-door service.   The Pike Market Senior Center is open daily providing a variety of services to area seniors at no cost, including securing housing, on-site activities, and serving over 50,000 free meals per year. Through May 31, 2020, all donations from businesses and individuals will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $50,000 for each organization.

In addition, Seattle-based Bartell Drugs, is supporting this campaign by purchasing goods for both organizations, as well as promoting the initiative in-store to their customers to collect donations. You can learn more or get involved by visiting  SeattleSeniorsStrong.com.

Aegis Living maintains community-wide isolation across all communities, in line with state and federal stay-at-home guidelines, to help protect the health and well-being of our residents.

While we maintain heightened infection control and sanitation practices following the latest CDC guidance, we continue to add new safety measures at each of our communities. Staff across all communities are now wearing masks during their shifts, and we continue rigorous sanitation practices, daily staff health screenings and daily resident temperature and oxygen saturation screenings.

Aegis Living Marymoor remains in community-wide quarantine through its healing. There have not been any additional positive cases diagnosed.

With each week, we are working to bring new, fresh programming to provide residents with a variety of activities to engage in each day.  This week, we are adding to our movement program. Many residents are now enjoying one-on-one walks on a designated walking path (inside and outdoors) with sensory stimulation, engaged conversation and exercise to build strength. Building on our digital offerings, there are now 9 episodes of our Aegis Live hosted entertainment program released for residents to view and enjoy.

Looking ahead, we anticipate moving to a weekly update here unless there is more timely news to report. Please continue to send any questions to questions@aegisliving.com.

Aegis Living remains on voluntary community-wide isolation across all of our communities to help protect both our residents and staff.

Spirits remain high as we continue to create a diversity of options for residents to be entertained and engaged each day – from our outdoor movement program to new episodes of Aegis Live and video connections with families and friends.

Aegis Living Marymoor continues its healing while remaining on full isolation to protect the residents and staff.  Several residents have returned from the hospital and the seven residents that are now deemed fully recovered from coronavirus continue their health improvements at the community. Over the weekend, a staff member received a positive test result. They were last in the community on March 22^nd and will not return to the community until fully cleared. They are in our thoughts as they recover at home.

Aegis Living Madison is continuing to follow extra precautions put in place a week ago following the positive diagnosis of a staff member, including twice daily screening of all residents and increased staff screening and use of PPE, in particular masks. We received confirmation today that a staff member that went home feeling ill on March 17^th, tested positive for coronavirus.  They are recovering at home and doing well. Sadly, we lost a beloved resident who had been on hospice services for some time. The Department of Health performed a test for coronavirus on the resident after their passing and it was confirmed positive; they have not formally determined the impact of the virus in their passing. The community mourns the loss of the resident and their thoughts and prayers go out to their family. 

We continue to maintain our communities on a voluntary in-apartment isolation, aligning to the stay-at-home orders and recommendations from the state and federal governments.

To continue to engage our residents during this challenging time, our Life Enrichment team is continuously innovating: from the digital programming additions with new episodes of Aegis Live, to new art instruction classes and supplies headed to each community, to future memoir writing programs in development.  We have also added hallway entertainment programs that allow residents to stay safe in their apartments but give them a sense of being together – enjoying music, games and other activities with doors open.

Aegis Living Marymoor was able to welcome back several residents from the hospital and they are doing well.  We now have seven residents, previously diagnosed with COVID-19 fully recovered, based on updated guidance from the CDC, and approval from our medical advisors at University of Washington Infectious Diseases. The community remains in full quarantine and we continue to maintain strict infection control and protection protocols. While the team remains vigilant, the community received some delayed results from tests taken in prior weeks. Specifically, two residents were sent out to the hospital last week and we received confirmation of a positive test result for both.  They will remain in the hospital as they recover, and they and their families are in our thoughts. We also had a staff member that has not been in the community since March 8^th, share that they had a confirmed positive test result. The staff member is recovering at home and will not return to work until fully cleared.

Our Granada Hills community was undergoing extra precautions after an exposure from their Medical Director that tested positive for COVID-19. Today, they passed the 14-day period since the doctor last visited the community. Thankfully, there have been no confirmed cases among any of our residents or staff during this time. The community remains vigilant with sanitation and protection practices but will not be on extra precautionary measures starting today.

While our efforts are ongoing to keep all residents and staff safe, a staff member in Aegis Living Issaquah has tested positive for coronavirus. After learning that this staff member’s mother tested positive, we took the precautionary measure of asking the team member to remain home on a 14-day quarantine. They have not been in the community since March 15^th. All Issaquah residents will be evaluated twice a day for temperature and oxygen saturation, and we are asking all staff to wear appropriate personal protective equipment as an additional precaution. We will continue to evaluate each staff member prior to their shifts.  At this time, there are no other confirmed cases at the community.

In accordance with the Governors’ directives in Washington and California, we have stopped construction of all Aegis Living communities in development.

During these uncertain times, our focus remains on caring for the health of our residents: body, mind, and spirit.

To that end, we will be extending community-wide isolation at all Aegis Living communities, in line with the shelter-in-place guidelines issued in both Washington and California.

We know how important fresh air and movement is for everyone’s health. We are creating a safe way to get residents outdoors at least every other day; every resident will be accompanied by a team member to ensure proper safety precautions and sanitation practices.

Our Life Enrichment team continues to find new and creative ways to bring fun to each day. The team at Aegis Living Mercer Island worked with residents to create a lighthearted music video titled, Oh Corona.  We hope this brings a smile to your face like it did for us.

We can successfully focus on keeping our residents healthy and happy because of the dedicated staff that continue to come to work each day, despite the realities around them. They are our heroes and we have been working hard to take care of them as they take care of others. From free meals for staff and their families to childcare support, we are exploring every option to be there for them during this time.

Aegis Living Marymoor welcomed another resident back from the hospital – we are so happy to have them return home. We were also pleased to report that six residents previously diagnosed with COVID-19 have fully recovered. They will remain in quarantine with all residents at Aegis Living Marymoor.  

After a staff member tested positive at Aegis Living Madison last week, the team worked with local health officials to review our heightened protocols. The officials applauded our expanded efforts not only with residents, but also the regular screening and PPE precautions we are taking with staff. We have no other confirmed cases of the coronavirus at Aegis Living Madison at this time.

Our infection control protocols and practices across all communities continue to meet or exceed the latest guidance from both the CDC and local health officials.

As Washington state stands alongside California in instituting shelter in place, now is as important time as ever for us all to support one another and stay connected.

Our residents are enjoying their daily in-room activities, virtual visits with family and more. Listen to this story on KUOW to learn more about how we are keeping residents, engaged, comfortable and happy.

Residents and staff at our Aegis Living Marymoor community who tested positive for the coronavirus are recovering well and there are no new cases there at this time.  Over the weekend, we learned that a staff member at our Aegis Living Madison community has tested positive. All residents at Aegis Living Madison are receiving health screenings twice a day, staff are being screened at the start of every shift and all are wearing personal protective equipment while working at the community.  We are fortunate that no Madison residents are showing signs of illness at this time. In addition, a Medical Director who visits residents at our Granada Hills community in California, was confirmed positive for the coronavirus. All residents and staff who saw the doctor during his last visit on March 12^th will continue to undergo thorough health screenings. At this time, no residents or staff at the community are showing signs of illness or have tested positive.

We remain closely aligned with the CDC and public health officials to ensure our infection control and sanitation protocols reflect the most up-to-date standards and guidelines across all communities. Protecting the well-being of our residents and staff remains our top priority.

While every day this week has brought new developments and updates around the coronavirus, residents and staff are starting to settle in and find some rhythm and calm, without losing sight of finding joy and fun in their days.

We rolled out another episode of Aegis Live, our new Aegis-produced online program. Today’s episode featured a duet by two talented music therapists singing a “Little Help from My Friends,” trivia, birthday celebrations and more. Residents are enjoying seeing the Life Enrichment team having fun and bantering on-camera.

With the mandated shelter in place in California, we know many of you may be wondering about our staff here at Aegis Living. We are fortunate to have a dedicated team that is committed to being onsite each day to provide residents with compassionate care and attention. We continue to implement close screenings for the health and well-being of our entire staff. No one will come to work if they aren’t feeling well or are showing any early symptoms of illness. We are also working to provide team members with schedule flexibility and childcare support during this time.

Aegis Living Marymoor welcomed back a resident from the hospital that previously tested positive for coronavirus but now tests negative. We are so grateful her health is improving, and she can return to the community and be with her husband again. We had two residents who went to the hospital for medical reasons this week test positive for coronavirus. They will remain there for treatment until they improve. Knowing how challenging these times can be, we’ve had a social worker onsite this week to provide additional support for our families. The community continues to navigate each day with grace and strength.

We remain connected with families through regular updates on our Family Link app, sharing photos and details on resident’s daily activities. Sharing these regular moments of joy help them feel comforted through the uncertain times.

With our California and Nevada communities now in voluntary community-wide isolation, we have all 32 communities fully aligned on this protective and preventative strategy for our residents and staff.

We are staying in lock step with the CDC and local health officials to ensure our protocols continue to reflect the latest best practices as we all continue to actively learn through this coronavirus pandemic.

Resident engagement and connection are top of the list each day. Our staff continues to make regular visits, we continue to connect residents with family and we have new digital programming in place. Tablet devices are being delivered to each community, preloaded with curated content (TED Talks, guided meditation, travelogues and more), music and other mentally stimulating apps. 

Today, we also launched a new hosted entertainment show produced by Aegis Living that will be shared with residents as they remain in their rooms. It features segments on seated fitness, trivia, musical guests, a Price Is Right-style game and fun jokes and banter to entertain residents. We will continue to produce new episodes that entertain and stimulate the mind, body and spirit of our residents while they remain safely in their rooms.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support our team at Aegis Living Marymoor. Letters and notes continue to pour in from families and friends. They have created a Wall of Inspiration to showcase the wonderful support they continue to receive to inspire them each day.

Aegis Living Marymoor received the remaining resident tests taken by the CDC last week and all three tests were negative.  A resident that was sent to the hospital for an unrelated issue last week was tested and confirmed positive; source of exposure is unknown. Sadly, the community also lost a resident that had tested positive for coronavirus. This resident had been on hospice and in declining health before the diagnosis and cause of passing is still being determined. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn their loss and our thoughts and prayers go out to their family. 

There are no other reported cases of coronavirus in other Aegis communities.

As we watch local governments and businesses put more measures in place to protect the health and well-being of all, our continued efforts to protect residents and staff across our 32 communities are further reinforced.

Washington State

All residents and staff are doing well and adjusting to our new “normal” as we continue voluntary isolation at all communities. We’re delivering delicious meals along with snacks and hydration options throughout the day. And residents are finding their favorite in-room activities – from art to music and even online fitness classes.

Those at Aegis Living Marymoor are on the mend. Team members diagnosed with coronavirus are recovering well and our residents who were diagnosed continue to improve with each passing day. No other Washington community has reported cases of coronavirus.

California and Nevada

Knowing how important prevention continues to be, we have decided to place all California and Nevada communities in voluntary community-wide isolation, as we did in Washington last week. This will go into effect tomorrow. This includes:

• No visitors, including family, will be allowed into the community. Exceptions will of course be made for essential visits, including end-of-life situations.
• All residents will remain in their apartments, avoiding any common spaces and interaction with other residents. We are bringing meals, snacks and in-room activities to residents each day – whether it be a Skype visit with family, daily activity packets, live music from the hallways or trying out some of the new digital entertainment programs.
• In addition to closely monitoring all residents for signs of illness, we are checking their temperatures and oxygen saturation daily. We are also checking temperatures for all staff members and anyone who enters the community for what has been deemed an essential visit.

We have no reported cases of coronavirus in California or Nevada.  

Every day, even hour brings new updates on coronavirus. Today, as the President proclaimed a national emergency and elevated our country’s response to coronavirus, we remain vigilant and confident that we are doing everything possible to limit infection and keep our residents and staff healthy.

Washington State

We implemented our first day of our voluntary community-wide isolation at all Washington communities. Everyone is adjusting well with in-room dining, frequent visits from our care staff, and customized daily activities provided directly to residents by our Life Enrichment team. Knowing how important frequent communication is, we’re working closely with residents and their loves ones to connect by phone or video link.

We are checking our residents and staff vitals daily, including temperatures and oxygen saturation levels. As is our standard practice, if any resident exhibits symptoms or other signs of illness, we will quickly get them the medical attention they need.

A topic we know continues to be on your mind is how it’s decided if residents are tested. The Department of Health and the CDC ask that testing for residents originates through their primary care physicians. We will continue to work with residents and families to support testing, as needed.  

We continue to support Aegis Living of Marymoor, our only community with confirmed cases of the coronavirus. We are providing this community with additional staff and resources and closely following guidance provided by the CDC and public health officials. We are monitoring residents and staff and have tested a number selected by the CDC per their guidelines. To date, we have seven residents that tested negative and eleven that tested positive for coronavirus. All are currently in the community and doing well.  We also had three test staff members test positive with all of them recovering at home.

No other Washington community has reported cases of coronavirus.

California and Nevada

Our California and Nevada communities continue to limit non-essential community visits and residents are doing well and having fun with new programs and Life Enrichment activities.

Our guidelines on re-admissions for residents returning from the hospital or another place of care have evolved to prioritize resident safety. For any resident that needs to be sent out of the community for medical treatment (e.g. doctor’s offices, urgent care, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities or other medical facilities,) they will be required to complete a 14-day isolation in their apartment upon return to the community. Any resident in isolation can expect special attention from our staff, including meals and activity packets delivered to their room and frequent visits from our care team.

We have no reported cases of coronavirus in California or Nevada.  

We continue with our urgent response to the coronavirus and have put in place some additional efforts to continue to keep residents safe. At this time, these additional protocols apply to Washington communities only.

Starting tomorrow, we will be enacting a voluntary community-wide isolation policy at all of our Washington communities. The voluntary isolation will last a minimum of two-weeks and may be extended based on what we learn from our public health officials and the CDC in the coming days and weeks.

We know this practice is one of the most effective ways to safeguard our residents. Locally we have seen school districts, events and even workplaces closed to promote social distancing. Taking this next level of precaution helps further protect us all from the spread of coronavirus.

Here are the changes that will go in affect tomorrow, March 13^th:

• No visitors, including family, will be allowed into the community. Exceptions will of course be made for essential visits, including end-of-life situations. Families should reach out if they believe a visit is essential.
• All residents will remain in their apartments, avoiding any common spaces and interaction with other residents. We will bring meals directly to resident’s apartments and ensure everyone stays hydrated and has the nutrition they want and need throughout the day. The dining and food areas will be closed.
• In addition to closely monitoring all residents for signs of illness, we are checking their temperatures and oxygen saturation daily. We are also checking temperatures for all staff members and anyone who enters the community for what has been deemed an essential visit.
• We are providing in-room activities and will continue to bring fun to residents each day – whether it be a Skype visit with family, daily activity packets, live music from the hallways or trying out some of the new digital entertainment programs we are launching.

We continue to support our Aegis Living Marymoor community as they manage active cases of coronavirus. We worked with the CDC to proactively test residents as selected according to CDC guidelines; initial results confirm seven negative and eight new positive resident cases. The CDC has validated that our procedures are well above standards and while it’s difficult to have residents affected directly, the team is confident we have the best protocols and practices in place for all. This is a challenging time for all impacted at the community and we continue to provide love and support to families, residents and staff.

California and Nevada continue to limit non-essential community visits and have put in place additional precautionary measures.

As of today, no other Aegis Living communities have any confirmed cases of coronavirus.

We are tracking closely the changing landscape we all are experiencing with the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19.  It requires us all to be nimble and responsive. See below for the latest updates on communities

Washington State

Yesterday, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and the Department of Health announced new guidelines for senior care and assisted living facilities. We are pleased to report that we need very few changes to our current policies, which meet or exceed the State’s new protocols.

While we have already asked families to refrain from non-essential visits, the new rules require that only one adult may visit a resident each day. We understand it can be difficult to limit the time family spends together, but this remains critical to our efforts to protect your loved one, and all of our residents from infection. We will continue to use our sign-in system, Accushield, to track resident visitors each day. We ask that you help us follow this protocol and refrain from all non-essential visits, and if a visit is essential, only have one adult family member visit per day. Any essential visits will need to take place in the resident’s room, rather than common areas.

We continue to ensure appropriate social distancing with our daily life enrichment activities and during mealtimes for residents. We remain vigilant in our sanitation practices throughout the community and in enlisting daily more stringent monitoring of our residents.

Diligently monitoring of our staff for their health and wellbeing also remains a top priority. As part of the new guidelines, each member of our staff is participating in daily health screenings, and they continue to wear personal protective equipment when appropriate with residents.

We have no new reported cases of coronavirus. Aegis Living Marymoor remains the single Aegis community in full isolation given their three confirmed cases of the coronavirus. They are working closely with the CDC and local health officials to support and protect the residents and staff members through our enhanced safety protocols that focus on fervent sanitation and closely watching the health and wellness of all in the community. 

California and Nevada

As noted in our update yesterday, we are asking all family members to reconsider visiting their Aegis Living community and refrain from taking residents offsite while also implementing several other precautionary measures.

Aegis Living has no reported cases of coronavirus in California or Nevada.

The importance of holistic care

As always, we are looking at new ways we can care for each resident holistically, especially during this time. Our culinary team has been hard at work to provide immune-boosting and nourishing foods and drinks. We are adding a new bone broth soup to the menu, and we are encouraging residents to drink our signature ginger tea. We are developing new digitally-based activities and fun programs to keep residents active and connected while practicing social distancing. More to come soon on these!   

Our thoughts and prayers remain with our families, staff and residents impacted, as well as the many impacted by the virus across the nation.

While California may not be experiencing the same growth in confirmed cases as Washington state, we know how important it is to be proactive. Out of an abundance of caution, we are putting in place some additional infection prevention measures to further protect our residents and staff in California.

We are asking all family members to reconsider visiting their Aegis Living community and refrain from taking residents offsite at this time. We know how important regular communication is with loved ones and we will continue to connect families via phone or video link and continue to share updates and photos over our Family Link system.

As always, our staff is committed to engagement with each resident to be sure they receive both the care and connection they need – from their favorite activities to dining with their friends to enjoying spring sunshine outdoors.

In addition to limiting visitors, we are taking the following precautions for residents and staff. We will:

• Have two seatings at each meal to create greater distance between dining residents while continuing to allow everyone to enjoy socialization at mealtime. 
• Ask outside vendors, entertainers and select service providers like salon and massage therapists not to enter the community.
• Continue to encourage daily outdoor activity; we will not take outings on the Community buses for the time being.  
• Continue to screen all outside healthcare providers based on our protocol and they must wear personal protective equipment when engaging with residents.
• Continue our advanced, daily disinfection procedures and are prepared with extra supplies and resources for our communities should we need them.

In Washington, we continue to limit non-essential visits to our communities and have one community currently in isolation due to three confirmed cases of coronavirus; one resident and two staff members at Aegis Living Marymoor were diagnosed over the last few days. We are working alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and they have expressed that our protocols and practices are well above standard. The Marymoor team has done an amazing job and we remain committed to supporting them, our residents and the families.

Thank you for your support as we actively work to protect our residents and staff.  If you have questions or need more information, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Aegis Living Friends:  

We remain committed to keeping you updated on our communities, residents and staff, and the efforts we are taking to protect all in our care from coronavirus. Our goal is to communicate often and answer questions we know must be arising for you.

We learned late yesterday, March 9th, that a resident at Aegis Living Marymoor (Redmond, Wash.) has been diagnosed with COVID-19. This is the first and only resident at Aegis Living Marymoor with a confirmed case of coronavirus. 

The resident was being treated for what was believed to be an unrelated condition at a local hospital last Thursday, March 5^th. As a precaution, this resident was tested for COVID-19 by the hospital. Per our company protocols and practices, this resident was placed in isolation upon return from the hospital Thursday evening and remained in isolation until they returned to the hospital yesterday for treatment.

We continue to work closely with local public health authorities and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC visited the Marymoor community today to provide the staff additional support and training specific to COVID-19. We are also coordinating with the CDC to provide precautionary testing to residents to ensure we are taking every step necessary to keep them safe.  

Our entire team is focused on doing all we can to continue protecting the health and safety for all:

• At Aegis Living Marymoor, we will maintain our community-wide isolation and vigilance with infection control and sanitation practices, meeting or exceeding current CDC recommendations for COVID-19.
• In all other Washington communities, we are continuing to strictly limit non-essential visits and follow the heightened infection control and sanitation protocols we already have in place.

We have no other confirmed cases at any other communities. We are happy to report that residents are doing well and we are keeping spirits high – enjoying their favorite activities, singing their favorite songs and eating delicious meals – with our team by their sides.

We continue to keep all of those affected by coronavirus in our thoughts and prayers. This is no doubt a challenging time for all.

As we have shared, over the last two weeks, we have employed a number of heightened protective measures in an effort to keep our residents and staff safe amidst the increasing risk of coronavirus in our region.

Overnight we learned that one of our Aegis Living Marymoor staff members in Washington has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

The staff member went home ill seven days ago (Friday, February 28) and has not been in the Marymoor community since that time.  The staff member has not worked in any other Aegis Living communities.  Upon learning about this diagnosis, we immediately initiated our company protocol for managing the coronavirus and have begun a community-wide isolation at Aegis Living Marymoor.

As we have for the last several days, we will continue to limit non-essential visits across ALL of our WA communities and follow the enhanced infection control and sanitation practices we put in place in all Aegis Living communities to do everything we can to continue protecting the health and safety of our residents and staff.

For all of us, the last few days have been unsettling as we see more confirmed coronavirus cases across the country and along the west coast, especially among older adults. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been directly impacted. 

As we have communicated over the last several days, we have exercised an abundance of caution and put in place heightened measures to protect residents living in our communities and staff.

We have been working closely with our local health authorities and tracking updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, specifically those focused on protecting seniors. Based on what we have learned, we have decided to take the next precautionary step and limit non-essential visits to our Washington state communities. While we have no identified coronavirus cases at any Aegis Living community, we are initiating this policy voluntarily to enhance the protection of our residents and staff.

As we continue our prevention efforts, we are counting on you to assist us in maintaining healthy community environments. We respectfully ask all individuals coming for non-essential reasons, including family members, to refrain from visiting the community at this time. To further protect the integrity of this approach, we ask that you not take any residents out of the community for any reason that is not essential to their health. In addition, we have amended a few other practices to further promote resident safety:

• We are revising dining meal times to serve smaller groups of residents while still allowing residents to enjoy mealtime together.
• We will continue to host activities residents enjoy daily with our staff while limiting outside vendors.
• We will continue promoting outdoor activity on our community grounds, but restrict outings on our buses.

We continue our advanced, daily disinfection procedures and are prepared with extra supplies and resources for our communities should we need them.

It is a great privilege to serve our residents and we will continue to work diligently to promote their health and safety. Despite the concern we all have, our residents and staff are enjoying activities together, eating delicious meals and spirits remain high. We strive to keep that joy and happiness alive through the good times and the tough times and are so proud of the staff that achieve our ambition every day.

Be well everyone. 

Like you, we are closely tracking the spread of coronavirus on the U.S, West Coast. As we continue to navigate this critical issue, we are committed to providing you with timely updates on what we are doing to protect the safety and well-being of our residents, families and staff.

Aegis Living has long established infection control protocols and sanitation practices to protect against the spread of infectious illnesses – especially during the winter months/flu season.  Guided by specific recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and other medical sources, we have enhanced these protocols and practices throughout ALL Aegis Living communities. Our primary focus is on mitigating the risk of infection. We are additionally prepared to implement a safe and comprehensive containment plan in the event that any of our residents or staff become infected with the coronavirus.

A few key actions we are taking:

• Increased monitoring and screening: All visitors and vendors must check-in with our concierge. Individuals who present with any signs of illness will not be allowed into the community and we have specific guidance in place for anyone who has been in an environment where coronavirus has been confirmed. 
• Enhanced disinfection procedures: We have implemented frequent, daily disinfection procedures of high-touch surfaces and common areas, community-wide preventative cleaning, and have ensured we have more than adequate supplies for hygiene, frequent disinfecting and preventative cleaning for the mid to long-term. 
• Emergency preparedness: We have emergency preparedness supplies for the community, including disposable and washable protective wear, approved cleaning agents per the CDC for Covid-19, disposable dishware, and food to feed both residents and staff for an extended period of time should we need it.
• Vendor/service provider coordination: We are working with our Aegis vendors and outside service providers to ensure they are using the same standards when determining whether they should be working in a community. If they have had any reason to suspect exposure or are symptomatic of illness, we will ask them not to work in or visit the community – well before they arrive in that community. 
• Meetings/events management: We have made the decision to cancel events and meetings (both in our communities and in the Stan Head Cultural Center) that involve groups from the outside.  While we realize this is inconvenient for some, we think it is critical to limiting resident exposure. 

We continue to pay extra close attention to anyone with symptoms— whether it be residents, staff, or visitors. This is where we need your support as we proactively work to prevent exposure to our residents.

• If you have knowingly been exposed to coronavirus, do not visit the community and contact your healthcare provider immediately to be evaluated.
• As is always the case, if you have any symptoms of illness, including coughing or sneezing, please do not visit the community. We are happy to help connect you to your loved one via phone or video link. We understand how hard it is to be away from them if you are not well and appreciate your support in keeping your loved one and the other residents healthy. 
• If you have traveled outside of the United States within the past 30 days or have been in physical contact with anyone who has, please postpone your visit to the community until you speak to a General Manager.

We appreciate your continued support as we navigate this critical issue.

– Your Aegis Living Team

Symptoms of the coronavirus include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Patients reportedly have mild to severe respiratory illness. If you or a family member is sick, please stay home and away from others and seek medical attention. If you have come into direct contact with someone who is ill with the symptoms listed above, or have a heightened concern that you or any member of your family has been directly exposed to the virus, please seek medical attention and stay home.

To reinforce good hygiene you can take these preventive actions:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
• Clean and disinfect objects and surfaces.
• Stay at home and away from others if you are feeling ill. 

People who are at higher risk of illness may want to consider other ways to lower their risk of infection, such as limiting contact with crowds. This includes people age 60 and older, those with underlying health conditions such as heart or lung disease, and those who are immune compromised. Individuals with underlying health issues should talk to their healthcare provider to develop a plan based on their specific health conditions.

Travel Advisories
We strongly urge anyone who has traveled or plans to travel out of the country to closely review the CDC’s Travel Health Notices page, which provides daily Department of State Safety and Security Alerts including warning levels for each country indicated. As of Monday, March 3, countries under “Warning Level 3: Avoid Nonessential Travel” due to coronavirus outbreaks or breakdown of health care infrastructure are: China (currently not including Hong Kong, Macau, or the Island of Taiwan), South Korea, Italy, Iran, and Venezuela.

If you have recently traveled to any of these countries, you should contact your family doctor and/or the state public health/department of health for additional guidance.

Looking for more information?

VISIT CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION WEBSITE.

WATCH THIS HELPFUL VIDEO WITH CORONAVIRUS INFORMATION FROM CBC NEWS.

Please remember, viruses don’t discriminate and neither does Aegis.  At Aegis Living, we do not tolerate any kind of discrimination, including race-based or any other discrimination surrounding COVID-19.  This CDC resource is a great reference for more information and guidance.