Despite the fact that Covid has been with us for 3.5 years, I have observed Memory Care facilities during outbreaks behave as if it were the first time it happened. No one had any idea what to do or what’s going on — and there were no communications about what’s going on. ( The facility had no plan. )

There should be protocols laid out in advance for Memory Care Facilities, and POAs should be informed in advance what these plans and protocols are before any potential outbreak.  It is shocking that facility managers and corporate leaders don’t have a plan at this late stage in the situation. There should be Standard Operating Procedures, and families should be provided the Standard Operating Procedures for a covid outbreak.

This is of special importance in a Memory Care Unit, where the Activities team needs to know how to pivot what they do, in order to compensate for a cognitively-impaired group of residents, being isolated in their room for 10 days of quarantine. The Memory Care Facility and their Activities manager and employees need to have a plan for what they’re going to do in this case to engage the Memory Care residents in the quarantine.

Memory Care Facilities should also have proper plans, knowledge and training for in-room meal service for Memory Care during a quarantine. They need to be aware and trained in what’s appropriate and what is not appropriate when food is served in the resident apartment.

All of these Standard Operating Procedures need to mapped out in advance, with transparency for residents and families upfront.