While the global outbreak of the coronavirus continues to unfold, Wickshire Fairborn has remained a safe place since the beginning.
The health and safety of its residents, staff and families continue to be the No. 1 priority as they monitor the situation daily.
Currently, Wickshire Fairborn has not had any staff, residents or families testing positive for the coronavirus, officials said.
“We are doing everything within our power to protect our residents and staff. We are working hard to keep everyone as safe and happy as possible,” said Krista Harding, Wickshire Fairborn’s Wise and Well program director. “It is in trying times like these that you see the beautiful hearts people have. Our Resident Assistants have been absolutely amazing.”
She added that as the days turned into weeks, Wickshire Fairborn began to see the community show up in ways they had never thought possible, as the pandemic brought out a wave of warmth and kindness, Harding said.
“Community members were buying and dropping off lunch for the staff, face masks were being created then donated for the overall safety of the residents and many other drop-off donations such as cards, books and even a karaoke machine,” she said. “Recently, the local flower shop, The Little Miami Flower Company, brought every resident a bouquet of flowers.”
When it was time to celebrate Easter last week, Harding’s cousin, Jody Stancliff, displayed a virtual demonstration on Passover and the Last Supper for the residents.
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“This was originally going to be an event where we watched it live on TV as a group and interacted with Jody, but with the quarantine restrictions set in place, we got a little creative and decided to move forward with the virtual demonstration and posted it to our Facebook page,” Harding explained. “We’re excited that residents will still be able to watch the demonstration as we make our way around the community with an iPad, taking careful precautions to sanitize, of course, as we move door to door.”
With the lockdown measures in place, the community directors have continued to turn their regularly scheduled daily activities into COVID-19-approved alternatives, and show dedication as they show up everyday to make sure the residents are getting the care they need.
“The staff is nothing short of amazing,” noted Casey Byrnes, vice-president of Sales and Marketing. “They are continuously putting in overtime, taking excellent care of our residents and still finding the time to go the extra mile in lifting spirits during this unprecedented time with a new spin on normal day-to-day activities.”
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Activities put-in-place during the pandemic include FaceTime with residents and their family, spirit week days that include a theme for the residents to make their own like 1980s day, hat day, pajama day, Western day and beach day. The most exciting day, Byrnes says, is Disney day.
Due to social distancing orders in place, the community continues to find ways to keep activities as normal as possible, but also a little more upbeat and positive to keep the residents engaged and inspired during this time.
“We look forward to the day that this is all over and everyone is healthy, and our activities resume as normal,” Harding said. “We can’t wait to go back out to eat, enjoy the afternoon spa with neck and shoulder massages, have Happy Hour where everyone is just together and enjoying every second and Sip and Dip where we drink wine and canvas paint.”
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