Family is everything. You’ve heard it over and over again in everyday life to sports to classic movies.

But what happens when suddenly you no longer have physical contact with the people you love and care about the most?

That’s the challenge residents, families, and staff at Deer Trail Assisted Living have been facing since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wyoming.

Deer Trail, like many other nursing homes and assisted living facilities across America, had to close its doors to outside visitors as COVID-19 spread. The toll it’s taken on families is often difficult and hard to grasp.

For many residents, the only thing they have to look forward to is seeing family. Deer Trail Administrator Jeff Smith says that struggle in many ways has brought out the best in people.

“The families have been great to work with through all of this,” Smith said. “They understand that as much as they’d like to be with their family members, the risk of getting sick is just too great.”

It’s been well-documented that the elderly are highly compromised when exposed to the virus, so Deer Trail is taking extra precautions to make sure staff is tested frequently between shifts.

“We haven’t quarantined the staff, and we’re testing a quarter of our employees every week now,” Smith said. “So far none of the residents have become ill from the virus, so we’re grateful for that.”

‘The County Did Good By Us’

Smith said Deer Trail has been fortunate in that the amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other necessary supplies have been well stocked.

The facility was low on supplies in February after a stomach bug affected a number of residents, and “we wore out a lot of thermometers.” But the facility has received numerous individual donations and strategic supply from the county, and Smith believes this will be adequate for the foreseeable future.

“The county did good by us,” Smith said. “Our fear now is what the precedence will be when Rock Springs fully opens up.”

Governor Mark Gordon is expected to loosen restrictions in Wyoming even further on Friday. But that doesn’t mean life at Deer Trail will change dramatically.

“The state isn’t opened enough to know if we’re okay yet,” Smith said. “I honestly don’t see it changing much.”

He added that should Deer Trail be allowed family member visits, it will be on a very limited basis. For example, apartment residents will only be allowed to have two family members in the room at one time and for short periods of time.

Staying Connected

Despite the obstacles of meeting face-to-face with family, Smith says his staff is helping their residents connect in other ways.

“We are working hard to ensure all our residents have access to their families so we help with Facetime, Skype, Zoom, old fashioned phone calls and everything in between,” he said.

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Students from Sage Elementary even started sending letters to residents through a Pen Pal program. 

“It was a little rough at first because residents didn’t realize they were supposed to write back,” Smith said. “We’ve since started working with residents one-on-one to make sure all the letters get answered.”  

For the time being, residents, families and staff of Deer Trail Assisted Living are adjusting to the “new normal.” A new order by the governor could change things quickly for better or worse.

Hopefully that decision comes sooner than later, and it brings about positive changes in our community. Such is life during a pandemic.