Callaway Good Life
CALLAWAY - No where has the COVID-19 pandemic been more tough than at the Good Life in Callaway, a skilled nursing facility. In the April 9, 2020 issue of the Custer County Chief, the first recorded case of COVID-19 in Custer County and the first death related to COVID-19 for the county were reported and they both happened at the Callaway Good Life Center.
Administrator Vicky Hendricks reflected on the past year. “It’s better now. The vaccines have helped,” she said. “I feel it in my heart. Every step we take to get the community vaccinated, it makes our hearts light.”
Hendricks said rules around visitation at the Good Life have changed a lot recently. “We don’t deny visitations but we do limit the number of visitors in the building,” she explained.
Visitors must make an appointment and they must visit only one person - no wandering the halls to greet more people they know. Visitors must wear masks and are subject to screening. Once with their loved one, Hendricks said, they can hold hands, give hugs and sit side by side, as long as they use hand sanitizer and masks.
“We encourage outdoor visits if the weather is nice,” she said.
The Good Life hasn’t had a steady flow of visitors which is OK with Hendricks right now. “We still have to clean between visitors,” she said. “We appreciate the community understanding.”
Family members can also take a resident out of the facility. Before they do so, however, staff reviews high risk and low risk events. “Mom going home to eat dinner with a small crowd with no symptoms, that’s a low risk. Church services with a lot of people, that’s high risk,” Hendricks said.
About 98 percent of the residents at the Good Life are vaccinated for COVID-19. More than half the staff have also been vaccinated. Hendricks encourages people to get the vaccinations however, she knows it’s a personal choice; vaccinations are not required for either staff and residents.
The Good Life Center has returned to communal dining with altered schedules. There are also group activities with the ever present social distancing, hand sanitizer and masks. Yet there is one activity that hasn’t been resumed and Hendricks misses it. “No singing,” she said. “Singing is so joyful.”
It’s been a year of emotions for many at the Good Life. “COVID fatigue is absolutely real,” Hendricks said quietly. “There are things that will trigger the tears.”
She told of seeing a TV program, “one of those doctor shows” that showed a room where the belongings of COVID patients were stored. That same thing had been done at the Good Life Center.
Seeing the room as portrayed on TV brought tears to her eyes. “It was very emotional for me. I could see our room. When we didn’t know what to do, all belongings were bagged up and put in a room.”
Hendricks emphasizes that there were a lot of unknowns to deal with. “We’ve learned so much. We’ve come a long way.” And the unknowns still continued.
“I’m not as concerned about the variants,” she said. “But at some point they may mutate and the vaccine may not be effective. I’ll leave that up to the scientists.”
More than a year into the pandemic, Hendricks has firm words for those who still don’t think COVID is real or serious.
“To hear people say it’s a hoax, it hurts,” she said. “You haven’t lived what we have lived. You haven’t been in the middle of it.”
In many ways, Hendricks said the residents have adjusted better than the staff, saying, “They have lived through a lot and took it in stride.” For both residents and staff, counseling is available for those who would like to talk it through.
Hendricks is hopeful that the end of the pandemic is in sight, though she is not holding her breath.
“Not everything will go back to normal. We’ll have a new normal,” she said. “It’s not over. People are still dying. But it’s a whole lot better.”
That loved ones can now spend time together is one of the things that makes it better.
“When you get to see a wife hold her husband’s hand and that hasn’t happened for a year, you get goosebumps,” Hendricks said. Then she added with a laugh, “And then in the back of my mind, I think, ‘I hope they hand sanitized!’”