RESIDENTS REUNITE
Vaccinations let seniors dine together again at complex
Monday was a special day for Florence Graham.
Almost exactly one year after Marin County announced its first stay-at-home order, Graham was able to sit down for the first time among friends and neighbors in the Deer Park Retirement Community's dining hall in Novato on Monday and share a meal together.
“It's such a pleasure,” Graham said. “I've seen people that I haven't seen for, I don't know, six months.
“Somebody said, ‘Oh, I thought you had left,' and I
said, “No, I'm still here,'” Graham continued with a laugh. “At least they didn't say, ‘Oh, I thought you died.'”
The meal was part of the community's celebration on Monday of having fully vaccinated nearly all of its 71 residents and about half of its staff. While only allowing for 25% capacity in the dining hall, it was a noticeable change for the residents and staff. Prior to the vaccinations being completed in late February, meals were delivered to residents' apartments to prevent potential spread of the virus.
Some residents are still opting for deliveries, but the vaccinations have made a “nightand-day difference,” said Robert Blaskey, the center's executive director.
“Just to take a couple of words that were provided by some of the residents directly as part of our events today, what I'm hearing more often is
hope, family, laughter, enthusiasm,” Blaskey said.
Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County's public health officer, was one of seven Bay Area health officers who announced the country's first stay-at-home orders on March 16, 2020. Celebrations such as those at Deer Park Retirement Community are glimmers of what the new normal could look like if current trends continue, he said.
“It's been a pandemic of loneliness for many,” Willis said Monday. “For the vaccines to now offer people the protection to be able to be together and touch one another and dine
“What I’m hearing more often is hope, family, laughter, enthusiasm.”
— Robert Blaskey, Deer Park Retirement Community