Guide to Retirement Living: Golden View Health Care Center

June 20, 2021

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The past year has been a time of change and evolution for New Hampshire retirement communities. We reached out to several administrators to learn how things are going, what recent challenges have revealed and how residents — and potential community members — can feel secure about their retirement living decisions.

What were the most successful safety measures your community implemented during the past year?

“The pandemic hastened the way that The Golden View Community has integrated technology into our everyday systems and lives. Harnessing the efficiency and communication capacities of current technology allowed us to continue to deliver quality professional medical services through telemedicine, maintain relationships with our residents and their loved ones through video chat technology, and protect our staff by upgrading nurse call technology from a push button response system to an in-room to nurses station voice call system — all of which increased efficiency and reduced the risk of exposure to the virus for our residents and staff.”

How are healthy living programs being re-introduced or maintained?

“The one thing that we thought we knew and understood was the importance of interpersonal connections and physical touch. The pandemic demonstrated just how important those connections are to our overall health — both mentally and physically. Nursing assistants, housekeepers, dining assistants and office personnel working in our community filled the void of loved ones who could not visit, by comforting residents, visiting with them, listening to them and grieving with them over the loss of a friend or roommate. The connections and relationships among our team members grew stronger during the pandemic. Each team member helping each other, supporting each other, consoling each other through PPE shortages, increased workloads, illness, fear and grief. There is no substitute for human connection.”

In what ways has Golden View reopened or returned to pre-pandemic procedures?

“The Golden View Community is now in what I call our recovery phase. Although there is a sense of return to normalcy, we are not all the way there yet. We are reopening our doors to loved ones and friends, volunteers, students of clinical programs, various community-based organizations and entertainers that have always been a part of the lives of the residents at Golden View. Residents are re-entering the surrounding community for social visits and outings they once enjoyed.”