Caring in the COVID-19 Era
Joanne Erickson
5/1/2020
It’s hard to think of much beyond the devastating coronavirus pandemic, and we at
Provider didn’t even try. Managing Editor Amy Mendoza and Senior Writer and Editor Patrick Connole partnered to interview providers across the country about their experiences so far. What they found most encouraging was the many signs of the humanity and resilience in the people working in the nation’s long term and post-acute care communities. In spite of the dangers of infection to themselves and their families, compassionate staff members continue to come to work day in and day out to care for an extremely vulnerable population.
The gratitude that company owners and managers feel toward their faithful and often heroic employees was recently expressed by Bob Van Dyk, president and CEO of Van Dyk Care. An uplifting feature by Amy Mendoza describes how his New Jersey company brought a virtual Broadway show to the staff, residents, and families of its assisted living, memory care, and home care clients. Four Broadway veterans sang hits from musicals via the Zoom platform and dedicated them to different Van Dyk staff teams.
Setting aside the pandemic for a moment, in a final feature in this issue long term care administrator Don Bivacca projects what the future may hold for the profession once the influx of baby boomers peaks. Among his predictions are that some communities will expand their services to enable residents to age in place but that home care may also become a more common solution.