‘It’s just a hard virus to contain’: retirement facilities work to keep residents safe

The Legacy Retirement Community went almost 8 months without a case of COVID-19. Thankfully, they've been able to prevent an outbreak.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) —As cases rise across the city, state and nation, many are working hard to get a grasp on containment. Specifically, assisted living facilities.

“When its all around you, in the city, it’s very hard to stay away from it,” Barb Scott, with Legacy Retirement Communities, said.

From the very beginning, the older population has been more vulnerable to the virus than anyone else. That’s why places like Legacy Retirement Community have been on high alert working to prevent any kind of outbreak.

“We test. We rapid test our staff every two to three days as they enter the building so we stay on top of it there,” Scott said.

The continuous testing is what helped them get ahead of the virus. The retirement community didn’t have a positive case until the first of November. Since then, they’ve had 28 people test positive and unfortunately, one death. With over 200 residents, keeping numbers that low is something many struggle to do.

“Here’s how we are getting on top of that, we are testing all the time and we are educating all the time. So you know what, it id happen at the beginning of November but because of that we have geared up and gotten so much more educated,” Scott said.

She added that it’s been hard on the residents, staying away from family but every person…from resident, to staff to family member knows that it’s the only way to keep the elderly safe and healthy.