Amanda Ballou, CEO Heritage Heights at Lake Chelan
CHELAN - The Heritage Heights dining room is now open again. Residents have been receiving meals in their separate apartments, but as of February 1, the Safe Start Plan for Long Term Care provided guidance for dining services that maintain social distancing and table spacing. Residents are overjoyed to again see each other and be in each other’s’ company. Meals are the hub of the social wheel.
Already the residents are bouncing back. They offer each other encouragement. “Things are getting better,” in the words of Rick Farrell, a Heritage Heights resident. “We look forward to each meal together.”
The requirements for the Safe Start Plan for Long Term Care were developed by the Washington Department of Health, Aging and Long Term Supports Administration, and Residential Care Services. All long term care facilities in the State are in Phase I. As county case rates decline, Heritage Heights may move into another phase. To reach Phase II, our Chelan County case rates would need to fall below 150 per 100,000.
The Long Term Care Facility Safe Start Guidance does not take the vaccination into consideration. Guidance will be updated as we learn more; the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on community transmission rates may allow for future changes. Changes in phases are made by the Department of Health.
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