The Wesley House Assisted Living senior residential facility in Hillsboro (roughly 60 miles south of Dallas) has started holding monthly happy hours for its 30 residents. The happy hours feature a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic bottled drinks and a “tattoo parlor” with an array of temporary tattoos, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“When I was planning the (happy hour event) for August, I thought that it was crazy how we’ve been quarantined since March,” said Susie Castillo, the facility’s activity director. “So I thought what is something crazy that people do when they drink. Get tattoos!!”
Castillo said that the facility hasn’t had a COVID case yet because it maintains social distancing by only hosting two or three residents in a smaller activity space at a time. It also disinfects all tables and chairs used by other before any additional residents enter the space.
Generally speaking, the older a person is, the more susceptible they are to possibly die from COVID-19, especially if they have a severe chronic medical condition such as heart or lung disease or diabetes.
The increased susceptibility of seniors to coronavirus has been particularly difficult as senior living facilities make additional medical considerations to keep their residents safe.
Many facilities went into lockdown during the pandemic, preventing family and friends from visiting or providing personal care. Many also discontinued programs that helped senior residents venture out into public for shopping, movies and other activities.
Despite the precautions, in April, the New York Times estimated that as many 20 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. had occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities that were also overcrowded, overwhelmed and understaffed.
Until mid-April, there weren’t federal requirements for nursing homes to report coronavirus information, and by May 8, U.S. nursing homes had more coronavirus deaths than all but five countries.
Several facilities also experienced large pools of death. In late April, the senior facility Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, Massachusetts had 70 residents die of COVID-19. In May, Maryland reported that nursing homes accounted for nearly half of the state’s total coronavirus deaths, and two New York City nursing homes reported a combined 98 deaths that same month.
In May, the Trump Administration urged nursing homes only to reopen once all staff and residents tested negative for COVID-19, an effort hampered by a lack of available testing and personal protective equipment.
