Kendal now has an excellent facility for dealing with Covid-19 cases. It will protect both the nursing staff and other residents from infection if Covid-19 should come to Kendal. (Fortunately, it has not so far.)

Access to the isolation unit uses a combination of plastic curtains followed by fire doors. Between them is a “semi-clean” area for meal-tray delivery and the like, without requiring the staff dropping them off to enter the isolation unit itself. Each room in the unit has a negative air-pressure system to pull any airborne virus out of the room.

Staff members who have volunteered to serve in the isolation unit will wear disposable personal protective equipment (PPE); and whenever they enter a room, they will also don the washable PPE that is hanging outside the door. At the end of their shift, they will exit the building via a special shower room, where they will shower to make sure they are not carrying virus outside with them.

We are fortunate to have a remarkable medical staff with the knowledge to plan this project, as well as the facilities staff to get it constructed so quickly.

We are also fortunate that we have had time to prepare in this way. There are reports in the news about retirement communities elsewhere that have been hit with multiple Covid-19 cases. If that had happened here before the isolation unit was completed, we would not have had nearly as sophisticated facilities for isolation.