Dogwood and Magnolia Place of New Albany Protecting Residents Against COVID-19

Editor’s note: Work in long term car faciliities (LTCs) requires patience and compassion under the best circumstances. During the coronavirus pandemic those merciful qualities are under enormous stress. A few years ago my mother was a resident the last two years of her life at Magnolia Place, an LTC in New Albany. The care she received was flawless and, toward the end, her needs demanded much of her Magnolia caregivers. Because of our good experience and high regard for them, we asked Hickory Senior Living, which operates Magnolia and Dogwood in New Albany and six other LTCs in Mississippi, to tell our readers about how they are carrying on as they care for their residents during these demanding days.  –JWS

New Albany, MS – At Dogwood and Magnolia Place of New Albany, we have always had a mission to provide a comfortable home-like setting for our residents. Right now, the world is facing an unprecedented pandemic and, as it has always been, it is our job to provide safety for our residents. To date we have had no cases of COVID-19 and we’re doing as much as we can to prevent that from happening.

Things have changed a bit at our communities to protect our residents, who we care for deeply and want to remain protected. And while we have had to prevent visits from anyone other than essential personnel, that does not mean that the families and friends of our residents are completely out of reach.

We have provided a tablet to the facility, so all residents have the ability to see their loved ones and chat through technology. Many already have their own personal devices, but we also wanted to provide a resource for anyone who may need it. We’re offering free video calls for loved ones during normal business hours Monday – Friday.

Magnolia and Dogwood residents have in-apartment activiities and also outdoor activities to help occupy their days of dealing with Covid-19 restrictions.

We are extremely thankful for all the generosity from our community and are blown away by the number of masks and supplies that have been donated to us. There have also been a lot of local vendors and community groups that have come by our community to drop off signs, gifts, and words of encouragement to our residents. Please know that we are doing everything we can to keep all our residents and staff upbeat and motivated during this time.

Our residents are getting outside at safe social distances and enjoying this beautiful spring weather, even having snacks outside and planting in the garden. We are also sending out weekly creative entertainment kits to residents to keep them productive while spending time in their apartment.

This time has been challenging for so many and please understand it has been tough on our community as well. Our amazing team members and caregivers along with your community support have been able to protect our senior citizens who are more at risk when it comes to COVID-19.

Our team is also taking many defensive measures to protect our residents. In addition to daily screening of residents and employees, measures include wearing proper PPE, frequent sanitization and limiting potential exposure to team members. We’re providing regular updates to resident families and the community. If you have any questions, please visit our website at hickoryseniorliving.com/covid19faq.

Again, thank you to everyone in our community who is doing their part to keep our residents and our community members safe. Only together can we defeat this.

BY:   Katie Adkisson  

         Reed Public Relations