Responding to COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Senior Living and Social Service Organization
1
CJE SeniorLife—Leonard Schanfield Research Institute Chicago, Chicago, IL 60645, USA
2
Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Geriatrics 2020, 5(4), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics5040098
Received: 31 August 2020 / Revised: 18 November 2020 / Accepted: 21 November 2020 / Published: 26 November 2020
This case study analyzes one senior living and social service organization’s coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis response. We conducted interviews with n = 14 department managers to explore the organization’s pivot to remote work and service provision. We used the Pearson and Mitroff Crisis Management Framework to organize themes. A pre-existing culture of teamwork, willingness to adapt and adopt new approaches, and responsiveness to new policies and procedures facilitated the COVID-19 crisis response. However, low levels of digital literacy among staff, decreased job satisfaction due to no face-to-face interaction between care recipient and service provider, and lack of proactive policies for crisis response, which decreased the speed of enacting remote service provision, were obstacles in effective crisis response. Lessons learned from this case study highlight the need for pre-emptive policy creation on remote service provision and work from home policies, as well as training considerations for senior living and social service organizations.
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Keywords:
COVID-19; older adults; retirement communities; crisis response
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MDPI and ACS Style
Danilovich, M.; Norrick, C.; Lessem, R.; Milstein, L.; Briggs, N.; Berman, R. Responding to COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Senior Living and Social Service Organization. Geriatrics 2020, 5, 98.
AMA Style
Danilovich M, Norrick C, Lessem R, Milstein L, Briggs N, Berman R. Responding to COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Senior Living and Social Service Organization. Geriatrics. 2020; 5(4):98.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDanilovich, Margaret; Norrick, Christie; Lessem, Rachel; Milstein, Laura; Briggs, Nikki; Berman, Rebecca. 2020. "Responding to COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a Senior Living and Social Service Organization" Geriatrics 5, no. 4: 98.
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