Adult Day Health back in business

Clients begin returning for short visits, evaluations

Monday was the day everyone had been eagerly waiting for.

Client Marcia Krick is first through the door of Everett ADH reopening Monday, July 19, 2021, greeted by RN Raili Calvert and Everett Program Co-Manager and Virtual Zoom Manager Stewart Childers.

After nearly a year and a half, the Adult Day Health program welcomed back its first clients in Everett since closing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally!

The first in-person visits brought lots of smiles (you could tell they were there behind the masks) and cheers. No hugs yet. Everyone is still being extra careful and following safety protocols. Nevertheless, every client who crossed the threshold said it felt good to be back.

“Well, I’m the first one through the door?” said a beaming Marcia Krick as staff greeted her. “Oh, it’s so good to see you all!”

One by one, arriving alone or in pairs on special vans, seven clients made their way across the portal Monday, every one of them happy to see familiar faces. Some brought little gifts for staff members. Others had pictures and experiences to share.

For the next few weeks the Everett site will bring in as many of its Snohomish County clients as willing to make the trip. These visits are primarily for evaluations. Everyone spent time with a nurse to go over their health profiles and an occupational therapist to determine their physical fitness.

“Since we haven’t seen them in so long, we’re treating these visits as if it were their first time here,” said Stacy Christ, Adult Day Health Program Development Director. “We’ll establish new baselines of data and compare to the last time we were in person with them.”

To be clear, this isn’t the first time staff has had contact with these clients. Since the ADH centers closed, a new protocol of regular, weekly phone check-ins with clients and their residential caregivers have been the routine. But this is the first time a nurse has been able to physically take a blood pressure reading or an occupational therapist has been able to observe – up close – a client’s dexterity and movement.

And it was the first time in months that client Albert Little has been able to get a workout on the stair stepper machine, working his legs and arms.

Client Albert Little gets his first stair stepper workout in months during the Everett ADH reopening Monday, July 19, 2021.

“Ahh, it feels good,” Al said. “I sure have missed this.”

Monday’s reopening was a milestone in the long journey that began when Full Life, in an abundance of caution, decided to close its Adult Day Health doors in March 2020. The risks and unknowns about the pandemic were too great, and that was the time when COVID cases were rising exponentially across the state, especially in King and Snohomish counties.

Every aspect of Full Life’s operations were impacted because all our programs relied on in-person, hands-on care. Programs adapted, of course, adopting aggressive telephone communications and video conferencing strategies.

But everyone has been waiting for this time to arrive.

“Definitely exciting,” said Everett Program Co-Manager Emily Roberts, smiling behind her mask. “We’ve been planning for this for a long time, and the day’s finally here!”

These initial evaluations will help staff determine how to bring clients back in slightly larger groups for more in-person activities, hopefully in another month at Everett. The groundwork laid here will also provide a model for re-opening other Adult Day Health sites later this fall in King County.