Charlotte’s assisted living facilities and treatment programs adapt to COVID-19

The risk of COVID-19 has forced changes at assisted living and care facilities as restrictions were placed on visits and residents’ activities.

Mecklenburg County has 24 congregate living settings with active coronavirus outbreaks as of Tuesday, according to local health officials.

On Friday, the state Department of Health and Human Services began allowing outdoor visitation for some long-term care facilities. Marc Maready, chief operating officer of Ridge Care, spoke of the difficulty Ridge Care’s senior living facilities faced without group activities.

“That was just as serious a threat, we felt, as the virus itself because it really pulled them away from their connections to the world around them,” Maready said.

Ridge Care currently has 16 assisted living facilities, including Preston House in Charlotte and Walnut Ridge Assisted Living in Walnut Cove. Both facilities have had coronavirus outbreaks.

According to Maready, the facilities had internal protocols and also received guidance from the state health department on how to respond to COVID-19. He said with the size of Ridge Care, staff teams could also learn from sister facilities on proper outbreak responses. In addition to state PPE supply drops, Ridge Care also purchased masks for residents and staff from a private company.

“In a situation like this, having a wide range of resources to pull from is very helpful,” Maready said.

For smaller organizations such as Charlotte Rescue Mission, community support played a significant role in responding to coronavirus.

“That has been just incredible to see the community really stand behind us and stand with us in this time,” said Rachel DiBattista, marketing and communications specialist for Charlotte Rescue Mission. “It’s really bonded us.”

Charlotte Rescue Mission has residential recovery programs for people struggling with addiction. The organization’s Dove’s Nest program for women had two coronavirus cases within staff.

“It really took a toll on the residents there,” DiBattista said.

Charlotte Rescue Mission had to slow the process for new admissions and is not currently accepting volunteer services because of COVID-19. Though residents are quarantined, the organization partnered with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte to offer activities at Camp Thunderbird, which also had been closed due to coronavirus. The YMCA raised money to host residents from Dove’s Nest and Rebound, Charlotte Rescue Mission’s program, which serves mostly homeless men.

“This was an unprecedented move by the YMCA to reach out to us,” said Reginald Wilkins, a case manager and counselor for Rebound.

Charlotte Rescue Mission has also had to re-think fundraising options to support their programs. They’ve held food drives and drive-in movie nights at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. A local company, Dry Pro Foundation and Crawlspace Specialists, donated $5,000 to Charlotte Rescue Mission and matched another $5,000.

“We just wanted to walk with them and help them with whatever needs we can help with, which right now is cash donations,” said Ron Weatherly, Dry Pro’s CEO.

The Rebound program serves more than 100 men, assisting them to find jobs, housing and sometimes further education. To limit coronavirus exposure, Wilkins and other staff set up an “in-house job search center” with three laptops for residents to seek employment.

“No matter what happens,” Wilkins said. “There’s always a way to do something different.”

Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to indicate Charlotte Rescue Mission continues to accept new clients but the process has slowed since the pandemic began. This story has also been clarified to indicate that the organization serves mostly homeless men through its Rebound addiction recovery program.

This story was originally published July 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.