Evin at Oconomowoc, a community that offers independent living, assisted living, and memory care, is taking an innovative approach during the coronavirus pandemic. The development team is focusing on controlling the spread of viruses.
Cleaning, sanitation and infection control is always a priority standard protocol for senior living, but Matter CEO Aaron Matter said Evin is taking big leaps forward in several different ways.
“Residents and families ask about how we’re responding,” Matter said. “One way is through a rigorous process of researching and installing a very safe hospital-grade air purification system that is used by both UW Hospital Madison and Mayo Clinic.”
Matter said that U.S. Air Force studies show the system to kill pathogens and viruses in the air, including coronavirus. As an even greater air quality consideration, every apartment in the building has its own entirely separate HVAC system. Common area HVAC is separate from the apartments, and the HVAC for memory care is separate from the rest of the community, Matter noted.
The senior living community features keyless locks, a video capable entrance system for visitors so residents can see who is visiting them, commercial laundry machines for a higher level of sanitation and a state-of-the-art whirlpool spa tub with FDA-recognized UV water purification system.
Andy Lange, president of Koru Health, said the community is thinking of the families and resident lifestyles. “We are creating a personal safety visitor lounge with a separate exterior entrance, and special considerations that allow the most opportunities possible for safe visiting by families and friends if there is a future flareup,” Lange said.
Lange said Evin is a smaller and more intimate senior living community with only 80 apartments, “which provides the scale necessary for excellent quality and resources, but not so large that it becomes difficult to implement high-quality health measures. A smaller building means fewer disruptions to residents’ lives in the event we have to respond to an outbreak.”
Learn more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee Business Journal, and the Oconomowoc Enterprise.
