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Dementia Center's Response to the Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic

Siri Tummala, Katelyn Bowman, Cheryl Harding, Jaime Cobb, Gary Kesling

With society as a whole adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, dementia centers have also changed their regulations. The James L. West Center for Dementia Care is a prominent Alzheimer’s care facility in Texas with a capacity of one hundred residents. At the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, the center prohibited in-person visitors and shifted all in-person caregiver sessions to a virtual format, and it faced several issues with resident engagement and staff turnover. As COVID-19 concerns mitigated in society, the facility began allowing in-person visitors but retained masking guidelines. Our analysis of this center’s response to the pandemic suggest that dementia care facilities should prioritize an open design, provide pandemic preparation training for staff, and integrate virtual aspects.