VULNERABLE GROUPS | Nursing homes are coping brilliantly with a wave of respiratory viruses

Maria leaves the house every day Residence of Vitalia Guadalquivir where he lives to go for walks regularly. His daily routine includes a long a daily walk, whether it’s cold or heat then sits down some time in the sun to relaxrelax and soak in a little Vitamin D, of which she and the rest of her classmates take supplements. Since the beginning of the pandemic, she has received all recommended vaccines, which have maintained her immunity against covid, as well as against the new wave of respiratory viruses this year, which has not yet affected her. If in the midst of a pandemic nursing homes were the center of attention To high vulnerability Of the people living in them, due to their age and pathologies, the lessons learned allow these days to become little oases in which coughing and snot are more common among those who come from outside than among those who are inside.

An intensive vaccination campaign carried out in October and November, during which the vast majority residents Cordoba Before flu And The coronavirus has achieved its goal of reducing the number of infections and much more serious cases to its maximum, just a few days before reaching the maximum peak of the epidemic, which is expected to occur in the coming days. Vitalia’s residence in Guadalquivir is an example of this.

“We are very calm, some residents had cold symptoms, but they were very mild,” explains the director. Carmen Morales, “We have a doctor and two nurses in our house who observed without any records of hospitalization.” In his opinion, the key point was “prevention and caution”prompting them to apply lessons learned during the pandemic in the face of Christmas’s most controversial dates. “We have never restricted residents’ visits or outings.”who were reunited with their families without any problem, but whenever a worker or user had cold symptoms, they were asked to use the mask as a barrier to avoid infecting others,” he says. was considered controlled, no tests are carried out, so there is no official data on infections in residential buildings, only measures are taken to actively control symptoms. There were 15 to 20 cases of mild colds per population of one hundred inhabitants. and positivity in the employee. “100% of the elderly and staff have been vaccinated against Covid, the fifth dose, as well as against influenza, and these days we are testing the effectiveness of the vaccines,” she says with conviction.

Employee awareness is another fundamental point. “Everything we have experienced has taught us that we are working with a vulnerable, high-risk group and that we have to be very responsible,” he comments, pointing to the nurses, receptionists and other staff who wore masks during working hours. within a few days. . “This should only be mandatory in medical centers and pharmaciesBut just in case, until the peak of infections passes, we decided to reschedule it, as we know that this is the best way to protect the elderly.” , unless someone decides to wear it by their own decision. There is a doctor in the Vitaliy group. center and with a telemedicine cart which within the company means having a doctor available 24 hours a day. Consequently, they did not observe the impact of high hospital ED attendance. “We try to avoid hospitalization unless absolutely necessary,” explains the director, “and we are in close contact with family members, who are reminded that caution is the best way to protect their loved ones.”

Situation in other centers

Local resident Dolores says she feels completely safe. “We are all vaccinated and there have been no cases.“Seeing staff wearing a mask is not a cause for concern for us, on the contrary, you see that they are doing it for you.”

The same situation is repeated in other residences, for example in Santa Maria in Plaza de la Compaña.whose director, Pilar Sanchez, confirms that there were practically no infections among older people. “If there was one, he was caught outside the home after being transferred to hospital for another reason,” he explains. “We don’t see the need for a mask to be mandatory unless someone has cold symptoms and I have to say that the infection rate in the general population is much higher than here at the moment. Like Carmen, he agrees that “vaccination has been a barrier and the atmosphere is normal, although there were dates, outings and family gatherings during Christmas.” Well, let it continue like this.