3
D r. Ayala Zoltan Rockoff, who began working as DAT’s school psychologist in 2019, had no idea that a pandem- ic would upend the world in the com- ing months. Although DAT transitioned to online learning in March due to COVID-19, Rockoff practices her work with unwavering profession- alism and concern. She misses the personal contact with her K-12 students yet has found ways to tran- scend walls. The New Rochelle, NY, native earned a BA with honors in Asian and Middle Eastern studies from the University of Pennsylva- nia, an MA in early childhood special educa- tion from Columbia Uni- versity and a PhD in school psychology from St. John’s Uni- versity. However, she did not progress in a straight line from A to Z. “I originally trained as a special education teacher,” Rockoff says. “Eventually I realized that the social- emotional development I witnessed in the classroom impacted me more than anything. “I decided that what I really want- ed to do was create change in Jew- ish day schools. I went back to college to study the ‘whole child’ in every area of development, specifically assessment, interventions and well- being.” Prior to DAT, Rockoff was employed for 11 years as a teacher, curriculum coordinator and school psychologist-director of guidance at Hyman Brand Hebrew Acade- my in Overland Park, Kansas. Dr. Rockoff is married to Rabbi Dani Rockoff, DAT’s Judaic studies principal for grades 6-12 and the school’s rabbi. They are the par- ents of Shai, 11, David Aryeh, 9, Ora, 7, and Beni, 4. No COVID-19 deaths at Kavod or Shalom Park N umbers, as they say, don’t lie. In the grim arithmetic of the coronavirus, it’s clear that older people are considerably more likely to die of the disease than those who are younger. Old- er people are doing so in dramat- ically higher numbers, especially if they have other medical conditions, which a great many of them do. Here in Colorado, according to figures posted May 15 by the Col- orado Dept. of Public Health and Environment, approximately 90% of the nearly 1,000 deaths attrib- uted to COVID-19 have been among people age 60 and over. Even more disturbing, more than half of the state’s total number of victims have been residents of nurs- ing homes and other senior care communities. These numbers roughly reflect both national and international trends, where senior residential facilities — including several oper- ated by and for Jewish communi- ties — have become epicenters for the spread of the virus and its dead- ly toll. But the numbers aren’t absolute, and they don’t tell the whole sto- ry. In the Denver area, the two senior care facilities operated and managed by the Jewish commu- nity — Kavod Senior Life and Shalom Park — are defying, and so far, defeating the odds. There are more than 500 indi- viduals living in those two com- munities, in levels of care ranging from independent to assisted liv- ing to 24-7 nursing care — a sig- nificant portion of them Jewish. Since the coronavirus was first diag- nosed in Colorado in early March, only one of those individuals has tested positive for COVID-19, and that person has survived. As of this week, neither Kavod nor Shalom Park has had a single death due to the virus. The numbers, as they say, don’t lie. W hen asked when Kavod felt its first sense of alarm about the impend- ing pandemic, President- CEO Michael Klein admits that “everything was such a blur” as the impending threat first made itself known in Colorado. WWW.IJN.COM — Most Local Jewish Information on the Web FOUR-WEEK FREE IJN SUBSCRIPTION, 303-861-2234 By ANDREA JACOBS IJN Senior Writer ‘Loss of normal life is very upsetting for students’ By CHRIS LEPPEK IJN Assistant Editor Diligence and care helped local Jewish care facilities avoid becoming a hot zone for the novel coronavirus Dr. Rockoff School psychologist during a pandemic Vol. 107, No. 21 Iyar 28, 5780 MAY 22, 2020 © Published every Friday, Denver, CO $1.75 INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS WWW.IJN.COM ® CANDLELIGHTING DENVER 7:57 p.m. BOULDER 7:59 p.m. ASPEN 8:02 p.m. INSIDE Business .......................................15 Classifieds ....................................19 Columnists .........................4, 14, 23 Editorials ......................................24 Legal Notices ...............................18 Leisure..........................................12 Lively Opinion ...............................4 Readers Speak................................5 Shmoos.........................................22 Obituaries .....................................20 Synagogues & Calendar ..............21 Today’s Life ...........................10, 11 Spotlight, Weekly Calendar 13 DR. ROCKOFF MICHAEL KLEIN CEO, Kavod Senior Life MARC PENNER CEO, Shalom Park SWEDEN J ERUSALEM (JTA) — China’s ambassador to Israel was found dead in his home Sunday, May 17, in the central Israeli city of Herzliya. The death of Du Wei, 58, who arrived in Israel just three months ago to take up his posi- tion, is not being treated as sus- picious, according to Israeli media reports. He was found dead by staff in his bed, Haaretz reported. Magen David Adom emergency services, which responded to Chinese ambassador found dead DU WEI Continued on Page 17 S TRASBOURG (JTA) — A Jewish woman in Stras- bourg, France, gave birth to sextuplets. The five girls and one boy were born very prematurely on May 14 at the Hautepierre Hos- pital in Strasbourg, requiring the assistance of 30 medical staff members, the daily LeP- arisien reported, citing the newspaper Les Actualités Nouvelles d’Alsace. It took four minutes to deliv- er the babies, who were born at 24 weeks, after which they Jewish sextuplets in France SEXTUPLETS Continued on Page 17 S ome synagogues in Den- ver plan to open as soon as today, May 22, and oth- ers next week. Among the synagogues that plan to resume minyanim is Zera Abraham off West Colfax. Spiritual leader Rabbi Tzvi Steinberg said the congrega- tion will strictly follow the Coalitions of Orthodox Syna- gogue Rabbis (COSR) guidance and in some cases follow SENIOR LIVING Continued on Page 16 SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST Continued on Page 17 Despite Sweden’s more liberal COVID-19 policy, its main synagogue is closed. STORY , P . 19. SHULS Continued on Page 11 By SHANA R. GOLDBERG IJN Assistant Publisher Home - Sec. B Shavuos-Youth Sec. C Some Denver shuls to open soon

INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS · alarm about the impend-ing pandemic,President-CEO Michael Klein admits that “everything was such a blur”as the impending threat first made itself

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Page 1: INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS · alarm about the impend-ing pandemic,President-CEO Michael Klein admits that “everything was such a blur”as the impending threat first made itself

D r. Ayala Zoltan Rockoff, whobegan working as DAT’sschool psychologist in 2019,had no idea that a pandem-

ic would upend the world in the com-ing months.

Although DAT transitioned toonline learning in March due toCOVID-19, Rockoff practices herwork with unwavering profession-alism and concern. She misses thepersonal contact with her K-12students yet has found ways to tran-scend walls.

The New Rochelle, NY, nativeearned a BA with honors in Asianand Middle Eastern studies from

the Universityof Pennsylva-nia, an MA inearly childhoodspecial educa-tion fromColumbia Uni-versity and aPhD in schoolpsychology fromSt. John’s Uni-versity.

However, shedid not progressin a straight linefrom A to Z.

“I originally trained as a specialeducation teacher,” Rockoff says.“Eventually I realized that the social-emotional development I witnessedin the classroom impacted me morethan anything.

“I decided that what I really want-ed to do was create change in Jew-ish day schools. I went back to collegeto study the ‘whole child’ in everyarea of development, specificallyassessment, interventions and well-being.”

Prior to DAT, Rockoff wasemployed for 11 years as a teacher,curriculum coordinator and schoolpsychologist-director of guidanceat Hyman Brand Hebrew Acade-my in Overland Park, Kansas.

Dr. Rockoff is married to Rabbi

Dani Rockoff, DAT’s Judaic studiesprincipal for grades 6-12 and theschool’s rabbi. They are the par-ents of Shai, 11,David Aryeh,9,Ora,7, and Beni, 4.

No COVID-19 deaths atKavod or Shalom Park

Numbers, as they say, don’tlie.

In the grim arithmeticof the coronavirus, it’s clear

that older people are considerablymore likely to die of the diseasethan those who are younger. Old-er people are doing so in dramat-ically higher numbers, especially ifthey have other medical conditions,which a great many of them do.

Here in Colorado, according tofigures posted May 15 by the Col-orado Dept. of Public Health andEnvironment, approximately 90%of the nearly 1,000 deaths attrib-uted to COVID-19 have been amongpeople age 60 and over.

Even more disturbing,more thanhalf of the state’s total number ofvictims have been residents of nurs-ing homes and other senior carecommunities.

These numbers roughly reflect

both national and internationaltrends, where senior residentialfacilities — including several oper-ated by and for Jewish communi-

ties — have become epicenters forthe spread of the virus and its dead-ly toll.

But the numbers aren’t absolute,and they don’t tell the whole sto-ry.

In the Denver area, the twosenior care facilities operated andmanaged by the Jewish commu-nity — Kavod Senior Life andShalom Park — are defying, andso far, defeating the odds.

There are more than 500 indi-viduals living in those two com-munities, in levels of care rangingfrom independent to assisted liv-ing to 24-7 nursing care — a sig-nificant portion of them Jewish.Since the coronavirus was first diag-nosed in Colorado in early March,only one of those individuals hastested positive for COVID-19, andthat person has survived.

As of this week, neither Kavodnor Shalom Park has had a singledeath due to the virus.

The numbers, as they say, don’tlie.

When asked when Kavodfelt its first sense ofalarm about the impend-ing pandemic,President-

CEO Michael Klein admits that“everything was such a blur” as theimpending threat first made itselfknown in Colorado.

WWW.IJN.COM — Most Local Jewish Information on the Web • FOUR-WEEK FREE IJN SUBSCRIPTION, 303-861-2234

By ANDREA JACOBSIJN Senior Writer

‘Loss ofnormallife isveryupsettingforstudents’

By CHRIS LEPPEKIJN Assistant Editor

Diligence and care helped local Jewish care facilities avoidbecoming a hot zone for the novel coronavirus

Dr. Rockoff

School psychologistduring a pandemic

Vol. 107, No. 21 Iyar 28, 5780 MAY 22, 2020 © Published every Friday, Denver, CO $1.75

INTERMOUNTAIN

JEWISH NEWSWWW.IJN.COM

®

CANDLELIGHTING DENVER 7:57 p.m. BOULDER 7:59 p.m. ASPEN 8:02 p.m.

INSIDEBusiness .......................................15Classifieds ....................................19Columnists.........................4, 14, 23Editorials ......................................24Legal Notices ...............................18Leisure..........................................12Lively Opinion...............................4Readers Speak................................5Shmoos.........................................22Obituaries.....................................20Synagogues & Calendar ..............21Today’s Life...........................10, 11

Spotlight, Weekly Calendar 13

DR. ROCKOFFMICHAEL KLEIN

CEO, Kavod Senior Life

MARC PENNERCEO, Shalom Park

S W E D E N

JERUSALEM (JTA) —China’s ambassador toIsrael was found dead inhis home Sunday,May 17,

in the central Israeli city ofHerzliya.

The death of Du Wei,58,whoarrived in Israel just threemonths ago to take up his posi-tion, is not being treated as sus-picious, according to Israelimedia reports.

He was found dead by staffin his bed, Haaretz reported.Magen David Adom emergencyservices, which responded to

Chineseambassadorfound dead

DU WEIContinued on Page 17

STRASBOURG (JTA) — AJewish woman in Stras-bourg, France, gave birthto sextuplets.

The five girls and one boywere born very prematurely onMay 14 at the Hautepierre Hos-pital in Strasbourg, requiringthe assistance of 30 medicalstaff members, the daily LeP-arisien reported, citing thenewspaper Les ActualitésNouvelles d’Alsace.

It took four minutes to deliv-er the babies, who were bornat 24 weeks, after which they

Jewish sextuplets in

France

SEXTUPLETSContinued on Page 17

Some synagogues in Den-ver plan to open as soonas today,May 22,and oth-ers next week.

Among the synagogues thatplan to resume minyanim isZera Abraham off West Colfax.Spiritual leader Rabbi TzviSteinberg said the congrega-tion will strictly follow theCoalitions of Orthodox Syna-gogue Rabbis (COSR) guidanceand in some cases follow

SENIOR LIVINGContinued on Page 16

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTContinued on Page 17

Despite Sweden’s more liberal COVID-19 policy, its main synagogue is closed. STORY, P. 19.

SHULSContinued on Page 11

By SHANA R. GOLDBERG IJN Assistant Publisher

Home - Sec. B

Shavuos-Youth Sec. C

Some Denvershuls to open

soon

Page 2: INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS · alarm about the impend-ing pandemic,President-CEO Michael Klein admits that “everything was such a blur”as the impending threat first made itself

“I think it began in March,” hesays.

Kavod’s director of communica-tions and marketing,Christie Ziegler,clarifies the timeline. The facilitybegan gearing up for the viruseven before Gov. Jared Polis report-ed the state’s first positive diagno-sis on March 5.

“When we saw the outbreak atthe nursing facility in Seattle, weput together a small task force offour or five leadership people,” Kleinsays, “but it quickly became appar-ent that that would not be enough.”

In short order, Kavod’s small taskforce was replaced with a leadership

group of 11 people who began meet-ing on a daily basis, first in person,then on Zoom.The group is still con-tinuing its daily interaction on thevirtual platform, keeping track ofboth internal needs and externaldevelopments.

Kavod’s needs were quickly under-stood, Ziegler told the INTERMOUN-TAIN JEWISH NEWS this week,triggering what she calls a “stairstepof precautions.”

Obtaining adequate supplies ofpersonal protective equipment, bothfor staff and residents, was an ear-ly priority. It was difficult at first,Klein says, but with the assistanceof national organizations, especial-ly the Assn. of Jewish Aging Ser-vices and B’nai B’rith, a supplypipeline was secured and adequatesupplies procured.

“I think right now we’re OK withthe PPEs,” Klein says.

In early March, Kavod canceledall activities that involved gather-ings of residents.

“We didn’t want to bring seniorstogether,” Klein puts it simply.

After briefly reducing the num-ber of people at dining room tablesfrom seven to five, the dining roomwas closed altogether.

“The dining room has been closedfor about two months and we don’tsee it opening for awhile,”Klein says.“It’s just a laboratory for mixing res-idents and staff in close proximity.”

Meals are still prepared in Kavod’skitchen but are now delivered twicedaily to residents’ rooms.

Kavod has also been encourag-ing residents to have groceries deliv-ered instead of going out andshopping themselves and is payingfor the delivery charges as “one ofthe ways to increase social dis-tancing,” Klein says.

These measures are supplementedwith a new in-house food pantrywhich provides a variety of free foodsto residents to prepare on their own.

“Residents are looking to us tobe their safety net for food,” Kleinsays, explaining that the pantry isintended to save residents’ moneyand discourage them from takingrisky trips to grocery stores. Butit’s taking a big bite out of Kavod’s

budget. He is asking for the Jew-ish and general communities to pro-vide assistance,both food and money.

S ince the virus began, Kleinsays, Kavod has implement-ed a “cascading” series of pre-cautions as the pandemic has

progressed and more knowledge hasbeen gathered about it.

Staff members are conducting dai-ly wellness checks of residents,taking temperatures and asking aseries of questions about how they’refeeling.

If residents report any possiblevirus-related symptoms, tests areimmediately arranged. If they needto go to the hospital for any rea-son, they are immediately put intoquarantine upon their return toKavod. The same if they reportany contact with a person who mighthave the virus.

Housekeeping has been rampedup considerably, with staff clean-ing elevators, doorknobs and com-mon areas much more frequentlythan usual.

Social distance has been enhancedby reducing the number of staff pre-sent in the facility by about half,with many staffers doing their jobsfrom home. In addition, the beautysalon has been closed and a lot offurniture in common areas has beenput in storage, to discourage peo-ple from congregating.

The facility has adopted a limit-ed entry policy, with only essentialpersonnel allowed to physically enterany of Kavod’s buildings.

Ziegler indicates that visitorsare largely limited to healthcareworkers who provide different kindsof care and support to residents.Such workers are asked on each vis-it whether they’ve had any contactwith persons who have tested pos-itive for the virus. If they have,they are denied entry.

No delivery personnel are allowedinto the facility.All packages are leftwith the receptionist and taken upto individual apartments by staffmembers.

Visits from family and friendshave been eliminated, with “rareexceptions,” Klein says, althoughsome families have arranged meet-ings outside the buildings, followingsocial distance guidelines.

As a temporary and partial sub-stitute for communal gatherings atKavod, musicians have been hiredto perform outside the buildings toentertain the residents within.

On Mother’s Day, for example,

three barber shop quartets werethere to provide a musical saluteto the community’s mothers.

The steps taken at Kavod havenot gone unnoticed.

On May 5, the ColoradoDept. of Public Health and

Environment held an unannouncedaudit of the facility, inspecting every-thing from medication administra-tion and housekeeping to mealdelivery and COVID-19 precautions.

The officials did not make one cita-tion,and informed Kavod that it wasthe first senior facility during thepandemic to pass inspection with-out a single citation.

All of the precautions, Klein says,“are about setting limits to reduceinteractions between staff and staff,residents and staff, residents andresidents,” Klein says, describingKavod’s hardworking staff membersas “the unsung heroes of this wholething.We have staff coming in everyday that are just doing really won-derful things.”

Among them, he adds, is thecommunity’s chaplain, RabbiStephen Booth-Nadav, who is per-forming invaluable service for theresidents as a pastoral counselorand spiritual leader during a verystressful and trying time.

Ziegler adds that the residentsthemselves deserve credit for theircooperation and patience.

“Most of our residents are grate-ful for the protocols we’ve taken,”she says. “They’re in a high-riskgroup and most of them are beingvery prudent.”

“Given that we have more than400 people living here, the majori-ty of them independent,” Klein adds,“they have been super responsive.We’ve had lots of thank you notesfrom residents and families.”

There have also been lots of ques-tions from residents and families,he says.

To answer as many virus-relat-ed queries as possible, Kavod has alink on its website (www.kavodse-n i o r l i f e . o r g / w h o - w e - a r e /covid19updates/) and a phone hot-line (303-591-4890) in both Eng-lish and Russian.

In “early, early March,” ShalomPark President-CEO Marc Pen-ner says, the nursing home wast-ed virtually no time circling

the wagons.“We were beginning to hear var-

ious updates on the news,” Pennertold the IJN this week.

“We participated in the first ofmany webinars and educationalmeetings.What really triggered ourproactive approach was when weheard that a local hospital had theirfirst positive case. In conjunctionwith our medical director, we imme-diately went into shutdown.”

He adds, with emphasis: “Andwe are proud of that decision. Weshut down about a week or morebefore the governor ordered nurs-ing homes to shut down.”

The “shutdown” included a strict-ly restricted visitor policy, tightenedadmission guidelines and a screen-ing procedure for all staff mem-bers, which mandated takingtemperatures daily and washinghands upon entering the facility.

One of the most fortuitous stepsShalom Park took early on was toorder a wide array of PPEs — facemasks and shields, gowns, goggles,head coverings, hand sanitizer, evenfoot coverings.

“We were thinking out of the boxwhen we started ordering PPEs,”Penner says.

“Our traditional sources didn’thave them so we were really beingvery open-minded in who we orderedfrom, ordering things from all overthe world — really good quality —and they arrived.

“We have never not been in a goodsituation with our PPEs and I thinkthat has had a major influence onour success.”

Only essential caregivers areadmitted into the facility.Family members and othervisitors are not allowed in,

except for family members in thecase of an elder (the term pre-ferred at Shalom Park to “resident”)who is actually in the process ofdying, after diagnosis by a hospiceprofessional.

Even then, visitors are screenedand must agree to wear masks andhave their temperature taken. Onlytwo at a time are allowed entryand they can go nowhere else butthe elder’s room.

Kavod, Shalom Park stay clearEven before the governer ordered it, both locked down to protect residents

16 • Section A • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS • May 22, 2020

N E W S

SENIOR LIVINGFrom Page 1

The outbreak at a Seattle nursing facilitywas a wake-up call for Kavod Senior Life

KAVOD SENIOR LIFE22 South Adams, Denver.

SHALOM PARK14800 E. Belleview Dr., Aurora.

SENIOR LIVINGContinued on Page 17

Page 3: INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS · alarm about the impend-ing pandemic,President-CEO Michael Klein admits that “everything was such a blur”as the impending threat first made itself

The following is an edited tran-script of the INTERMOUNTAIN JEW-ISH NEWS’ conversation with Dr.Ayala Zoltan Rockoff.

IJN: Describe your role as aschool psychologist at DAT.

Dr.Ayala Rockoff:“I do most-ly group intervention. I assist

teachers in setting socially and emo-tionally appropriate behavior in theclassroom, in addition to focusing onfriendships and family relationships.

“My colleague,social worker SerenWaldbaum,works with students whorequire more help on a one-on-onedaily basis, but I also do this when-ever necessary.

“My first few months were pri-marily about getting to know theadministrators, the teachers, stu-dents and families, and to figure outthe best way to serve our students.

“I was beginning to get my feetwet and develop our goals further,when boom!”

IJN: Children and teens can expe-rience issues of self-esteem, rela-tional conflict and insecurity inthe best circumstances. What con-

cerns them in this unprecedentedmoment?

AR: “A lot of kids are really trou-bled because they miss their friends.The social interaction and thehuman component involved in schoollearning is more fundamental thananything else, and not having thisis a real deprivation.

“The loss of normal life as we knowit, at least temporarily, is very upset-ting for students. The kids are very

fatigued from staring at screensall day.

“Some of them worry about howmuch learning they’re accomplish-ing, while others feel like theycan’t bring themselves do all theirwork.

“It’s so unsettling and they arenot comfortable with this.”

IJN: Any anxiety symptoms?AR: “Of course. Everyone is try-

ing to cope with an unknown endpoint. Whatever challenges thesekids faced before are much moredaunting. I’m encouraging students

to become more patient with them-selves and one another.

“It’s particularly difficult for ouryounger children, but I also feel forour high school students. They area close-knit group, and their highschool is small.Our seniors are miss-ing out on graduation.”

IJN: One assumes that childrenand teenagers envision the futurethrough different prisms.

AR: “Although I don’t have any-

thing to support this, I think thatit is harder for younger kids to seefarther into the future and picturewhat life will be like after COVID-19.This demands a much larger per-spective to really understand what’shappening and the reason behindthese new precautions.

“Older kids might have a betterunderstanding of this pandemicbecause they have a clearer graspof the situation. But I also thinkit’s harder for them to reconcilethis with the past — such as regu-lating their behavior in order to

potentially flatten the curve and getit under control. The coronavirusis not something you can see, orfully understand.”

IJN: Students are unable to vis-it the school psychologist in a small,intimate setting. How has COVIDaltered your treatment methods?

AR: “I see students over Zoomat their request. It’s a little bit hard-er to reach kids now because Idon’t see them on a daily basis, so

I’m trying to keep myself as avail-able as possible.

“I know that Miss Waldman hasbeen talking to many of the studentson her caseload as well.

“We’ve also been offering weeklyget-together time so students canhang out together, offer support toone another and have some socialinteraction.

“We also offer teachers weeklytime to log on and chat with us,and send weekly newsletters to par-ents that contain resources, pro-vide encouragement and remind

them that we’re always here to trou-bleshoot any problems that arise.

“But I definitely miss seeing thekids myself.”

IJN: Do you feel that G-d canhelp these students at this anxioustime?

AR: “I feel fortunate that I workat DAT because I think it offers alot of portals for individuals. Ithink that prayer gives people some-thing to do during the empty hours,and help connect to a higher power.

“Belief in G-d is extremely impor-tant and can be very helpful —because even if we don’t know theanswers, we know that G-d is herefor us.

“In some ways this can be frus-trating, but in other ways it can bevery comforting — a reminder thatwhile we can’t control everything,we can control ourselves and dothe best we can.

“Prayer can make us feel saferat a time when we feel very hope-less. It empowers people to reachout and connect.

“I am very fortunate that I sayprayers with the first graders. Theritual creates normalcy and astronger sense of community.”

Andrea Jacobs may be reachedat [email protected]. ■

School psychologistKids struggling with loss of normal life, diminished social interaction

Delivery people are not allowedinside, Penner says, “and as thisevolved,even doctors and nurse prac-titioners are no longer allowed tovisit. We went immediately to tele-health where all visits and exami-nations are done virtually.”

Shalom Park also set firm guide-lines on for gathering, encouragingelders to use other sources of inter-acting with friends and family. Ahotline was set up to keep elders,family members and staff informed.

The shutdown at Shalom Parkhas also incorporated closing downthe dining room, canceling groupactivities, including all religious ser-vices and holiday gatherings,“which,of course, was very difficult becauseit occurred around Passover andEaster,” Penner says.

Elders eat their meals in theirrooms or in hallways close by theentrance to their apartments. They

are also allowed to eat in a loungearea with a minimum of six feet dis-tance between them, rather thansharing a table, as is usually done.

The whole staff pitches in whenmealtimes occur, Penner says.

“It’s been all hands on deck,” hesays.

“All management, including myselfand the administrator, come in forbreakfast, lunch and dinner andwe all help expedite the meals anddeliver them down the hallways tothe elders’ rooms.

“It’s a great way to help the staffand it’s very well received by theelders and the nurses’ aides. I’menjoying it. I’m learning a lot aboutthe staff and elders.”

Coronavirus testing has been per-formed routinely on the very high-risk population at the nursing home,thanks to the fact that the facilityhas succeeded in obtaining whatPenner calls “a pretty good number”of testing kits.

“We’ve done a lot of testing,” hesays.

“We are hypervigilant. Any resi-dent that has any kind of respira-tory or COVID-related symptom isimmediately tested and placed inquarantine. Our nurses are doingthe testing themselves and an out-side lab picks up the tests andprocesses them.

“As of today [Monday, May 18]we’ve only had one resident who test-ed positive and she has made afull recovery and is now negative forthe virus. It’s really been amaz-ing.”

A lso amazing, he adds, is thefact that the community hashad to impose no staff cut-backs or furloughs. In fact,

Shalom Park has had to hire addi-tional staff members to keep up withthe increased responsibilities.

Among those increased tasks iskeeping the elders’ spirits up, animportant challenge when so muchanxiety and isolation has been forcedupon them.

Penner says that Shalom Park’sactivities department has createda window visiting program, usingwhat he calls a “vestibule”area,near

the main entrance, where elderson the inside can interact with lovedones or friends on the outside withthe assistance of a telephone.

“It’s been wonderful to see the cre-ativity the visitors are bringing tothe window,” he says.

“They have worn costumes,brought pets, babies, grandchildren.They’ve held birthday parties. It’sbeen very well received.”

Staff members routinely visitthe elders in a safe manner, some-times performing music or arrang-ing aromatherapy sessions, oftenjust having one-on-one conversa-tions.

“And now that the weather is nice,we have the residents go outside andget some fresh air, take walks aroundthe campus. We’re really monitor-ing it for social distance.”

For Passover, “we had to be verycreative,” Penner adds, providingseder plates for those who request-ed them and arranging streamedseder and holiday-related pro-graming and movies, and did muchthe same for Christian elders at East-er. The facility is working on set-ting up a streamed Shabbat serviceas well.

A ll of the precautions havepaid off in helping ShalomPark weather the storm,Pen-ner says.

Last week, state officials con-ducted an inspection and survey,with its inspectors planning to spenda full day onsite and another dayoffsite, but those plans changed.

“They completed their survey intwo hours,” Penner says, “and theywere extremely impressed with allof our precautions and our infec-tion prevention plan.”

On which note,Penner gave a spe-cial nod to Shalom Park’s fulltimeRegistered Nurse, Ann Norris, thefacility’s chief infection prevention-ist.

“We’re very proud of her,” Pen-ner says of Norris, who receivedher RN designation in the midst ofthe pandemic.

The entire staff has been “amaz-ing,” he adds.

“They’re truly health care heroes.

I am humbled and honored to callthem my colleagues each day. Theyare responsible for keeping theresidents here healthy and safe.”

Much the same can be said ofthe elders who call Shalom Parkhome.

“We know that they’re lonelyand miss their families,but they alsoknow that this is very serious andvery contagious.

“They have been very supportiveand understanding,as have the fam-ily members,although this is so hardon them.”

B oth Klein and Penner arepainfully aware that othersenior communities have notfared nearly so well as theirs

have.“Knock on wood,” Klein says,

“we’ve been very fortunate to date.”He emphasizes the inherent risks

of running a facility where the aver-age age is 80 — the most vulnera-ble group of all in the pandemic —and is reluctant to slam other seniorcommunities where the virus hastaken a terrible toll.

“They’re really good people andthey have really good communitysupport,” he says of such commu-nities.

“The way the virus has spreadin places like Boston, New York Cityand New Jersey has been so fastthat it overwhelmed everybody. Ithink we’ve done a good job here. Ialso think we’ve been very fortunatehere.”

Penner is aware of the horrorstories elsewhere and isn’t sure whyother communities have fared sopoorly.

“What I do know is that ShalomPark and Kavod are in constant dai-ly communication. We learn bestpractices from each other. I also knowthat we didn’t’ wait around.We werevery proactive in putting togetherall of our restrictions.

“And we are both very blessed withthe support of our community. Thatreally makes a difference, whetherwe’re talking about volunteerssewing masks or dropping off Cloroxbleach wipes or receiving dona-tions from the community.

“I have to put in a plug for RoseCommunity Foundation and JEW-ISHcolorado. Both organizationshave truly helped us so that thereweren’t any barriers preventing usfrom getting PPEs or increasingstaffing.

“We’re very,very blessed with com-munity support and that all comestogether in helping create a suc-cessful outcome.”

But he adds a final note of cau-tion.

“This isn’t over,” Penner says.“We’re not out of the woods.We havenever once let our guard down andwe’re just going to keep maintain-ing this hypervigilance as long aswe need to.”

Chris Leppek may be reached [email protected]. ■

Kavod, Shalom Park

May 22, 2020 • INTERMOUNTAIN JEWISH NEWS • Section A • 17

N E W S

a call for assistance, report-edly said the ambassadorappeared to have suffered acardiac incident.

His death came less than aweek after US Secretary ofState Mike Pompeo, during anhours-long visit to Jerusalem,pressed Israel to reconsider itsrelationship with China,whichis investing in Israeli nation-al infrastructure projects.

Pompeo criticized Chinafor not being transparent dur-ing the coronavirus pandem-ic in remarks that drew a sharpresponse from Beijing.

Du, who previously servedas China’s ambassador toUkraine, arrived in Israel Feb.15 and immediately self-iso-lated for two weeks due toIsrael’s coronavirus restric-tions. ■

Chineseambassadorfound dead

were taken to the neonatalintensive care unit. Theyweighed in at between 1.4pounds and 1.6 pounds andlikely will require a stay ofmany months in the hospi-tal.

The couple have two otherchildren. The Hebrew-lan-guage news website B’haredeyHaredim identified the fatheras Rabbi Ovadia Ben-Simon.

The last sextuplets in Francewere born nearly 30 years ago,in 1989 in Normandy. Sextu-plets occur once in 4.7 mil-lion deliveries worldwide. ■

Jewish sextuplets in

France

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTFrom Page 1

DU WEIFrom Page 1

SEXTUPLETSFrom Page 1

‘I’m encouraging students to become more patient with themselves— and one another’

SENIOR LIVINGFrom Page 16