by Joey Colbert, reporter
BELLEVUE, Neb. – The CDC reports that senior citizens have a higher risk of contracting COVID-19, as eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. are senior citizens ages 65 and above. While many senior living facilities struggle to contain COVID-19, Richmont Village, of Bellevue, Nebraska, remains relatively COVID-free.
Richmont Village is an independent living community catering to senior citizens in the Omaha and Bellevue metropolitan areas. One of the most-beloved members of the community is 96-year-old Donna Larson.
Larson is currently living at Richmont and has been a member of the community for over two years. Before the pandemic, Larson and other Richmont residents regularly visited several places in the metropolitan area. Things changed for Richmont Village once COVID-19 hit in March 2020.
“I [felt] disbelief like ‘this can’t be happening to us,’” Larson said. “And then the realization came that not only us, but the whole world was affected. It was hard to imagine that something so evil could hit millions and millions of people.”
Immediately, social distancing restrictions were put in place for the staff and residents. That meant they couldn’t enjoy the things they did prior to COVID-19.
“With a pandemic, we’re limited and rightly so,” Larson said. “I am not comfortable being with a group of people. So, my own choice, I am entertaining myself.”
Senior citizens face numerous obstacles during COVID-19, whether that be social isolation or following safety guidelines. One of the challenges Larson faces is she doesn’t get to see her family often. In fact, she hasn’t seen some of her grand and great grandchildren since last Christmas.
“That’s been rough not being able to see my family,” she said. “We do have email, thank goodness, and telephone. But that’s not like being able to sit and talk with them and hold hands and those kinds of things.”
Throughout the pandemic, Larson keeps herself busy by completing crossword puzzles every day, and knitting blankets for the Nebraska Humane Society. She currently completed over 500 blankets and is aiming for one thousand.
Jennifer Pryjmak, the Executive Director at Richmont Independent Living, says the pandemic pushed the staff to be more cautious with Richmonts’ residents. New rules were enforced including social distancing, wearing masks and restricting gatherings.
“It was something big for us,” Pryjmak said. “It was big for the management team because we have a lot of lives to protect that we do daily anyways. So just raising the bar a little bit more.”
With restrictions in place, so far, Richmont Village has successfully avoided a COVID-19 outbreak. Pryjmak attributes that success to the staff’s commitment by looking out for each other and the residents they serve.
“The staff here definitely take it serious and always do their part, whether they’re working or not working,” she said. “Even if you would see any of our staff in the outside community, you will always see them taking precautions in the grocery stores or whatever it would be.”
Larson is living in a “new-normal”, one she had not experienced prior to the pandemic. She is encouraged to follow Richmont’s guidelines for the benefit of her own safety. She even feels safe inside Richmont Village.
“[The staff has] done everything they can and are doing anything they can to keep us [safe],” Larson said. “They don’t want us to get sick, and they don’t want to get sick.”
Richmont Village continues to take extreme caution with COVID-19. Pryjmak says they will continue to take a day-by-day process with the safety guidelines with hopes they can get back to normal in the future.
“We are going to continue to do any and every precaution that we have in place, if not step it up even more,” Pryjmak said. “There is always room to do better and bigger. I believe that we got everything covered. That’s why we are so safe, and we’ve been so safe here.”
Larson feels safe living at Richmont Village. Her family feels gratitude knowing that she is living in a place where she feels comfortable. Larson has no plans on leaving there anytime soon.
“I don’t know that I can live [in] a better place,” Larson said. “If there is one, I don’t know about it, and I don’t want to know because I’m happy here.”
