To the editor:

As we approach the transition to less strict protocols in dealing with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, I want to express gratitude for how the many facilities that provide care — assisted living, independent living, nursing homes — in our community have managed, against great odds, to protect their senior residents. The “numbers” in Douglas County have been quite low. All it would take to double or triple those numbers would be one facility when the virus spread, which could still happen no matter how scrupulous the protocols.

In particular, I want to thank the managers at Meadowlark Estates, where my 94-year-old mother lives. Carol and Richard Powls and Kim and Bill Gross (both couples live on site, 24/7, with their residents) have been consistently attentive, nurturing, scrupulous and diligent about every detail of what is required to care for and protect their residents. The entire extended staff, from chefs and kitchen to housekeeping and maintenance, has gone above and beyond in both cheerful attitude and performance. Everyone has pitched in to make “shelter-in-place” workable for seniors who may be feeling isolated, frightened and even confused. Many residents, my mother included, also have daily assistance with bathing, dressing, all the tasks of daily living, and for that we thank the devoted caregivers of Keep Living at Home. To know that my mother is being cared for with laughter and love has been a blessing in a time of crisis.

Susan Kraus,

Lawrence