ASHEBORO, N.C. — Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many North Carolina nursing homes saw clusters and outbreaks, especially among their vulnerable residents.
But, one senior living facility in Asheboro said none of their residents have ever tested positive for coronavirus.
Brookdale Senior Living executive director Joshua James said although some of the facility's associates tested positive for the virus, as far as they know the virus was not spread to any of their residents.
"We were very reactive and proactive to testing and making sure there was no spread, and we're very lucky that none of their residents have tested positive," James said.
To keep residents safe, he said they practiced extra cleaning procedures, sanitized high-contact surface areas and all employees wore the appropriate PPE, or personal protective equipment, at all times.
"Brookdale has an emergency response team that was very quick to formulate for everything, from our policies and procedures to adhering to state and federal guidelines and exceed what we can," James said.
When the pandemic first broke out, he said it was a very scary time for everyone at Brookdale. Both staff and residents were worried about what was going to happen.
But now, over a year later with no resident cases, James said he's very proud of the Brookdale team.
"The residents, their family members, the staff, everybody's worked so hard and done their part," he said. "If we all didn't chip in and do our part we wouldn't be where we're at today."
On Sunday, Brookdale Senior Living is holding a "Schools out for summer drive through beach party" for residents, their families and members of the community.
They said they're giving away over $10,000 in door prizes, and the first 500 kids at the event are guaranteed a surprise.
The drive-thru event is happening from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at 514 Vision Drive in Asheboro.