From a parade of farm animals around the building to outdoor concerts to customized crafts and activities, Castle Peak Senior Life in Eagle has helped its residents have fun while adjusting to the world’s new normal.

There might be a few pandemic-related restrictions on larger group gatherings, but Castle Peak’s assisted living residents continue to make memories and live their lives to the fullest. 

“There’s always so much energy in here, and our team is doing a great job keeping it fun and happening,” said Shelly Cornish, campus administrator at Castle Peak. “Without organized group activities, we’ve come up with a lot of creative ways to continue to enrich our residents’ lives.”

Castle Peak already offered private apartments for every resident and service that’s on par with high-end resorts, yet the pandemic has made it possible to provide even more personalized, one-on-one care.

Assisted living reimaged

Assisted living is of course about the care for residents who need a bit of assistance with daily life activities and health care, it’s also about social interaction and connectedness. Castle Peak makes sure its residents never feel isolated, which has become all the more important in the era of COVID-19. 

“We make sure each resident has meaningful interactions every single day,” said Heather Bogantz, director of life enrichment at Castle Peak. “Whether it’s through a musician coming to play music outside, or something we’ve personalized for a resident to do one-on-one with one of our team members, we really customize the care we provide for each resident.”

One-on-one crafts, activities and technology

A staff that used to lead daily group activities is now providing one-on-one sessions tailored to each individual’s wants and needs. One resident might enjoy a painting project, while another wants to try her hand at pottery.

“One of our residents loves to sing hymns and Christian music. She has a piano that she’ll play and we’ll just sing together,” Bogantz said. “We’ve really built up our one-on-one interaction.”

That extra time has made a big difference in each resident’s quality of life. Rand Conroe, director of marketing and admissions, said Bogantz’s team also does City Market, Walmart and local library runs for residents each week.

Before the state allowed outdoor visits at senior care facilities in July, Castle Peak made sure it had enough tablets so it could set up virtual visits between residents and their loved ones. The residents currently have about 30 to 40 such virtual visits each week. 

“Heather’s department is amazing — they’re constantly busy and they do it with such a positive attitude,” Conroe said. “They absolutely love what they do.”

Outdoor visits from loved ones

About 99% of the residents at Castle Peak have a connection to the valley, whether they grew up here or have family members here, Conroe said. 

“We’re really proud of that fact,” he said, adding that Castle Peak is truly an extension of the community. 

It also means that family and friends visit residents regularly, which the pandemic only slowed down temporarily. The state of Colorado authorized outdoor visits on July 1, and Castle Peak has accommodated about 30 to 40 such visits every week.  

Rave reviews from family and residents

Toward the beginning of the pandemic when senior care facilities were faced with complex challenges to keep the virus out, some family members called their loved ones at Castle Peak to see if they wanted to temporarily move out until the pandemic was over. 

“In every case, the Castle Peak resident has told their family, ‘No, thank you, I feel very safe here and this is my home,” Conroe said. “Many of our residents say they’ve lived through tuberculosis, measles, polio, World War II, the Great Depression — they truly are the greatest generation and they just have a great outlook on life.”

Cornish said she’s been amazed at the recent scores in random satisfaction surveys of residents, their families and staff at Castle Peak.

“With everything going on due to new regulations, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see lower scores, but our scores are right at or above goal,” she said. “It’s really telling that even in the midst of these really challenging times, we’ve done an excellent job making sure we uphold our standards.”