COVID-19 Resilience Tips & Resources in New Pandemic Playbook

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Terri Foley

As a sign of hope in the battle with COVID-19, the new multi-media Pandemic Playbook: Moving From Fear to Action from LeadingAge features a 10-minute video documenting a New Jersey nursing home’s victory over COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

The playbook contains chapters on wellness of staff and residents, crisis intervention, transparent communications, technology applications, and more. Each section provides tools, videos, podcasts and practical ideas from LeadingAge members across the country.

For example Chapter 8 on Wellness of Staff and Residents—Physical and Psychological, opens with a video on social isolation. It also provides links to 15 quick tips, videos, and interviews about supporting staff and engaging residents to thrive—plus 25 inspirational stories and ideas from members.

The chapter on Transparent Communications is a comprehensive collection of resources on crisis communications planning, media relations, communicating with families and staff, and member examples of responding to negative narratives. In the Lessons Learned section, you can listen to 11 short audio interviews (15-20 minutes in length) between LeadingAge and members involving communications issues.

LeadingAge Minnesota member, Barb Klick, CEO of Sholom, participated in the 9-member panel that helped LeadingAge develop the playbook. During the launch conference call earlier this week, Barb said, “At the beginning of the pandemic, we all felt like we were islands. There was fragmented support at the state and federal level. I felt like we needed to have something like the “Coast Guard” to come and give us a lifeline. This Pandemic Playbook is a great support tool.” She recommends, “If your need is great and your time is short, the playbook has things that you can find in 10 minutes to help you immediately. And, each chapter is followed by lessons learned from real-life experiences.”

The Pandemic Playbook is available for no charge at https://playbook.leadingage.org/.