While the COVID-19 pandemic hit all households hard in the past 18 months, for Victor Dizon, VP of IT, and one of the family members who own Joyful Home elderly care facilities throughout Orange County, lockdowns and mask mandates would have a monumental impact on his residents.
Their family own and operate eight facilities in the county, seven of which are in Laguna Hills and one in Mission Viejo. Each facility is home to six residents that are cared for around the clock by licensed administrators, caregivers, and a full-time nurse.
When the virus infection rates started to rise nationwide, Dizon knew he had to keep his vulnerable residents and staff safe, but also connected to health care providers, family members, and friends.
“We increased our Cox Business Internet speeds at all locations as we were doing video calls for everything from telehealth to family visits on iPads,” explained Dizon. “And our staff was reliant on the connection and mobile apps to access medical records and care information from the resident’s doctors.”
From March to December of 2020, Dizon also hosted weekly video conference calls with Joyful Home’s staff to update them on pandemic and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance guidelines. The challenge facing the Joyful Home team was maintain confidentiality in the now fully quarantined facilities where aside from emergencies, very limited in-person visits were allowed.
According to the Cox Small Business Snapshot, where minority small business owners were surveyed nationwide, more than 75% of respondents claimed the pandemic heightened their business challenges. And 58% of surveyed owners implemented new tech because of the pandemic – most frequently E-commerce platforms, touchless payments, and contactless delivery services like curbside, delivery and/or buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS). More than half intend to continue using technology in the same areas over the next year.
“We set up virtual visit stations where residents could talk to their health care providers privately while also maintaining social distance,” said Dizon. “At the start of the pandemic it was quite the learning curve but fortunately our caregivers were very committed to protecting the wellbeing of our elderly residents.”
As a result of Joyful Home’s efforts, none of the residents or staff contracted the COVID-19 virus during the height of the pandemic and The Dizon Family has kept many of the technology enhancements in place for the foreseeable future.
Photo Credit: Joyful Home
