Earlier this month, six residents at Creighton Lodge tested positive for COVID 19, but that number is down to just two residents who are not showing symptoms at this time. Since the cases showed up, the community has been incredibly supportive according to Lodge Manager Shelly Veroba.

"The McClement family, they right away stepped up and asked which meal would we like delivered, when can they do it, and they didn't just do it for the 36 people that we serve every day they did it for all 50 and the staff members. Also St. Joseph's Hospital stepped up, Greg Hoffort brought over the PPE that we needed and he's restocked our supplies once and offered to do it again if we need to, and also we just have independent resident families who are offering support like sending over treats."

The Lodge has been able to keep a lot of their usual activities going through a different means as well such as having the meals they would normally have together in their dining room instead delivered to their rooms. When it comes to securing the PPE the Lodge needed to get through this, the stuff they recieved from St. Joseph's Hospital was integral in getting them through as quickly and effectively as they have. It was never officially planned that the hospital and the lodge would share resources if the time came, but Veroba says it was never an issue the moment she asked.

"I asked (Greg Hoffort) if he could supply that for us and he said he did, but we haven't had a lot of conversation in the past year regarding the pandemic. We always just knew that St. Joseph's Hospital would be our resource as a local hospital and also they know that the more that they help us keep these people safe, then hopefully the goal is that less of our people have to go to the hospital and only two of our seven people that were positive had to go to the hospital, and as of today we only have two that are even left on isolation."

The two people left in isolation at Creighton Lodge are both symptom free, and Veroba credits this in large part to how meticulous her staff have been. There has not been a single transmission from inside the Lodge since they've locked down.

"We implemented our procedure and they went on without a hitch. We make sure we have new isolation gear on for each person that we're going into a close contact or a COVID positive room. We change after each room and before we move into a new one, we have cleaned up and we make sure we put new ones on so we have not transmitted this disease amongst anybody in this building, and we're super proud of that."

Residents at the Lodge have been recieving phone calls from members of the community and Veroba says that support is not only being heard, but being felt, and she urges the community to keep those words of support coming as they push through the final stretch of their outbreak.