THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 Page 3 Jack Satter House stays strong during viral crisis T By Barbara Taormina he Jack Satter House has been hit hard by COVID-19, but residents, staff and the community are working together to weather the health crisis. As of April 1, Hebrew SeniorLife, the nonprofit organization which manages Jack Satter House, reported 14 cases of COVID-19. Among those cases, six residents have died and seven are in the hospital. All Jack Satter House residents have been quarantined in their apartments to prevent any further spread of the virus, and to protect the health of the community at large. “My heart goes out to everyone at Satter House who is quarantined,” said Mayor Brian Arrigo during a virtual town hall livestreamed on Facebook this week. Arrigo met with the administrators of the city’s senior housing facilities a month ago to discuss the risks of COVID-19 and the need to limit gathering and interactions among residents. “The city ordered the quarantine at Satter House to prevent the spread of the virus,” said Arrigo. Last week, Lou Woolf, presResidents in quarantine at Jack Satter House tape thank you notes to staff on their doors. (Courtesy Photo) ident and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife, which has six senior living facilities throughout greater Boston, shared the steps Jack Satter House has taken to control the COVID-19 outbreak. Residents are restricted to their apartments with no access to common space. In addition to an aggressive no-visitor policy, all programs and services – including volunteer and multigenerational programing, outpatient and adult day health programs, fitness groups and communal dining – have been suspended. “We are working closely with the City of Revere to ensure compliance and thorough communication to our residents and staff, as well as the public,” Woolf explained in a press release. “Pandemics call for serious measures. We firmly agree with the measures that the City of Revere is taking at this time for senior living communities.” The Jack Satter House staff has been dropping off meals, delivering mail, picking up trash, walking dogs and making daily wellness calls to the roughly 285 seniors in quarantine. Paula Lowe, a spokeswoman for Hebrew SeniorLife, said wellness coaching and multigenerational programs that team seniors up with elementary and middle school students to work on school projects have been shifted online to Zoom meetings and Facebook. Lowe said that despite the challenges of the quarantine, the staff has been buoyed by thank you notes seniors have JACK SATTER | SEE PAGE 4
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