Bridgewater Retirement Community to restrict access to campus

As part of a continued effort to reduce the risk of COVID-19 exposure on its campus, at 2:30 pm today Bridgewater Retirement Community begins restricting access to campus.

Only residents, team members, and authorized visitors (vendors and essential business appointments) will be able to enter the community. There are currently no suspected or confirmed cases of the virus within the community.

A COVID-19 prevention task force, made up of BRC senior team leaders and a designated Infection Preventionist, meets daily to assess risk levels and establish new policies to safeguard residents’ health. The task force worked with officials from the Town of Bridgewater and emergency responders to develop the plan for campus access restrictions.

All incoming traffic will be directed to the main BRC entrance on North Second Street, with barriers been erected at secondary entry points to campus. Twenty-four hours a day at the main entrance, a contracted security firm will admit only residents, team members, approved caregivers, authorized vendors, and prescheduled essential business appointments. In addition, everyone entering campus will continue to be screened for illness or exposure, including temperature readings, at specific building checkpoints.

In light of national and statewide guidelines, BRC also suspended service in their dining venues earlier this week and began offering multiple meal pick-up and delivery options for residents, including hot foods, ready-to-heat prepared meals, and grocery delivery. Prior measures already in place include prohibiting all volunteers, students (including clinical interns), and visitors from assisted living residences and nursing households and canceling all gatherings and events. 

“The decision to close our dining venues and restrict campus access are not choices we came to lightly,” says BRC President Rodney Alderfer. “At the end of the day, it’s about one thing and one thing only: doing absolutely everything we can possibly do to protect our residents and team members from the risks posed by this virus. I’m proud to say that we are doing that while also maintaining the high level of service residents expect and deserve.”

All job applications for open positions at BRC must be submitted online at brcliving.org/careers. 

BRC made residents and team members aware of the new restrictions yesterday through a campus-wide announcement. 

Regular updates on COVID-19 precautions at BRC are available online at brcliving.org/covid19 and via an information hotline updated daily Monday–Friday at 540-828-2444.