Holiday celebrations will begin soon. This holiday season, consider how your plans can be modified to reduce the spread of colds, flu, and COVID-19 to keep your elderly relatives safe. The CDC offers the following considerations to slow the spread of a virus during small family gatherings.

• Limit the number of attendees as much as possible. Gatherings with more people pose more risk than gatherings with fewer people.
• Increase ventilation by opening windows and doors to the extent that it is safe and feasible based on the weather, or by placing central air and heating on continuous circulation.
• Encourage attendees to wash their hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Use touchless garbage cans if available. Use gloves when removing garbage bags or handling and disposing of trash. Wash hands after removing gloves.
• When feasible, clean and disinfect commonly touched surfaces and any shared items between uses.

The more prevention measures you implement, the safer your gathering will be. No one measure is enough to prevent the spread of a virus.

Springbrook has several community rooms available for your holiday gatherings. Reservations can be made through the Life Enrichment department by calling Thea at 608-793-5122. All three common rooms have either a sink for handwashing or hand sanitizer. We want you to have a healthy holiday, so please remember: Do NOT visit if you have a cold or symptoms of Influenza, RSV, or COVID-19.