The Vista: A clean slate for the future

The Vista: A clean slate for the future

The final touches are being added to The Vista’s 161 finely detailed apartment homes catered toward active residents age 62 and older. Here, at North Jersey’s premier Continuing Care Retirement Community being built on Christian Health’s (CHCC) Wyckoff/Hawthorne campus, everything will be brand-new. At a time like this, that’s a great benefit – and a healthy option.

“The future is a clean slate at The Vista,” says Douglas A. Struyk, President and CEO of CHCC. “While Christian Health has continuously adapted to deploy best practices during this pandemic, much of our success comes from advance preparation, a dedicated staff, and a tireless commitment to those who trust us with their health, healing, and wellness. This level of experience, foresight, and thorough planning gives us the ability to design and build an even safer Vista as we prepare to open in spring 2021.”

Many new initiatives are being actively investigated and considered, and some are already secured for implementation.

• Individual HVAC systems will use fresh air from the outside, not recycled interior air.
• An ionization feature in HVAC systems for common areas will help disinfect surfaces. The process not only kills coronaviruses, but also bacteria, mold, dust mites, pet dander, and volatile organic compounds.
• A UV-C remote-control robot cleaner can complement the HVAC ionization feature. This robot cleaner can disinfect a room without a person needing to enter. It can be utilized in common areas as often as needed, and can also be used in individual apartment homes, if necessary.
• The frequency of cleaning common areas will be increased. Only products certified to kill coronaviruses will be used.
• Some amenities can be virtual. From the comfort of individual apartment homes, residents can enjoy live streaming performances from The Vista’s performing arts center or participate in exercise classes.
• The Vista’s restaurants can be reconfigured to allow for social distancing. A reservation system can enable residents to enjoy preferred dining times and locations on a rotating basis. Menus can be viewed through an app and dedicated website. Single-use paper menus can also be utilized. Outside dining capacities will be safely increased. Residents may also request meal deliveries to their apartment homes to optimize safety.
• Paper screening forms can be replaced with a state-of-the-art digital screening kiosk, which has a component enabling touchless temperature measurement of staff and residents.
• Packages will be quarantined for 24 hours before being dispersed in The Vista community.
• Resident key fobs will be used to open garage doors, main Vista front doors, and other automatic doors throughout the community, as well as unlock their individual apartment homes.
• One single point of entry will be designated for moving companies. Strict protocols will be in place.

“While we can’t predict what state and federal restrictions regarding COVID-19 will be in place when The Vista opens, we can be prepared to not only meet, but exceed, these standards to ensure our residents’ safety, quality of life, and enjoyment of their new homes,” Mr. Struyk says.