2021 LeadingAge KY Community Living Award Nomination
Vicki Allawati is the property manager and sole employee at Forest View Apartments, our 42-unit HUD Independent Living Facility (one of two HUD certified apartment buildings for older adults on our Lexington, KY campus).
When it came to COVID protocols, there was nothing Vicki wouldn’t do to protect the health and safety of our residents.
The postal carrier wouldn’t enter the building to deliver mail, so Vicki became the daily postal carrier for all residents. She hand delivered their mail, which gave her an opportunity to interact with each resident on a daily basis.
She also made sure that our residents were informed of every change in protocol by either hand delivering our daily memos or calling the residents to make sure they were in the know.
ABOVE & BEYOND
When residents weren’t able to go to the grocery, she either went for them or helped them place their online order for pickup or delivery.
Because she is the only team member in that facility, she also took on the role of housekeeping – she sanitized all areas of the building and made sure that it was clean and safe, including the public restrooms!
When we would need to conduct COVID testing, she had everything ready for the lab team to come in and test – Vicki literally did all of the heavy lifting.
CALMING PRESENCE
If a resident was nervous about testing, she would hold their hand and calm them down, talking them through the test.
Vicki was also responsible for responding to all calls that we received on our Covid hotline, multiple times per day.
When Forest View had an outbreak, Vicki handled all communications with the health department and also organized in-home/self testing through the health department. She checked on our covid positive residents multiple times each day and communicated with each family member on a regular basis.
LOOKING OUT FOR HER RESIDENTS
As restrictions began to lift, Vicki organized activities for the residents that continued to provide for their safety and the residents were beyond happy that Vicki was always finding ways to let love in.
Vicki didn’t just step up during COVID, she is one Karen Venis, CEO says she can count on to answer the phone whenever she calls and do whatever it takes to get things done!
She has been a key factor in implementing PCC at our assisted living facility as well. She has a kind, gentle soul and we are beyond lucky to have Vicki serve at Sayre Christian Village.