For more than 20 years, I’ve worked as an administrator in long-term care facilities. I’ve faced challenges before, from ownership changes to staffing fluctuations to the need to stockpile food and medicine for the anticipated Y2K crisis.

But nothing could have prepared me for the past 12 months.

Here at Pioneer Trace Healthcare and Rehabilitation, we closed our doors to most visitors on March 10, 2020. Not everyone was happy with us. No one likes being told they can’t come visit their loved ones. I understand that.

But we had to follow the best medical advice to protect the people who live here. They trust us to protect their health. I understand the sacred trust. My mother was once a resident here.