VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — As marketing director at Beth Sholom Nursing Home in Virginia Beach, Marcia Brodie gets a lot of questions these days.

“‘What are you doing? Are you prepared? Is my loved one safe?’ And ‘Of course your loved one is safe,'” is what she tells family members concerned about coronavirus.

“With TV, radio, newspaper, you’re hearing about it so that brings up questions for family members. It’s a heightened awareness,” Brodie said.

Brodie says Beth Sholom is full stocked and fully prepared with masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, and soap. A lot of how the facility is getting ready — just in case — has to do with continuing with what they already do year round.

“The flu is also deadly. To me, it’s another infection that we just have to work with and look out for our residents,” said Medical Director Juanita Smith.

Coronavirus began in China, but has since spread to other countries, and seniors in the U.S. have been infected after exposure to people who have recently traveled.

That means nursing home staff need to find out from anyone at the nursing home about any recent travel.

“We’re stepping up asking everyone about where they’ve been and being a little bit on guard to try to protect them,” Smith said. “We’re prepared, but we’re not panicking.”

Beth Sholom’s director of nursing just received specialized coronavirus training from the state department of health that will be passed along to the rest of the staff.

“We’ve already rolled out one-on-one training, group trainings, and making sure that everyone is up to speed,” Brodie said, adding that the training extends to dietary, maintenance crew, and all employees.

But for the most part, the facility’s plan is just intensifying what it normally does — taking care and protecting a frail population.

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