Editorial

The Intersection of Senior Living and Environmental Health

By Olivia Beaton | May 26, 2021

After the various challenges and lessons learned over the last year, Kisco Senior Living has created a new position completely dedicated to environmental health and safety. Mizuki Sato-Berkeland, Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Kisco Senior Living, is dedicated to making sure residents and staff are safe. Environmental health has become increasingly more important in the wake of COVID-19, and Sato-Berkeland’s mission is to protect residents’ immune systems while also providing the highest quality of life.

Kisco Clean was an initiative that started during COVID to assure the utmost safety, cleaning, and hygiene protocols were put in place to keep residents happy and healthy. Part of the new role is also looking for areas of opportunities and doing research behind the scenes on the latest protocols, technology, and emergency preparedness. “I am lucky to be a part of a forward-thinking organization that has great protocols in place already. One of my goals is to make safety easier to digest on a personal level by creating engaging ways to dive into environmental health,” says Sato-Berkeland.

Communication is key when it comes to educating and informing people about the importance of environmental health in senior living. “We take pride in being transparent, communicating with residents, staff, and families what is happening, what we are doing, and what we may not yet know,” says Sato-Berkeland. Throughout the pandemic, they have been testing, surveying, and finding which methods, products, and processes are best of the overall well-being of the residents within their communities.

Kisco Senior Living is actively advocating for the COVID-19 vaccine and are taking a safe and conservative approach to reopening, while maintaining the Kisco Clean level of sanitation their residents deserve. As Director of Environmental Health and Safety, Sato-Berkeland hopes to continue to support communities on the ground, form policies, and improve efficiency. Part of her job is being aware of the rapidly changing guidelines and assuring Kisco is able to implement them and adapt accordingly. Looking to the future, she believes that COVID-19 provided lessons that will allow them to better prepare and act moving forward. Now more than ever, the importance of health and safety in senior living is at the forefront of peoples’ minds, and Sato-Berkeland and her team are extremely dedicated to providing the highest quality of care.

Credit

Olivia Beaton
Editor

Olivia is the Editor at HEALTHTAC/Senior Living News. She graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, as well as a minor in Journalism. In her spare time she’s a yoga teacher, writer, and freelance photographer.

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