Strategies for Senior Housing Communities during COVID-19

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Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Due to a generous grant, you can enroll in this course for free! The promotional price will be applied to your purchase automatically. You will need to enroll via a web browser on either a computer or a mobile device and not via the Coursera mobile app to enroll for the course and certificate for free. Unfortunately, the promotional price is not redeemable through the mobile app. If you have  paid for this course because you enrolled through the app, please contact Coursera’s Learner Service team to arrange for a refund.

Please note the difference between auditing the course and enrolling for free. While both options cost nothing, “auditing” the course means you will not have access to the assessments nor will you be issued a certificate upon completion of the course. Choose the “Enroll for free” option to access the assessments and get a certificate upon completion. For a full explanation of all enrollment options, review the Enrollment Options article on Coursera’s Learner Help Center.

This is a self-paced course that could take up to 8 hours depending on the learner’s engagement. There is no specific time interval in which this course must be completed. Each lecture is short and interspersed with housing provider interviews; learning can be modified in order to address the specific needs of your community.

This course provides comprehensive instruction and resources for property owners and managers, senior housing staff, service coordinators and providers, community housing leaders, and other senior housing stakeholders related to COVID-19. Learners will hear from experts about best practices to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks and promote well-being. Topics discussed include unique challenges for senior housing communities, development of emergency preparedness plans, outbreak prevention, and coronavirus-adapted housing operations. The course also covers strategies for communicating with stakeholders, promoting pandemic-safe behavior on site, and leveraging health departments and other agency resources. Learners are encouraged to concurrently develop and enhance their own community’s policies, procedures, and practices.

This course is directed towards property owners and managers, senior housing staff, service coordinators and providers, community housing leaders, and other senior housing stakeholders interested in learning best practices to prepare and respond to outbreaks of COVID-19 at senior housing communities. It can be incorporated into training practices of staff as an important component of your community’s response to the pandemic. 

Johns Hopkins University has been on the forefront of the country’s COVID-19 response through data, training, and response resources. For housing communities left out of the national’s broader response, this course gives insight into current guidance and real-life examples that will help keep senior housing residents and staff as safe as possible.

COVID-19 poses a high risk for senior housing communities and the people who live and work there, and yet the United States’ COVID-19 response has largely focused on nursing homes, leaving independent living communities serving older adults with fragmented guidance on how to respond to COVID-19 challenges. The course lectures, interviews, and homework are largely geared toward federally-subsidized, multifamily senior housing providers, but the material is relevant for all senior housing providers.

The course lectures and homework materials draw on COVID-19 guidance and recommendations from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other federal agencies; learners will have the chance to review requirements and strategies for combatting COVID-19 at senior housing communities, accompanied by additional reading and exercises for deeper comprehension. Throughout the course, learners will also hear applied examples of key concepts through interviews with housing providers in the field.  

Learners will develop an understanding of emergency preparedness plans related to COVID-19 policies, practices and procedures; review effective COVID-related infection prevention strategies and communication methods; understand COVID-19 adapted requirements for managing occupancy, community access, and resident behavior at senior housing communities; and identify methods for promoting staff and resident well-being during and beyond COVID-19. 

No, this course is not a source of personal medical advice. Please contact your doctor or local healthcare provider if you have questions about your specific symptoms or circumstances.