Uppermost on our minds these days is making sure our frontline caregivers are equipped with the PPE (personal protective equipment) they need to keep residents and themselves safe. No one is more committed to that than our Anthem Memory Care CEO, Isaac Scott, who has been relentless in identifying PPE sources, wherever they might be. He is the reason, for example, that Anthem Memory Care communities were the first to have on-site COVID-19 testing kits. And Isaac has made sure that we have gowns, N95 masks, face shields and hand sanitizers.

Actually, there’s quite a story behind the hand sanitizers. When our supplier put all orders for hand sanitizer on “back order” until mid-April, Isaac immediately began looking for alternatives to get these critical supplies into the hands of our hardworking staff (or “heroes” as we call them). But where to find them?

Isaac’s best bet was to locate a source with the raw ingredients on hand to put together what they needed; one that could also deliver sufficient quantities. The answer? Find a distillery!

“It’s certainly unconventional, but when I connected with the distiller they were equally excited to create a product that helped our community staffs,” said Isaac.  “It was a team effort!”

With his mission locked in, Isaac Scott took off on a road trip through Portland in search of a distillery that, like him, was willing to think (and act) outside-the-box. He found it at Portland’s Shine Distillery and Grill. Working with the folks at Shine, Isaac was able to cut delivery time of sanitizers from over a month to 5 days!

Here are a few excerpts from Isaac’s journal:

March 20^th: I got a report from community ESDs and EDs that all sources for hand sanitizer are either kicking their orders out or putting them on back order until mid-end April.

March 20^th: Shannon Gutierrez (VP/Operations) mentioned to me that she heard of distillers they were pivoting from spirits to making hand sanitizer.

March 21^st: Woke up and headed downtown Portland to check in with a couple of distillers. Westward Whiskey was my first stop. They told me that they were not switching but to check with Eastside or Shine. Eastside was down the block but closed, so I called Shine and they said that they were the spot! Because they were quarantined, we negotiated the purchase over the phone. They were already making small bottles to sell/give out to the Portland neighbors in their effort to support the community. We purchased 55-gallons as well as giving them a donation to support them continuing to offer to neighbors free hand sanitizers. A win-win-win for everyone.

March 24^th: I picked up 55-gallons of hand sanitizer, boxed them up and shipped them out to each of our communities.

It was an effort worth recording, and Isaac retraced his steps in a series of short iPhone videos below.

“Although this period has been trying for us all, I am excited to be working in an industry that is looking at all ways to protect our residents and staff,” Isaac said. “My message to our residents is “we’re not letting up.  We’re here for you and will protect, engage and love you through this tough time!”