Scrapbook 2020

About the Book

This concise volume is a month-by-month record of the response of a retirement community, Friendship Village Tempe to the Coronavirus pandemic. The early stage of the covid-19 most seriously affected persons over 65 and hit the hardest in places such as retirement communities. At this stage of the pandemic as high as 40% of the mortalities occurred in retirement communities. The book begins with the fact that the year 2020 was the 40th anniversary for Friendship Village. In what was to be a routine year for the Village, plans were made to make the Year of Celebration a priority. In addition, The Village was beginning a five-phase development plan with the construction of a new apartment bloc. However, by January 30th the World Health Organization declared a global emergency in response to the emergence of the coronavirus. The author takes the reader on a month-by-month walk through the transition from what would have been a normal year of operation including the celebration of Friendship Village Tempe’s 40th anniversary to a radical transformation of everyday life in respond to the pandemic. The history of the uniqueness of Friendship Village, with its continuing evolution in order to be at the forefront of providing life care services to the aging, is the basis of the story. The record throughout the book of the construction going on during the year serves as a symbol of constant effort to improve the away the aging is cared for. As the book moves from January to December, relating the Village’s response to covid-19 is monitored in the surrounding environment of developments in other retirement communities. The book is a weaving of the 40-year history of Friendship Village, in its with view to the changing needs of the aging and their care though the advent of a deadly one of the worst

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