COVID-19 Update - What Kaizen Academy Is Doing - Utah Residential Trea

COVID-19 Update - What Kaizen Academy Is Doing

April 2, 2020

With every day that passes, it’s impossible to ignore the impact that COVID-19 is having on our daily lives. Even if nobody you know has been infected, the entire country is experiencing unprecedented levels of lockdown as the virus continues to spread. Many non-essential businesses are shutting down, movie premiers are getting delayed, parks are closing — the list could go on.

In this time of confusion, we wanted to provide an update about COVID-19, what we’re doing at Kaizen Academy, what it means for your teenager who may be enrolled here, and what it means if you’re considering enrolling your son.

Kaizen Academy Is Still Open, And Will Remain So

In a state of lockdown, many non-essential businesses shut down. This has led to many people asking us if Kaizen Academy is considered non-essential, and if we’re going to close our doors.

The answer is simple — Kaizen Academy will remain open. Our residential treatment program is not only dedicated to improving the mental health and psychological well-being of our students, it also helps protect them from outside exposure to the virus. Businesses that pertain to treating physical and mental health are considered essential, and given what many of our students are trying to heal from, we don’t think we’re embellishing that definition.

Our program is dedicated to helping teenage boys heal from sexual trauma and sexual behavioral problems. Countless students have found hope, healing, and recovery through our residential treatment experience, and we will continue to provide this support to them by keeping our doors open.

KAIZEN ACADEMY IS CAREFULLY SCREENING NEW APPLICANTS

Given that we’re staying open, it’s important for us to take every possible precaution in protecting both our students and faculty from exposure to COVID-19. Our relatively isolated location helps a lot with that (more on that below), but with the many outsiders who visit our residential treatment center, it’s entirely possible that one of them could be infected.

Given how important our mission is, we don’t want to deny teenagers from enrolling in our program, but we also don’t want to let someone in who might infect everyone here. As such, we’re enacting strict measures to screen every candidate before they are enrolled in our program. We will examine whether or not they show any COVID-19 symptoms, if they’ve been in contact with anyone else who has, and so on. We will also follow appropriate social distancing measures, in case somebody is infected but not showing symptoms.

WE ARE FOLLOWING STRICT SANITATION GUIDELINES

Last week, we wrote a blog post about what we’re doing here at our academy to prevent the spread of the infection. We mentioned that we’re strictly following sanitation guidelines as outlined by the CDC, and that remains just as true today as it did last week.

Specifically, we’re making sure we’re always well-stocked with hand sanitizer, and that we’re continuously washing our hands. All of our faculty is doing this, and we’re also helping our teenagers to follow these guidelines.

Additionally, we’re making sure that all common areas are frequently sanitized and disinfected. We understand that COVID-19 can survive on surfaces for anywhere between a few hours to a few days, so we’re making sure to clean every commonly used surface with qualifying sanitizer products. Despite how easily COVID-19 spreads, it’s no match to good old-fashioned soap and water.

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The Benefits Of Residential Treatment During A Pandemic

We understand if our decision to stay open causes a bit of trepidation. COVID-19 is all over the news, and it’s tempting to give in to panic. But there’s some silver lining here — Kaizen Academy is actually a pretty good place to be during a pandemic. In fact, your teenager might even be more protected from the virus here than he would be at home. Here are some reasons why:

KAIZEN ACADEMY IS WELL-ISOLATED

Because of our commitment to provide wholesome and holistic treatment to our teenage residents, Kaizen Academy is positioned well out of the way of crowded metro areas. Located off Highway 89, we’re right next door to the expansive Lasson Draw Wildlife Management area. Our backyard is quite literally a sprawling wilderness that’s untouched by crowds.

For obvious reasons, this is a major boon during a national pandemic. Viruses almost always spread first through crowded, populated areas. People who are more remote, on the other hand, are pretty safe as long as they keep their distance. All things considered, it’s pretty safe to be at Kaizen Academy right now. As long as we continue our efforts to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread within our walls, your teenager is well-protected against outside exposure.

IT KEEPS TEENAGERS BUSY WITH PRODUCTIVE ACTIVITIES

COVID-19 is a unique virus because, unlike the flu and many other similar illnesses, its effects are much more mild in younger demographics. While there are exceptions, the overwhelming majority of fatal COVID-19 cases are among the elderly and immunocompromised. This is great for the well-being of teenagers and children, but there’s an unfortunate side-effect: it makes them really good carriers.

Despite social distancing measures and statewide lockdowns, teenagers are among the most likely to throw these rules into the wind and do whatever they want. Many of them will feel like it’s no big deal to socialize since they will likely be unharmed by the virus. Teenagers ordered to stay at home all day are likely to either break the protocol and hang out in their social groups, or fill their time with dull, unfulfilling activities.

One great aspect about having your teenager here is that they’re always spending their time doing something worthwhile. When they’re not actively participating in healing measures such as therapy, they are likely outside enjoying nature, developing hobbies and skills, or spending quality time with friends that they’ve made here.

IT’S A GOOD DISTRACTION FROM THE WORLD

This is similar to the point above. In a nutshell, many people are getting extremely stressed and anxious about current events, and the 24/7 news cycle of social media feeds does little to help.

Here at Kaizen Academy, we don’t want to downplay the severity of the virus. But it’s no stretch to say that constant connectivity is an easy way to add stress to your life. Many online outlets will greatly exaggerate the situation, feeding people panic and paranoia because it makes them a few bucks. Teenagers are greatly susceptible to this; they tend to place great faith in the influencers and outlets that they trust, and the last thing that most teenagers need is more stress and anxiety in their lives.

Our residential treatment program helps teens to get away from that stress. Instead of being constantly connected, they are able to focus on other things, things that build them up instead of break them down.

Residential Treatment In The Greater Provo Area

Whether you’re in Provo, American Fork, Lehi, or other nearby areas, Kaizen Academy will continue to operate as a residential treatment center. We specialize in helping teenage boys to overcome their sexual behavioral issues and trauma. If your son struggles with these things, we’ll be happy to take them in. Contact us today to get started.

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