Kaizen Academy and COVID-19 - What You Need to Know

March 18, 2020

Here at Kaizen Academy, we help troubled teenage boys to heal and recover from a variety of serious problems, mostly related to sexual behavioral issues. What we do here is very important, and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. But there’s something else that’s very important, something that’s sweeping through the news and public consciousness relentlessly — COVID 19, otherwise known as Coronavirus.

At the time of this blog post’s writing, it’s impossible to ignore the effect that COVID 19 is having on our world. On an international level, extreme measures are being taken to prevent its spread. In a worst-case scenario, mass infection levels could lead to disastrous consequences. So even though we don’t currently have a lot of cases in Utah, it’s important for everyone to do their part to ensure that this virus doesn’t grow out of control.

Here at Kaizen Academy, we’re taking COVID 19 seriously. Keep reading to find out how we plan to run our residential treatment center at this time, and what you can do at home to help your teenagers to be responsible in this critical moment.

COVID 19 And Kaizen Academy – What You Need To Know

Whether your teenage son is currently enrolled with us, or you’re considering sending them here, you’re probably wondering what we’re doing to protect both our students and our faculty. Here is a rundown of everything you need to know:

WE’RE STRICTLY FOLLOWING SANITATION GUIDELINES

While Kaizen Academy is fairly isolated from the outside world and therefore less vulnerable to community transmission (more on that later), it’s still important for everyone to be following sanitation best-practices as outlined by the CDC and World Health Organization. Above all else, this means washing your hands religiously, avoiding close contact when possible, and not touching your face.

While we can’t enforce how much our students touch their faces, we can do our very best to implement hand-washing regimens. Despite how frightening COVID 19 might appear to be on the news, there’s a silver lining — it’s a wimpy little virus that falls apart with soap and water. Hand washing goes a long way to preventing its spread. We are ensuring that our teenage students and staff alike are consistently washing.

Furthermore, we’re keeping a keen eye on the cleaning and sanitation of our actual facilities. COVID 19 can purportedly survive on various surfaces for anywhere between a few hours to a few days. So, we’re making sure that we’re going out of our way to wipe down public areas and be extremely conscious of what surfaces our teenage students are touching.

WE’RE HELPING OUR TEENAGERS STAY INFORMED

The reason Coronavirus is so scary is because of its frightening mortality rate among the elderly and immunocompromised. However, data has shown that younger folks weather it much better. For many younger people, COVID 19 is little more than a mild cold, and there are people who contract the virus and don’t even show any symptoms. Beyond that, children seem to do especially well against the virus — it seems it’s no match for their stronger immune system. Based on all the data we have, teenagers are pretty well-protected against the dangers of COVID 19.

Unfortunately, there’s a downside to that. Many young people aren’t taking the virus seriously, believing that they aren’t in danger. While that could potentially be true, it’s important to remember that they can still be carriers. So although they may be just fine, an infected teenager could end up spreading it to their parents, grandparents, or other at-risk relatives. As leaders, instructors, and therapists for teenagers, we understand that it’s our responsibility to educate them on the dangers of the virus, particularly among the elderly and immunocompromised. This not only protects them at our residential treatment center, but it also helps to prepare any of our students who may be going home in the next few weeks, or receiving family visits.

KAIZEN ACADEMY IS WELL-PROTECTED

It’s understandable for any parent to be worried about COVID 19. You naturally want the best for your children, and you’re most likely also considering your own needs, being closer to the at-risk age than they are. The good news is that Kaizen Academy, for all intents and purposes, is a pretty good place to live during this period; isolation is one of the many benefits of residential treatment.

Our residential treatment center is far out of the way from suburban areas and city centers, being located off of Highway 89 right next to the Lasson Draw Wildlife Management Area. If Coronavirus ends up reaching the level of community transmission, everyone here will be well-insulated from it. We’re in the middle of a vast outdoor area, and because this is a residential treatment center, our teenage students live here full-time. They won’t be going out to parties, seeking out social gatherings, or getting fast food.

In that sense, the biggest threat of COVID 19 comes from outside visitors. As of this blog post’s writing, our visitation policies haven’t changed. Family, after all, is one of our most important values, and having the support of loved ones is often invaluable in our teens’ healing process. However, we will be keeping a close eye on the spread of the virus, and we will also be consulting with visitors to ensure they haven’t shown symptoms. If our visitation policies are revised in any way due to the spread of COVID 19, we will be sure to let everyone know.

What You Can Do To Help

As educators, leaders, and therapists, we’re making sure to do everything within our power to protect our facility, students, and staff against the growing spread of Coronavirus. But there are things that you can do at home to stay safe as well.

HELP YOUR KIDS TO UNDERSTAND RESPONSIBLE BEHAVIOR

As we mentioned above, it’s critical that we teach teenagers and children about the dangerous implications of COVID 19. Because they’re well-insulated against the more severe symptoms, they may be pretty cavalier about the whole situation, and the last thing we need is a bunch of contagious carriers running around, spreading it to people who are in close contact with people who are at risk.

As a parent, there’s no better time than now to sit down with your children and teenagers, and help them understand just how important it is to take the right actions to prevent the spread of the virus. Help them know that their older loved ones — including yourself — are much more at risk, and that the goal is to prevent widespread infection. This is equally important if you have a teenager at Kaizen Academy right now. Should the family come to visit, everyone will have much more peace-of-mind if the whole family has been proactive about hand washing and social distancing.

STAY CLEAN AT HOME

On top of educating and informing your kids, you should also follow the sanitation guidelines mentioned above — wash your hands, clean the surfaces of your home, avoid going out unless absolutely necessary, and so on. This makes things safer for everyone, and once again relieves a lot of stress in any kind of visitation session to our residential treatment center.

DON’T PANIC

Finally, society will benefit as a whole if we all keep a cool head during this pandemic. 2020 will already be infamously remembered as the year that the US ran out of toilet paper; let’s not make the problem worse.

As long as people are staying safe, clean, and distanced, the virus will have a difficult time spreading, and we can assure you that Kaizen Academy remains a safe place of healing for your troubled teenager. We encourage you to have faith if you have a teenager enrolled with us. Likewise, if you have a boy who is going through the various issues we cover (sexual trauma, pornography addiction, and so on), remember that Kaizen Academy is well-insulated from the outside world, and they might benefit more from therapeutic healing and recovery than they would from staying at home.

Utah Residential Treatment

If you currently have your teenage son enrolled with Kaizen Academy, rest assured that we will keep you close in the loop as the Coronavirus runs its course. We prioritize the safety, security, healing, and mental health of our teenagers above all else. Meanwhile, if you have a teenager who is struggling with sexual behavioral problems, we can help. Contact us today if you have any questions.

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