Grand Forks' Altru Family YMCA earns recognition as 'COVID-Safe Marketplace' by North Dakota Department of Commerce

Feb. 27—Because of the many steps it has made to ensure the health of its members, staff, child care clients and visitors, the Altru Family YMCA in Grand Forks has been recognized by the state as a "COVID-Safe Marketplace."

The YMCA received a $47,000 North Dakota Department of Commerce Economic Resiliency Grant to make major facility upgrades, including an air purification system that continually filters the inside air, using ultraviolet (UV) rays, throughout the roughly 66,000-square-foot building, said Bob McWilliams, president and CEO.

The grant, part of the facility's COVID Response Plan, funded about 20 UV unit systems to be installed and hooked to the building's four air handlers late last year, McWilliams said. The air purification system accounts for almost half of the resiliency grant funds.

"Health and safety is always a priority at the Y," he said. "The implementation of air purification and touchless thermometers were essential to our day-to-day operations."

Also, a portable UV air-cleaning unit is placed in the lobby or child care area at night to ensure the interior air is as germ-free as possible.

The Economic Resiliency Grant funds were used to purchase and install two standing, touchless body thermometers — one for members and staff and the other for child care staff and guests, McWilliams said. Each group has its own building entrance.

Upon entering, visitors and staff members face the thermometer, which verbally states if their temperature is acceptable or abnormal — temps of 100.5 degrees or higher are abnormal. The equipment also detects the absence of a mask and a recording says, "Please wear a mask."

In the child care areas, the height of the walls that divide sections was increased by two feet, with Plexiglas, to inhibit the spread of germs, McWilliams said. Above that point, the air-handling system cleans the air.

Two handheld devices are used to scan and sanitize — again with UV light — frequently-touched items, such as door handles, computer keyboards, pens, restroom keys and telephones.

These and other precautions have allowed the YMCA to continue serving the public in a safe way. Except for a period at the beginning of the pandemic last March, when a national emergency was declared and facility closures were mandated, the Y has kept its doors open, McWilliams said.

He is proud of staff members for their efforts to provide child care for first-responders, health care workers and other essential workers at the Y throughout the pandemic, he said.

And, though all the usual programming is not yet fully available, he said the Y hopes to reopen as much as possible because "mental health is so important right now" for young and old alike, he said. "The physical fitness aspect of our facility is pretty measurable, but the mental health of our visitors is just as important at times like these."

Parents and their children are eagerly seeking physical activity, as the pandemic has curtailed or canceled so many opportunities, he said, noting, for example, that the "YBL (Youth Basketball League) and youth sports — a lot of that (programming) is full again."

'Baby steps'

Participation in some programs has been capped to ensure social distancing can be maintained. Some activities have been canceled or postponed, while others have been able to continue with enhanced safety and security measures, McWilliams said.

But a framework of caution has guided decision-making during the pandemic, he said. "Even if (public health authorities) say you can do something, we still take baby steps."

Members, especially older members, have been returning to the building, he's noticed.

Some who've reengaged with the Silver Sneakers program have told him they are glad to see that the facility requires people to wear masks when they are moving throughout the building.

After the pandemic struck last spring, YMCA members Joyce Wicklund and her husband, David Nelson, took a "long break" from using the facility and have only recently resumed exercising there, Wicklund said.

They are walking three times a week on the third-floor track, which they almost always have to themselves, she said. "The most we've ever seen is two other people using the track."

She and her husband are being "really careful" about following public health guidelines at the Y, she said, adding, "I double-mask when I am there."

When using exercise equipment, Wicklund makes it a point to stay at least six feet from others, choosing a machine based on "which ones are the most empty," she said.

Many precautions

The Y staff members have instituted other precautions, in response to COVID, including discontinuing towel service, adding multiple hand-sanitizing stations, limiting drinking fountains to bottle fillers only, and limiting the number of individuals in the building and in classes, McWilliams said.

When the weather was warmer, "we held outdoor classes and social-distanced all areas, including the shutting down of some fitness machines and moving some out of the area," he said.

Efforts to preserve and protect public health seem to have been effective.

"We've only had two members who said they were quarantined," he said, "and a handful of staff (members) were close contacts."