January 20, 2021
Recent COVID testing identified four additional positive residents and two positive team members. Neither team member worked during their infectious period so there is minimal exposure. QPRC continues to test all team members twice a week in accordance with PA guidelines. We will continue to notify residents and families of positive cases if they arise.
There will be some restructuring in Skilled Nursing in order to make Garden West a dedicated COVID Unit. It will have a separate team member entrance and exit and keep any positive residents even more isolated from the rest of the facility. Garden West residents who have not tested positive will be moved to one area on the second floor and where we will have special programming, activities, and training for that part of the unit. Families that are directly impacted by the restructuring will be contacted prior to resident moves. We have discussed this in length and believe it will benefit both residents and team members as we continue to deal with the challenges of COVID-19. We are currently working to secure the floor to ensure the safety of all our residents, not just those with a dementia diagnosis.
Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community celebrates the completion of our first round of vaccinations for all of our Skilled Nursing and Personal Care residents on Monday the 18th. Those that consented to the vaccine were excited to be a part of such a unique opportunity. We were also able to vaccinate skilled nursing team members that wished to be vaccinated. We are looking forward to the second round of vaccinations on February 9th for those who received their first one this week. We are also excited to be able to include our Personal Care team members in this next round of vaccines.
Please remember that just because you received the vaccine does not mean you do not need to continue using caution and wearing appropriate PPE. The first does not take effect right away and only provides roughly 50% protection. The second dose will again take up to a week or two to fully take effect and that is when individuals will receive the full benefits of the vaccine.
We have not yet been able to identify when or how we will be able to offer the vaccine to our Residential Living residents and team members. The vaccination procedures are constantly changing on the state level and at this point the distribution seems to be heavily influenced by the state. I wish we knew more at this time but we are at the mercy of our regulatory bodies when it comes to any vaccinations. We would encourage you to call your primary care physician to see when they may be offering it. Some physician practices have been allocated the vaccine to be able to distribute to the appropriate groups as identified by Pennsylvania.