November 17, 2020
Everyone should have seen or heard the communication at the end of last week regarding additional positive tests in Skilled Nursing. Additional resident and employee tests have continued to come back negative since then. We are confident the policies and procedures we have put into place continue to protect residents and team members from a significant spread of COVID-19 and contain the few cases we have had.
Personal Care and Memory Support
In light of an outside contracted worker testing positive with exposure on the Personal Care Unit, Personal Care and Memory Support will remain in quarantine until we have completed 14 days of no new positive tests. Visitation will continue to be in the form of window visits only until we are able to re-open for normal indoor visitation in the Thompson Meeting Room.
Skilled Nursing
In accordance with guidelines from CMS and DOH, Skilled Nursing units continue to remain in quarantine with weekly outbreak testing for team members and residents. We must complete two rounds of weekly testing with all negative results before we can resume visitation and other important services. We are expecting window visitation to resume on Monday and then looking forward to resuming indoor visitation with residents once we have 14 days with no new positives.
To all our Residents
We recognize the toll this is taking on you. To say we are deeply saddened and hurt to see the turmoil you have been through is an understatement. Our team has been put in a lose-lose scenario where bending the rules and regulations to provide a brief moment of emotional relief can have long-term consequences for those same residents that we were trying to help. The administrative team continues to wrestle daily with how to prioritize the safety of our residents while ensuring we meet their emotional needs. We ask for your continued prayers and support as we make decisions with the residents’ best interests at heart.
To our Team Members
All of you have been nothing short of extraordinary since the day this pandemic started. You have always done what we have asked and done so with little to no complaining. You have stepped up and remained flexible as policies and procedures continue to change on what seems like a daily basis. Most importantly, many of you have adopted the role of family to our residents who desperately need it as they have been unable to see their families often, or in some scenarios at all. I am sure I can speak for many families as I have heard from many of them how thankful they are knowing their loved ones are in the hands of team members who care so much.