October 30, 2020
On October 28 and 29 all residents, team members and contracted health care providers accessing Skilled Nursing and Personal Care were tested for COVID-19. This was done because of the monthly testing required by the Department of Health. Also, the positivity rate in Lancaster County has risen to over 5%. Because of that, we will need to test weekly until the positivity rate falls below 5% and we have no positive cases for two consecutive weeks.
Results of yesterday’s testing have started coming in. Thus far, two team members and one contracted health care professional have tested positive. Individuals testing positive and those with whom they have had contact are always notified immediately. Positive non-resident individuals will not enter the Skilled Nursing Facility for 14 days. If a resident tests positive, they will be moved to the red zone and will be quarantined there for 14 days.
Because of the contracted health care professional’s positive test results, the entire Skilled Nursing Facility and Personal Care are once again in quarantine. This will impact visitation, dining and activities for our residents – virtual visitation only and no congregate dining or activities.
Any team member in Skilled Nursing and Personal Care must wear full PPE at all times. It is crucial to remember to wear a mask at all times regardless of whether you are on the unit or not and to remain 6 feet apart from others whenever possible. It is impossible to wash or sanitize your hands too often, so please do so often. It makes a difference.
One of the team members who tested positive works in Great Rock Home Care. The team member and those who they have cared for are being notified. Visitation, dining and activities in Residential Living remain unchanged.
Our hearts ache for those who are impacted by these current positive test results. We are all weary of this. While it is easy to let our guard down, as Martin Luther says below, we do not want to be an agent that causes harm to another. Please remain steadfast in your efforts to protect others.
We are reminded again of Martin Luther’s quote shared in the 1600’s in the midst of the Plague:
“I shall ask God mercifully to protect us. Then I shall fumigate, help purify the air, administer medicine and take it. I shall avoid places and persons where my presence is not needed in order not to become contaminated and thus perchance inflict and pollute others and so cause their death as a result of my negligence. If God should wish to take me, he will surely find me and I have done what he has expected of me and so I am not responsible for either my own death or the death of others. If my neighbor needs me, however, I shall not avoid place or person but will go freely as stated above. See this is such a God-fearing faith because it is neither brash nor foolhardy and does not tempt God.”