Update from Administrator – May 19, 2020
As always, our team and I hope this finds you safe and healthy. We are so excited for our parade on Friday, May 22 at 11 am. Thank you to everyone who has RSVP via email. We look forward to seeing you! Just a reminder to please stay in your car, follow traffic we will have first responders and our first selectman lead the parade.
As some states begin to ease restrictions on businesses and the general public, please note that the visitor restriction placed on us by the state in early March is still in effect for the foreseeable future; we will advise you when this changes. We continue to offer our weekly conference call for families and FaceTime calls, Skype sessions and window visits for you and your loved ones. Please continue to reach out to our recreation team to schedule “visits”. The state was kind enough to supply us with an additional iPad to conduct FaceTime visits.
As you know from our communications, managing this virus has been devastating to our staff but we are doing all we can to treat them. We currently have 13 positive residents in house but will discuss our numbers in more detail during our weekly call (information below). Last week, the state DPH and members of the National Guard visited our center along with members of the National Guard and found us to be in compliance for PPE, staffing and infection control and prevention issues twice. We continue to follow all CDC and state guidelines and receive regular updates on new guidelines that are offered.
Good news… As of today, we have seen 50 of our residents convert to negative and are now symptom-free of COVID-19. We are very excited for these residents, their families, and our staff. We anticipate this number to continue to rise and we will begin holding recognition ceremonies to celebrate their success. Check our Facebook page to see updated pictures and video of parades and “graduation” ceremonies. It is truly uplifting for our staff and residents.
Testing our Residents
I want to take this opportunity to update you about measures being taken to protect the rights, health, and safety of nursing home residents. Since this pandemic began, we have been constrained due to having a limited number of test kits and supplies necessary to test all nursing home residents. However, we are now at a point where supplies and testing capability have become available. This means that testing for all nursing home residents can now begin, regardless of signs and symptoms.
The Department of Public Health and the National Guard are working with nursing homes to test every resident, both symptomatic and asymptomatic. This is expected to be completed by the end of May. As soon as we have a date and our testing materials are in hand, we can begin to test all residents and send the kits back for processing. We will let you know when this and if this happens – the test and the results.
Once tested, residents will be appropriately placed which may require a room change. Please know that the resident and family member will be notified prior to the room change, but this is a necessary step in the process to protect the residents’ health.
Residents who refuse testing will need to be please with individuals of an alike status or COVID-19 unknown for 14 days.
We want to assure you that residents and family members will be informed throughout this process. Regular testing will continue until public health officials feel there is no longer a risk. With this level of testing the state will try to identify areas with the most risk and posing the highest level of concern. They will strategically focus their response to assist nursing homes and appropriately respond to the needs of their residents. We are currently waiting to be contacted regarding the initiation of this process for our facility.
Weekly Call
As a reminder, our next “Town Hall” meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 21 at 4pm and we will discuss more detailed information during this time. We encourage any residents and family members to contact me with any questions you have about the care we are offering. Our commitment is to be as transparent as possible and work to address any issues that arise. This is an incredibly challenging time and we will continue to do all we can to get through this, together. A reminder that resident-specific questions cannot be answered during these calls or on our Facebook page so please reach out to us directly if needed. Town Hall Meeting information below.
Thank you and please stay safe and healthy!
Rita Lynch, Administrator