Update from Administrator – May 8, 2020
As some states begin to ease restrictions on businesses and the general public, please note that our center will NOT be included in any category. 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.
From the beginning of this crisis, we have implemented extensive infection control measures to protect residents. I have listed those in many past emails, our weekly “Town Hall” conference calls, and this information remains on our website. As always, if you would like any details on them, please let me know.
In Connecticut, patients and staff have tested positive in more than 2/3 of the nursing homes in the state. Sadly, we are part of those numbers. As you know from our communications, this has been devastating to our staff but we are doing all we can to treat them. Our thoughts are with those patients afflicted with this virus and their loved ones.
We also continue to do all we can to protect our other residents and remain committed to ensuring the personal protective equipment (PPE) our staff needs and, are in compliance with CDC and state guidelines regarding the appropriate use of PPE. We continue to follow every lead to secure PPE from existing and new vendors and request equipment from the state. We are satisfied with our supply but are always monitoring it and working to build it up for the long road ahead.
We are in touch daily with the Department of Public Health and our local Health Department. The state DPH has visited our center and found us to be in compliance for PPE, staffing and infection control and prevention issues. We continue to follow all CDC and state guidelines and receive regular updates on new guidelines that are offered.
Good news! We may be turning the corner on our center’s battle with COVID-19. As of today, we have seen 9 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 “graduation” or recovery ceremonies, to celebrate their success. We feel this would be helpful to everyone!
I remain incredibly grateful for our dedicated team and ask you to join me in ensuring that they are included as “Health Care Heroes” battling COVID-19. They are doing everything they possibly can to care for those suffering and support them as they battle this disease. Many of you have reached out inquiring about how you can recognize our staff. If you want to have a meal delivered or leave a recommendation on our Facebook page, they would appreciate the recognition as they are a huge part of the health care heroes doing their part in the battle against COVID-19. Thank you to all the families that have been donating meals, PPE or sharing a kind word via email or on our Facebook page.
We are fortunate that we have not experienced staffing issues due to the commitment our staff has in providing the highest quality of care to their patients, even in the most challenging times. We have increased compensation to staff in our center and continue to advertise and recruit for additional per diem staff to supplement our teams. We support our talented staff whose commitment to caring for our residents throughout this health crisis inspires us every day.
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 on our Facebook page so please reach out to us directly if needed.
Thank you and please stay safe and healthy!
Marisa Jones, LNHA, MBA
Administrator