October 1, 2020
Dear Families,
As we move into the month of October, we are in the process of opening the Yates Pavilion and moving residents from the West Wing of the ‘Pickering Pavilion’ to the Rehab Neighborhood on the 2nd floor. The Personal Care residents are moving into the new Personal Care Neighborhood. The Renovation Phase of the project will begin on October 5th and will include the Activities/Rehab space, the West Wing and the Personal Care area. Once completed, the residents will be moved back to their renovated rooms and the East Wing residents will then be temporarily relocated while the East Wing area undergoes the same renovation.
We would also like to share with you the
Guidelines of our Visitation Protocols. As we’ve stated in former Messages, these guidelines are set forth to us by the Centers for Medicare/Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health (DOH), both Federal and State governments. We do not form these guidelines on our own. These guidelines have been changing regularly at a rapid pace.
It is our sole responsibility to keep your loved ones safe and that is exactly what we have done. We continue to be COVID-19-free within our resident population. However, we also recognize the need to carefully introduce further visitation into our buildings.
Instead of detailing the Guidelines to you in this message, I am
providing a copy of them to you. These are the same guidelines that will be given to our staff to educate them on the facilitation of the visits. As you will see, there are 4 types of visitation. Each one is specific to the type of visitation with requirements by both resident and family member(s). These requirements are directly from the CMS guidelines for visiting and are enforced by the DOH.
CMS most recently added Compassionate Care visits. These visits are specific to residents that have a ‘documented significant change’ in their condition. A staff member will contact you should your loved one meet the criteria for these visits. Families
must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test with 7 days, preferably within 72 hours of their visit. CVS pharmacy currently provides COVID-19 testing at no cost. Upon discussion with the CVS pharmacist, a person must make an appointment online and simply say that they wish to be tested and choose the option of ‘physician-ordered’. I am also
attaching a flyer that I received from the CVS pharmacist.
Once more, we realize that it is trying for all of you. We are guided by our desire to ensure the health and safety of all and we are also committed to the psychosocial well-being or our residents and you, as well.
We will continue to navigate this process as we continue to move through this time. We thank you for your support and patience.
Michelle
Michelle Knobloch
Chief Executive Officer
Terry
Terry Ziegler, RN
Director of Nursing
