May 12, 2020
Dear Families,
Hoping this letter finds all of you remaining healthy, practicing social distancing; yet staying in touch with one another in creative ways!
We continue to navigate these times of uncertainty while taking care of all those you love. (We happen to love them too!). To date, we continue to have no positive cases in our resident population; and we had one employee that tested positive over 14 days ago, but have had no others in either population exhibiting symptoms.
You may tire of hearing the same information but we feel it is important to continue to remind you of the measures we continue to take. We continue to restrict all visitors from entering the building; especially the resident areas. We are monitoring the temperatures of all staff as they enter and exit; as well as screening them by asking them a series of questions regarding how they feel and if they are aware of any exposure. We check the temperatures of our residents at least once/shift. We continue to wear masks/facial coverings when with other colleagues or residents and we have now asked the residents to wear masks as well. We practice social distancing as much as possible with one another....and we wash our hands, a lot!
Currently, we have enough PPE to keep us all safe; thanks to the diligent efforts of Paul Martyniw, our Central Supply Coordinator who makes certain to stay in constant contact with our vendors. We continue to manage an Isolation Unit of 10 beds that is there for any potential cases. We have tested 6 residents that have had minor symptoms; all 6 have been negative. We currently have some tests on hand and so far, have been allocated these tests upon request.
We continue to report daily to the PA Department of Health our current status. It will now become a requirement to report to the CDC/CMS on a weekly basis. We stay in constant contact with the local Bucks Co. Department of Health. And most importantly (at least to us), we try our best to stay in touch with all of you.
These emails are our means of communicating to you as we have new information to share but also to let you know that we will continue to remain completely transparent to all of you; including our residents and staff. It is a commitment that we honor at Pickering and one that we have practiced “pre-COVID-19” and will continue to practice throughout. Whether it’s by email, telephone, or in person, we are available to answer any questions you may have and to reassure you that we continue to be the same facility that you have trusted all these years.
It is really hard right now for all of us. We read the same articles and see the same newscasts as all of you. Our world is the current headlines. And we know first-hand the responsibility we all have. We also know that at any time, we may have our first case...and then our second. We continue to all respect that fact greatly. I’m fairly sure that if you do not have a personal COVID-19 story by now, you will at some point know someone in your life that has been impacted.
Attached to this message is a list of
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) from the PA Department of Health. I hope you find them helpful, but I also hope that you know the answers to most of them because we’ve already told you!
So for now, we will continue to keep you connected to those in our care by calling and FaceTiming; we appreciate SO much the generosity of the community in making masks, sending BEAUTIFUL flowers and homemade cards, and so many have sent lunches and special treats in for all of us!
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.....
Michelle
Michelle Knobloch
Chief Executive Officer
Terry
Terry Ziegler
Director of Nursing
