August 31, 2020
Dear Residents and Families,
This letter is sent in full gratitude as we can share with you that after fully testing 100% of our resident and employee populations following the positive result of one employee, we are 100% negative! This was a great relief to all of us and I'm sure it is to you as well.
According to the Department of Health (DOH) guidelines by which we must follow, if there is a positive case within the resident/staff population, the Reopening Plan must start over from the beginning. Therefore, we immediately had to stop communal dining and activities and postpone family visits. We now must wait 14 days before resumption of these activities on September 14.
We also received notice from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that we must start regular monthly testing of both residents and staff based on the County Positivity Rate. Should the rate go above 5%, we must test weekly and if it goes above 10%, we must test twice weekly. All of this is an effort to monitor and prevent any spread of the virus especially as we enter flu season.
Speaking of flu season, we are poised to provide flu shots to residents and staff in October. We strongly encourage all of you to consider getting the flu shot this year to prevent any of the widespread illness that the doctors and scientists are predicting.
And in closing, we once more recognize the hardship this is placing on all of you and your loved ones in our care. We've attempted to reassure you daily that we are doing our best to make the best of a very difficult situation. Whether you are unable to visit your parents in a nursing facility, or unable to send your children or grandchildren to school, or unable to visit them or your friends due to quarantining....we all have and continue to feel the extreme burden of this unprecedented time.
We are bound to abide by the guidelines that have been placed on our industry. We cannot waiver from them because if there were consequences resulting in positive exposure, Pickering Manor would be held responsible by those same regulators.
We again ask for your patience as we continue to navigate these weeks and months together.
Wear a mask, socially distance, and practice hand hygiene while staying well,
Michelle
Michelle Knobloch
Chief Executive Officer
Terry
Terry Ziegler
Director of Nursing
