September 10, 2020
Dear Families,
It’s been awhile since we’ve last updated you but we wanted to share what has been happening at Pickering Manor over the past month and also share what will be happening in the coming weeks...
First of all, we continue to be proud of our response during this COVID-19 crisis. We are now 6 months in and have had only 2 cases in our staff population and fortunately, no cases in our resident population. As many of you may be aware, the second case with a staff member prompted us to immediately conduct universal testing and we were relieved to find no other positive cases. As per the State & Federal guidelines, we waited the full 14 days and will be able to resume activities starting Monday, 9/14. This will include scheduled visits with families, hairdresser services and communal dining and activities.
We also received further guidelines which mandate all Nursing facilities to conduct regular testing based on the County’s Positivity Rate. If the County Rate is below 5%, we must test monthly; if between 5-10%, we must test weekly; and if goes above 10%, it requires testing twice per week. We also include Personal Care and it’s residents in all these testing requirements so that we have 100% compliance. Currently, the County Positivity Rate is 2.9%, so we will be conducting our monthly testing during the 3rd week of every month. This will continue to increase our surveillance and monitoring to insure that we are keeping everyone as safe as possible. As always, we will keep you informed of any changes that may occur throughout.
We have also just received yesterday a Point-of-Care testing machine that is being provided to all nursing facilities. This is a Rapid Response test that will allow us to test onsite and have the results within 15 minutes. These machines are being provided from the Federal Government to all nursing facilities in the nation.
Also, we are excited to share that all inspections have been completed and we are now ready to launch into the next phase of our Expansion and Renovation Project. The Yates Pavilion is now ready for occupancy. We are in the process of beginning to move into the new building and are placing the finishing touches on the necessary infrastructure before we actually move our residents into their new space.
On Monday, 9/28, we hope to have the front desk open and functioning. This is necessary to facilitate all operational action between the two buildings. On Tuesday, 9/29, we will move the first residents from the Skilled unit into the new ‘Rehab Neighborhood’. This will serve as their temporary new home while the second phase of renovation begins in the Pickering Pavilion. These residents are all those currently residing on the West Wing. On Thursday, 10/1, we will move all Personal Care residents into the new ‘Personal Care Neighborhood’. The vacated area will be renovated and modified to become the new ‘Memory Care Neighborhood’.
Once all residents are moved and the areas have been emptied of all furniture and contents, the second phase of renovation will begin with the demolition of the current Rehab area, Activity area, West Wing corridor and Personal Care area. The renovation will result in a reallocation of space to include a new Hair Salon, Spa, Reflection Room, and Activity space. The new resident rooms will be larger and all will have their own bathroom and shower.
The residents located on the East Wing of the Pickering Pavilion will stay in place and daily operations will continue as normal. The atrium is not included in the renovation so that space, along with the East Wing nurses station, kitchen and current Mansion area will continue to be used and will be fully functional. The East Wing renovation will be the third and final phase of the Renovation and will occur once the West Wing is completed and inspected and those residents will be moved back into that space.
We realize this is a lot of information in one ‘Message’, but we have been very busy and wanted to give you as many details as possible to keep you informed. We continue to understand that seeing your loved ones is and will always be at the top of your list. Believe me, we feel the same. We’re hoping that with the accessibility of more testing and a safe vaccine, that day will come sooner rather than later.
As always, please know that any of us are available for questions and are willing to provide you with updates to the best of our ability. We appreciate your patience and your trust as we all continue to navigate through these changes. Thank you for that...and we pray that all of you and your families are safe and well.
Take care and we’ll be in touch with you as the moves and changes begin to happen,
Michelle
Michelle Knobloch
Chief Executive Officer
Terry
Terry Ziegler
Director of Nursing
Donna
Donna Van Schaick
Personal Care Administrator
