April 14, 2020
Dear Garden House Family Members and Responsible Parties,
The health and safety of everyone in our Garden House community is of utmost importance to us. And as you have seen, we are committed to providing complete, factual, and timely information about the impact of the COVID-19 virus.
I am writing to let you know that as of today, April 14, Garden House does not have any suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases.
We continue to have the following protocols in place to prevent the spread of the virus:
- We continue to take every step recommended by authorities to protect our residents and employees. We are continually monitoring updated guidance and immediately implement any new protocols suggested by local and state public health officials and the CDC.
- We continue to screen all residents for fevers daily and monitor for signs and symptoms for the virus on every shift. Employees are also screened daily.
- All employees continue to wear face masks at all times.
- We are cleaning and disinfecting routinely.
- As an added precaution for healthy residents, face masks are provided for their use when they are in common areas, while also practicing social distancing by staying a minimum of 6 feet away from others.
If we have a suspected or confirmed case in the future, we are prepared to implement the following procedures:
- We would place residents in quarantine to minimize the chance for the virus to spread. Staff members interacting with the residents would use all recommended precautions to protect the residents and themselves from spreading the virus, including the use of additional personal protective equipment.
- Residents who are exposed to any suspected or confirmed cases would be tested for COVID-19 as appropriate and monitored for symptoms.
- Individuals in direct contact with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 would be notified in person or by phone, as would their family members.
In addition, it is our practice to contact local public health officials and to inform them of both confirmed or suspected cases and the steps we have in place. You will be comforted to hear that they fully support our protocols.
I want to reassure you that we are on top of this rapidly evolving situation that is impacting everyone in the Buffalo area
.
We are in constant contact with the Erie County Department of Health and the regional office of the New York State Department of Health as they gather more information about the spread of the virus and provide additional guidance about how we can best protect and care for our residents.
We know there is significant spread of the virus in Erie County. You can be exposed to COVID-19 anywhere. You don’t have to be a patient or an employee in a health care setting to catch the virus. You don’t have to be a resident or an employee in a senior living community to be at risk. It can happen anywhere. Nonetheless, we know older adults are more at risk and we know we have a solemn responsibility to do all we can to protect people who have entrusted their care to us. I am confident we have put the right protocols in place and that our staff are focused on maintaining the health and safety of your loved ones every day. I also urge you to continue to take all recommended precautions to protect yourself.
I know everyone has a lot of general questions about the virus, especially since the situation is evolving so quickly. I encourage you to visit our COVID-19 web page at
WeinbergCampus.org/coronavirus.aspx
. There you can view links to the latest information from the CDC. We have also placed a link to our Family Page where we will post information you may find helpful. To access the
family web page
, you will need the following username and password:
Username:
family
Password:
weinberg321
(Be sure to log out when you’re ready to exit the page.)
Thank you for your support.
As we all work together to get through these trying times, we appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we have implemented guidelines to protect your loved ones. We know it’s not easy being separated from your family. But I know we share the common goal of protecting our residents and staff as best we can.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.
If I can provide additional information or answer any questions you might have, please contact me
at 716-639-3330 ext. 2507 or
[email protected]
. If you cannot reach me immediately, please leave me a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. We are experiencing higher than normal call volumes, and I appreciate your understanding as we are working hard to care for and protect your loved one during these challenging times. You are also welcome to contact Bob Mayer, President & CEO of Weinberg Campus, at 716-639-3311 ext. 2468 or
[email protected]
.
