Help Keep our Residents Safe from COVID-19

Dear Residents, Families, Friends and Volunteers:
We are committed to keeping our residents safe and we need your help. The virus causing Coronavirus (COVID-19) can cause outbreaks in nursing homes. Many of our residents are elderly and may have medical conditions placing them at very high risk of becoming sick or even severely ill with COVID-19. Visitors and healthcare personnel are the most likely sources of introduction of the COVID-19 virus into a facility
To protect our vulnerable residents, even before COVID-I9 is seen in our community, we are immediately taking the following aggressive actions to reduce the risk of COVID-I9 for residents and staff:

1. Effective immediately: We are restricting all visitation.

All visitation is restricted except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end of life situations. These visitors will first be screened for fever and respiratory symptoms. We know that your presence is important for your loved one but per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this is a necessary action to protect their health. We are introducing alternate methods of visitation (such as Skype and FaceTime) so that you can continue to communicate with your loved ones. Visitors who are permitted to enter the building will be required to frequently clean their hands, limit the visit to a designated area within the building and wear a facemask. As the situation with COVID-19 is rapidly changing, we will continue to keep you updated.

2. We are monitoring healthcare personnel and residents for symptoms of respiratory illness.

Non-essential healthcare personnel and volunteers are now restricted from entering the facility.

Healthcare personnel will be actively monitored for fever and symptoms of respiratory infection. Healthcare personnel will be asked to stay home, if they have signs or symptoms. You may see healthcare personnel wearing facemasks, eye protection, gowns and gloves in order to prevent germs from spreading and helping to keep residents safe. Healthcare personnel will clean their hands frequently.
We are assessing residents daily for fever and symptoms of respiratory infection in order to quickly identify ill residents and implement additional infection control activities. When ill residents are identified they will be monitored closely and asked to remain in their rooms or wear a mask.

3. We are limiting activities within the facility.

We are modifying group activities within the building and cancelling all community outings. We will be helping residents practice social distancing including during meals and frequently clean their hands.

We encourage you to review the CDC website for information about COVID-19 including its symptoms, how it spreads, and actions you can take to protect your health:

https: //www. cdc. gov/coronavirusl2Al9-ncov/index. htm I

Thank you very much for everything you are doing to keep our residents and facility staff safe and healthy. We continue to monitor the situation in our community, and we will keep you informed about any new precautions we think are necessary to keep your loved one safe.

Please contact us should you have any additional questions.

Sincerely,
George Friou Administrator
Alisha Hanson Director of Nursing