Update: March 26th, 2020
At this time, we do not have any known cases of Covid-19 in our community. As many of you have been watching the news, you realize that others in our communities’ regions have not been as fortunate.
The risk is significant that people who appear healthy will enter our communities and expose or directly infect Residents or Team Members. To protect our especially vulnerable Residents from COVID-19 in our communities, we have made the very difficult decision to extend our suspension of all non-essential visits to all of our communities from Friday, 3/27/2020 through Monday, 4/20/20. We recognize that this represents is an inconvenience for many which we do not take lightly. We understand and appreciate that visits from friends and family are important to our community’s vitality, but the safety of our Residents and Team Members are our primary concern during this unprecedented time. We will provide an exception to this visitation restriction only in end-of-life situations or if the health of the resident is in jeopardy.
We understand that connecting with family members is incredibly important, and there are a variety of ways you might consider connecting with them. These alternatives include telephone, e-mail, text, Skype, Google Duo, or Facebook, which we are happy to facilitate with the technology we have available in our community. You may also consider using our Virtual Hug portal at www.IntegraCare.com/Virtual-Hugs.
Our community is following recommendations of the CDC on prevention steps, including following strict handwashing procedures, and in many circumstances, wearing protective equipment and gloves when interacting with Residents who are sick, or who have merely returned from a more skilled setting such as a hospital. Our Residents are being monitored carefully for changing symptoms and fever every day. We are cleaning and disinfecting high traffic and high touch areas with increased regularity. We are screening and actively monitoring the temperatures of all our Team Members during every shift. We are staying informed with the CDC, local and state governments’ recommendations as they are updated.
Please continue to be assured that we are in constant communication with our vendors to ensure we have enough food, medication, and other supplies to serve Residents. We have an FDA approved source for COVID-19 testing, and we are working to have test kits delivered in preparation should we have a probable case.
For more information, please contact your Executive Operations Officer at your community. Stay Healthy!
Update: March 24th, 2020
We appreciate our Residents, their families, and those in our greater communities for your support and cooperation in this uncertain time. At this time, we continue to hold with no known cases of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) in any of our communities. While the suspension of non-essential visits has been hard for many families, we are grateful for your understanding and willingness to work with us on creative ways you can stay connected with your loved one.
To help foster this connection, we have launched our Virtual Hug portal, where you can send well wishes in the form of videos and photos. Please visit Integracare.com/Virtual-Hugs
Already we’ve seen some heartwarming grandchildren drawing pictures, and photos of those creations too. We look forward to sharing these messages with your loved ones.
We want to assure you that we are taking all the appropriate steps to keep our Residents and Team Members safe. In addition to our existing infectious disease protocols, we’ve implemented the following measures:
- Educating and re-educating teams daily with approaches to keep themselves, their families at home, and our residents, safe.
- Ensuring our communities have the tools needed to monitor Residents’ health to help detect possible health issues early.
- Utilizing the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracking system to monitor COVID-19 outbreaks and adjust our responses accordingly.
- Enhancing our cleaning protocols to address COVID-19’s specific lifespan and weaknesses.
- Offering an additional stipend to Team Members who stay in the community during their off-hours to decrease their exposure and reduce exposure risk to our Residents.
- Offering a $2 premium to existing Team Members who fill vacancies.
- Promoted the use of video calling tools like Google Duo and Skype for Residents and families to keep in touch regularly with their loved ones. are encouraged to combat social isolation and loneliness.
For more information, please contact your Executive Operations Officer at your community. Stay Healthy!
Update: March 14th, 2020
To Our Residents, Family Members, and Friends:
We know you are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 and how it may impact us here in our communities. Ensuring Residents are cared for in a safe and healthy environment is our greatest concern. At this time, 3/14/2020, there are no known cases of COVID-19 in our communities, and we are diligently working to keep it that way.
We have made the difficult decision to suspend all non-essential visits to all of our communities from Saturday, March 14th until Friday, March 27th.
Select exceptions exist regarding hospice needs made on a case-by-case basis. We will continue to evaluate the situation and will adjust the timing of this ban accordingly.
Rest assured, all essential Team Members are being vigorously screened. Temperatures are being taken, a thorough review of recent travel and other measures are being conducted to ensure we avoid exposure to the best of our abilities.
We are following the recommendations of the CDC on prevention measures including:
- Following strict handwashing procedures
- Wearing protective equipment and gloves when interacting with Residents who are sick, regardless of the source of their illness
- Ensuring frequently touched surfaces are regularly cleaned with an antiviral disinfectant.
- Practicing social distance: Keeping at least six feet between our Team and members of the public
We are staying informed with the CDC recommendations as they are updated. In addition, our community is in close contact with the local and state health department and are following their guidance. Signs are posted at the entry points of our communities with these new guidelines and restrictions. For the latest CDC recommendations on the Coronavirus, visit the CDC’s coronavirus disease information page.
We understand that connecting with family members is incredibly important, and there are a variety of other ways to consider connecting with them. These may include telephone, email, text, or through Skype or Facebook, which we are happy to facilitate.
Should you want to deliver something to a family member in our communities, please coordinate with us and make delivery to the front door.
We appreciate our friends’ and families’ support and cooperation as we work to keep our Residents safe and well cared for.
For more information, please contact your Executive Operations Officer at your community. Stay Healthy!