5-7-2020
Dear Resident, Families, and Community,
Earlier this week, we shared with you the sad news that a resident of the Village of St. Edward’s Fairlawn Community 3rd Floor Nursing Care, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on Saturday evening had passed away. Additionally, we shared at that a 3rd Floor Nursing Care Employee had also been diagnosed with the virus and was recovering at home.
In response to the positive test results, we requested through the Summit County Health Department testing of the residents of the third floor of Nursing Care and staff members who were deemed to have possible exposure. At the time of the written notification, we had received approval and testing kits for the staff members and the resident who resided with the impacted resident. On Wednesday of this week, we received testing approval for the residents of the third floor of nursing care. The initial testing of the staff and roommate of the resident who initially tested positive were completed on Tuesday and we have received the results. The resident testing was completed on Wednesday and results will be shared when received, which is expected within the several days. Based on what we know of this virus, we expected that we would find asymptomatic positive results. While expected, we are saddened to learn that 3 employees and the 1 resident have tested positive. The staff are all asymptomatic, however, the resident has sadly recently developed symptoms. The employees have been removed from the schedule and will not return until they complete a required quarantine period as directed by the Summit County Health Department. The resident is and has been in isolation. Our prayers are with the staff and resident.
As we continue to work through containment of this virus, we will continue to provide you information with new findings, as well as weekly results. We will begin to utilize the following reporting tool to assist in providing this information.
The Village of St. Edward at Fairlawn- Nursing Care
** As of 5/7/10 Total Tests Completed– Week of 5/4 as of Total Test Results Received- Week of 5/4 Total Positive Cases Total Cumulative Cases
Residents 20 1 1 2
Employees 31 31 3 4
*Note prior email indicated 32 employees were identified for testing, however, the actual number was 31 and one resident
Again, at this time there are no positive COVID cases within The Village Communities in Wadsworth and Green or in the Fairlawn Independent, Assisted Living and Memory Care.
Testing, as we know, provides us a snapshot in time as a tool to help control and mitigate exposure. Based on the results of the testing, we can make decisions in concert with our Medical Director, Clinical Team, County and State Department of Health on best practices to identify potential exposure of each positive case, determine if expanded testing is indicated, isolate, cohort, and further our infection control efforts. We assure you that we utilize the testing information to determine further exposure. Families, residents and staff will be notified directly if testing is recommended for you or your loved one based on your exposure.
As we understand, many of our residents and families have questions related to testing. The guidance, utilized by the Ohio Department of Health, which was updated on Monday of this week, by the Ohio Department of Health is provided below for your understanding of the tool utilized for testing. We are fortunate that this testing criteria was updated just this week to allow (as Priority 2) for the testing of asymptomatic residents and staff of senior living facilities who have direct exposure. This will provide us with the ability to provider earlier and more timely mitigation to this current exposure.
All current practices remain in effect, including visitor restrictions, screening of staff upon reporting to work, isolation of residents between floors, use of Personal Protective Equipment including masks and proper infection control procedures. Additionally, we are utilizing the testing information available to help guide further efforts and have contracted with a company that specializes in commercial disinfection to thoroughly clean common areas on the third floor including the elevator and stairwells, as well as the resident’s room where the virus was present. We have also increased Personal Protective Equipment requirements to include face shields and gowns on the 3rd Floor of Nursing Care.
As you know from previous communications, we utilize our email system as well as Social Media to keep residents, families and the Community up to date on what is happening inside The Village. In order to better manage our communications and out of respect for The Village residents and staff, we will be sending these detailed written notices to our residents and families and utilizing our social media platforms to highlight information about community life, provide positive messages and prayers. The written communication will also be posted under the news section on our webpage for those extended families members who wish to stay in touch. As a reminder, all of the information on positive COVID cases in Senior Living is available to the public through the Ohio Department of Health website. As testing is being expanded in Ohio and particularly Senior Living Communities, we expect that all facilities will begin to see larger numbers reported on that dashboard.
We acknowledge and share the concern of all of our residents and family in regards to the COVID-19 virus. Our staff is committed to containment of this virus and the safety of all of the residents and other staff of all of our Communities. As always, the safety of The Village’s residents and employees is of our utmost importance.
Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. The kind words lift our staff up and give them strength and courage as they care for all of the residents in our community.
Danielle Maur, VP of Operations
Recent Comments