Update from Administrator – May 6, 2021
May 6, 2021
Dear Families,
This week, we celebrate National Nurses Week, which begins on May 6th each year since 1974 and ends on May 12th, in honor of Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Next week, we begin celebrating National Skilled Nursing Care Week (formerly National Nursing Home Week). This year’s theme is “Together Through the Seasons. “NSNCW begins on Sunday, May 9, Mother’s Day and runs through May 15. The theme will honor the collaborative commitment of our staff in providing compassionate care to your loved ones during this unprecedented time.
Over the past year, despite the challenges of the pandemic, our team has shown an incredible and steadfast commitment to providing quality care and ensuring the safety of their residents. Throughout the week, our team has many activities and special meals planned for our residents. Please look on our Face book or contact our recreation team to learn more.
Some updates for you:
Resident Outings and Visitation:
Revised guidance was issued by the Rhode Island Department of Health on May 5th, it is as follows:
- All residents may leave the facility and return without the need for quarantine
provided there was no close contact (i.e., within six feet for greater than 15 minutes) exposure to COVID-19. - Residents who chose to leave the facility as well as their visitors/family members
should be educated about the potential risks of public settings, particularly if they have not been fully vaccinated, and reminded to avoid crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. - Residents/family members/visitors should be encouraged and assisted with
adherence to all recommended infection prevention and control measures,
including masking, physical distancing, and hand hygiene. - If residents are visiting family or friends in their homes, they should maintain
physical distancing and wear well-fitting masks when either the resident or any of their visitors /family members are not fully vaccinated.
Families wishing to take the resident for an outing should contact the unit manager and schedule it in advance. We are asking that family members call 48 hours in advance to schedule the outing so that we can accommodate the residents’ medication and treatment needs. Please call the unit manager Monday through Friday for outing arrangements. If you are returning the resident after 8pm, please call the facility prior to returning so that we can open the front door for you. Residents must be able to safely enter and exit your vehicle without staff assistance. The unit manager will inform you if the resident can transport safely in your vehicle. If the resident is not safe, we will have our rehab staff perform an evaluation and determine if the resident can be trained to transfer safely in and out of your vehicle. You may have to reschedule your outing or find alternate transportation based on the rehab evaluation and training needs.
NOTE: The state of Rhode Island has still not lifted our level 3 visitation restrictions on the patient floors.
Recreation/ Activities:
- We are delighted to begin once again safely holding small, socially distanced group activities.
- Outdoor activities are always encouraged and preferred by the CDC and CMS;
however indoor events are once again taking place following the outbreak guidance. - These events will safely welcome back in our volunteers and vendors including
entertainment, clergy, artists, and instructors. - A reminder to everyone that we do have various tablet devices for your loved one to utilize to access games, various communication tools, games, news, and more. We have done some tutoring and training of the tablets so that residents are more comfortable with them. The feedback from residents on the availability of the tablets has been fantastic!
Vaccination Update
As we have said before, although not mandatory, we continue to encourage any employee who has not been vaccinated to obtain one. Currently, they may obtain one at a community clinic or pharmacy. Med Tech Ambulance is working with us to provide the COVID vaccine to new admissions.
- Fully vaccinated staff are now being tested every 14 days because of the low positivity rate in Providence county.
- Unvaccinated staff still must be tested weekly.
Steve Haase, Executive Director