Update from Administrator – June 23, 2020
June 23, 2020
As always, our team and I hope this email finds you safe and healthy. Another “thank you” for all the staff’s hard work, dedication, and compassion for all of our residents here. We remain incredibly grateful for our entire dedicated team! Everyone is working hard, and their efforts do not go unnoticed.
We continue to work with residents and families to offer weekly visits. We are happy that these visits are going well. Whether this is an outdoor visit, window visit, or virtual visit, we are happy to assist each resident. Just a reminder, these outdoor visits require appropriate PPE (masks) to be worn at all times and a social distance of 6 feet between you and your loved ones for the entirety of the visit. The specific guidelines and details regarding perimeter visits can be found on our website and Facebook page.
Please remember that the perimeter visits must be pre-scheduled to ensure safe and healthy visits for you, the residents, and our staff. You can schedule a visit by calling the recreation or social service department.
As you know from our communications, managing this pandemic has been very challenging. We are happy to report that we currently only have 2 positive residents in house. We also have 89 COVID recovered residents at this time. Check our Facebook page to see updated pictures of residents and happenings at Litchfield Woods.
Last week, we did not receive any visit from DPH or members of the National Guard. We have a large supply of PPE available. We continue to follow all CDC and state guidelines and receive regular updates on new guidelines that are offered.
Testing
On Monday June 1st, Governor Lamont ordered nursing home workers to be regularly tested for the coronavirus disease. The contract that was initially secured for Litchfield Woods is no longer available. However, we have now secured a contract with a new vendor. Griffin Health is partnering with the CT Department of Public Health to provide weekly testing at Litchfield Woods. I will continue to keep you updated as the plan unfolds and test results become available.
It is also recommended that we re-test all residents that have previously tested negative weekly. Residents who have already tested positive for COVID at Litchfield Woods will not be re-tested. Griffin Health will also work with Litchfield Woods to provide this testing.
Individual Questions or Concerns
We encourage any residents and family members to contact me with any questions you have about the care we are offering. Our commitment is to be as transparent as possible and work to address any issues that arise. This is an incredibly challenging time and we will continue to do all we can to get through this, together. A reminder that resident-specific questions cannot be answered on this email or on our Facebook page so please reach out to us directly if needed.
Thank you and please stay safe and healthy! Although summer has arrived, it is important to remember that it is still necessary to be cautious and aware that the risks of COVID-19 are still present.
Denise Quarles, Administrator