COVID-19 Prevention Measures and Effect on Staffing Levels and Other Services
March 16, 2020
As you are aware, there are several measures underway to curb the spread of Coronavirus or COVID-19. As recently as this past Saturday, March 14th,
Governor Cooper
ordered schools to be closed until March 30th. In addition, many child care centers have also closed, which has left parents scrambling to find someone to take care of their children during the day and/or has resulted in parents calling out of work so they can stay home with their children.
As a result, the NC Senior Living Association is starting to hear from some of its member communities that staff are calling out and fear this will impact resident care since many of these staff provide personal care services and other critical services such as medication administration, dietary, housekeeping, etc.
In order to keep the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) apprised of the challenges providers are facing, we are asking members to
email me
as they encounter staffing or other problems
by copying and pasting the below items into the body of the email in order to submit your responses).
(PLEASE NOTE:
specific facility information, i.e. name, address, etc. will not be shared with NCDHHS
but only the county which the facility is located
)
Community/Facility name:
________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________
County:________________________________________________
Type and Number
of staff that have called out in the past week:
- Personal care aides:________________________________
- Medication administration staff:______________________
- Resident care coordinator:___________________________
- Dietary staff:_______________________________________
- Activities staff:_____________________________________
- Housekeeping staff:_________________________________
- Administrative/office staff/other:________________________________________
What is your facility doing to mitigate the staffing shortage?______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Is your facility experiencing shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and if so, what type of PPE are you experiencing shortages?
- N95 Masks:________________________________________
- Protective eye wear:________________________________
- Gloves:___________________________________________
- Gowns: ___________________________________________
How are you mitigating these shortages?_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
Is your facility experiencing problems getting medication or food supplies and if so explain how you are mitigating the situation? ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Reducing resident exposure to individuals who are potentially infected with COVID-19 is of paramount importance since our residents are among the highest risk group for infection and mortality from this virus.
If you have questions concerning any aspect of this document, please do not hesitate to contact me at (919) 787-2526 or
jeff@ncseniorliving.org
Thank you for your dedication and hard work for our residents in this difficult time,
Jeff Horton, Executive Director
