Good afternoon,
Since Governor Baker presented his “4 Phase Plan” to reopen Massachusetts this past Monday, we have received several questions about how that plan affects the current guidance related to nursing homes in our state. In order to answer that question, we wanted to provide you with all of the information that we have.
While the Governor’s plan has specific references to certain health care settings and providers, Long Term Care settings like South Cove, are not mentioned in the list. At this point, we are still bound by all of the existing regulations that have been put in place to keep our residents safe. While a projected end date to these regulations has not been made public, I am confident that they are being discussed, and I will notify all of you as soon as we hear about any change.
In the meantime, we are making every effort to provide our residents with electronic communication tools whenever possible to maintain contact with family and friends. We have close to 60 residents that have scheduled times for calls established, and our staff are able to assist all residents with the electronic devices for calls whenever they are needed. Please contact Tammy Chen, our activities director for more information.
We have also begun using electronic devices to implement “Tele-Medicine.” This program provides our primary physicians and other specialists the ability to check on our residents remotely, by using FaceTime or Skype to be able to speak to, and see our residents. This service has been approved for use during the COVID-19 pandemic by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Lastly, I want to thank all of you for your support and understanding over the past two months. I am certain that this time has been a stressful one for you, but I hope it has been made less stressful knowing that South Cove has managed to keep our residents and staff virus free.
Please stay safe, and we will be in touch again soon. Feel free to contact us with any questions that you may have.
