Dear Family and Friends of South Cove Manor:
As of this morning, we have received ALL of the resident test results that had been pending from last week’s testing. I am happy to report that all of those tests came back as negative. In addition, we received all of the remaining staff tests except for two, and all of those are negative as well. I am anticipating the results for the final two samples sometime today.
As I’ve said in the last several e-mails, we will repeat the 100% testing of our residents and staff again this week. I will provide continued updates to everyone as we receive the results. As a reminder, IF this week’s testing returns 100% negative results, we will be allowed to lift the quarantines that we currently have in place on both the first and third floors on December 1st. In addition, in person visitation and communal dining for those floors would also be allowed to resume on that same day.
As I had shared with you previously, South Cove Manor made a change in our staff testing protocol roughly one month ago. At that time, we were required by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to test 50% of our staff every other week. With the increase in positive cases in the surrounding areas, we felt that it was prudent to do more than we were required to do. We made the decision to test 100% of our staff instead of the required 50%. That decision helped us to identify the three recent positive staff members more quickly than we would have if we had been following the 50% testing protocol. Those staff members continue to quarantine, and continue to be asymptomatic. Thankfully, we were able to restrict those staff members from work, and it would appear, keep our resident population safe.
Yesterday, the Department of Public Health announced that it has changed their regulation regarding testing. Beginning November 26th, all nursing homes in Massachusetts will now be required to test 100% of staff members on a weekly basis. I am thankful that DPH has increased the requirement, as it has clearly been an effective tool for South Cove.
I wish you all a safe, and Happy Thanksgiving, and thank you again for placing your trust in South Cove Manor.
