Dear Family and Friends of South Cove Manor:
I am writing to you all today with information related to the recent baseline testing of all South Cove Manor residents, and staff. As I had said in an e-mail last week, all labs across the country are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the numbers of COVID-19 tests they are receiving, and as a result, the reporting has been delayed significantly, with results taking over a week to receive.
Our experience has been no different. We gathered swabs from all residents on July 8
th, and from all Staff members on July 10
th. We did finally receive results on all but three of the resident swabs on Saturday, July 18
th, but have not received any results from the staff testing yet.
In the batch of resident tests,
we did receive a positive result on one resident’s swab. The resident that tested positive for COVID-19 resides on the third floor, and has not shown signs or symptoms of the virus at any point. The resident’s roommate tested negative, but out of an abundance of caution, has been moved to another room for quarantine purposes for 14 days. Both residents have been re-swabbed, and these samples have been sent to the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Lab, with the hopes of faster turnaround time. All staff that had close contact with the positive resident have also been re-swabbed, and those swabs have been sent to the DPH lab as well.
Because of the delay in receiving the testing results, the resident that tested positive is already considered to be “COVID recovered.” A positive resident converts to COVID recovered status after being asymptomatic for 10 days after the sample was gathered. COVID recovered patients cannot transmit the disease to others, and also have been shown to be immune to the virus for at least several months. Because of that, this resident was not moved to a separate part of the building. We continue to monitor our residents and staff for signs and symptoms of COVID as we have been all along. Any resident showing symptoms are immediately swabbed, and the samples sent to the DPH lab.
With the positive resident test result, and the uncertainty surrounding our staff results, we have suspended all onsite family visits, and have also suspended communal dining until further notice. Once we receive the staff test results, we will make a determination on the best way to proceed with both of those programs.
We have been in contact with epidemiologists from DPH since we received the positive test result, and have reviewed our plans with them several times over the past 3 days. At every step, DPH has agreed with our intended course of action, and has been an enormous help and resource to us as we move forward.
In addition, DPH has also issued new guidance related to the use of gowns in all nursing homes, regardless of positive COVID cases. The newly clarified guidance states that all staff that are providing close contact care to any resident, is required to wear “full Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).”
“Close contact” means any physical contact with the resident, and “
Full PPE” means gowns, face mask, gloves, and eye protection. The only change in this guidance from what we have been doing is the addition of the gown. I wanted to point out this change in guidance and make sure that everyone understands that this change is in
no way a response to the positive case. It is a merely a coincidence that the regulatory guidance was changed at the same time we received our first positive test result.
I know that all of this news could be upsetting to many of you. I believe that our solid clinical practices since the beginning of this outbreak has kept our residents and staff safe for the past five months, and has allowed us the opportunity to learn from others’ experiences, both positive and negative. I am confident that the lessons learned over that time will allow us to deal with this positive case in an effective manner.
I will be in touch again once we receive the results of staff testing, and we can begin to formulate a plan going forward. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, and I will do my best to answer them for you.
Thank you again for placing your trust in South Cove Manor.
