Dear Family and Friends of South Cove Manor:
Good morning,
Yesterday, we swabbed 100% of our staff members. Those test results have already been returned to us, and no new cases of COVID-19 were identified in our staff. That news, coupled with the news that 100% of our residents tested negative for the virus on Saturday, is a good sign that we have contained the recent outbreak to a very small group of people. Having said that, we are by no means out of the woods, and will continue with the increased testing frequency that we have been utilizing.
On Saturday, I shared with all of you that we had contacted the Rapid Response Team that is staffed with soldiers from Massachusetts National Guard. All of these soldiers are clinicians in addition to serving our country in the Guard. Yesterday, we welcomed a team of 10 from the National Guard into our building, comprised of 3 nurses, and 7 paramedics. These clinicians will work as our staff for the next seven days, helping to fill holes that we have in our schedule due to the recent positive cases of COVID-19 in our building. The 3 nurses will fill open nursing shifts on our units, while the paramedics will fill open C.N.A. shifts. All of these soldiers have been acting in these roles across the state since the spring, and have served in over 60 different nursing homes across the Commonwealth. They are tested for COVID-19 regularly, and will follow the same process and procedures that our staff do on a daily basis. The soldiers did originally arrive at our building in their military uniforms, but will work on the nursing floors dressed in typical nursing scrubs.
I want to make sure everyone understands that the fact that we are utilizing the Rapid Response Team is not an indication that South Cove has lost control of the virus. We reached out this team to be preemptive, and to seek assistance with staffing our floors while our staff members that tested positive recover. Many of the staff that tested positive remain asymptomatic, and will be eligible to return to work very soon. The Rapid Response Team will be here to assist with staffing, and have already commented how advanced our training and understanding of this virus is compared to other Nursing Homes they have visited.
I also want to share some other positive news related to the vaccine. It is our understanding that the vaccine will be distributed to long term care residents and staff beginning the week of December 21st. While there are still unanswered questions about the distribution process, we do know that the vaccine will NOT be mandatory for residents, or for staff members. We are hopeful than many of the unanswered questions will be resolved in the next several days, and will continue to share that information with you as soon as we receive it. One of the things that we can do at this point, is to share information about the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. We have put together a presentation that has been shared with all staff members, and now, with all of you. The presentation can be accessed by clicking here. The information is contained in print in both English and Chinese, and our Medical Director, Dr. Robert Wu, has also recorded the information in Mandarin and Cantonese. All of the facts contained in this presentation come from the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), and are just that – FACTS. This virus and everything related to it has been a political football in our country for close to a year. Because of that, there is an incredible amount of misinformation being shared on social media, as well as on traditional media outlets. I beg all of you to understand that many of the sources of that misinformation do NOT have your best interest at heart. That is why we put together this presentation with information directly from AMDA. They have no political agenda – their only goal is to keep our residents and staff safe, and help our world return to some sense of normalcy as soon as possible. Please feel free to ask questions after you watch the presentation. We will share any additional information we have, and if we don’t have the answer to any of your questions, we will do our best to get an answer quickly.
I will be in touch with all of you again shortly with any and all news related to testing, staffing, and vaccine distribution. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Li Chen, or I with any questions that you may have.
Thank you again for placing your trust in South Cove Manor.
