June 19, 2020
To the Commons family,
In recent months, we have all been challenged with managing the COVID outbreak. I receive new
information and guidance on a regular basis from Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). Recently Governor
Stitt’s Solution task force in conjunction with OSDH released a document called, “Phased reopening in
Long-term Care Facilities”, (see bottom of page for the link). In our community this guidance includes
our Assisted Living residents.
Many of you have asked when we are opening to visitors. I have taken the liberty of condensing and
paraphrasing the original document, and it is enclosed. The document explains some of the details of the
3 phases of reopening. Today we are in Phase 1, as our county numbers of infections are still rising. We
must be diligent to protect all residents in our facility. Phase 1 is designed for vigilant infection control
during periods of heighted virus spread in the community and potential for healthcare system limitations,
which may include factors such as staffing, hospital capacity, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and
testing.
In Phase 2, visitation is still limited. Each phase is 14 days, as 2-14 days is the onset of symptoms of
COVID after exposure. We must make sure we have enough staff and PPE to take care of any residents,
and hospitals must be able to take COVID residents for us to move phases.
Visitation in Phase 3 will be considerably different than before COVID. Social distancing (6 ft) will be
in effect, as well as screening that will consist of a questionnaire, taking your temperature, and wearing of
masks. There will be set visitation times as all visitations have to be monitored for visitor compliance.
According to guideline, outdoor visitation is preferred. We are currently evaluating spaces for these
visitations that take into consideration the weather.
The Commons can’t wait for you to engage more with your family member and friends. We can’t wait
to see you! We can’t wait to see the smiles on the faces of our residents when they see you in person!
Until that time, we continue to offer window visits, and we can also set up facetime, Zoom, or Skype. Do
you have another virtual way you would like to communicate? Give myself or Misty a call and we will
see if we can set it up. We are open to suggestions.
We passed our COVID Infection Survey from the state on June 11th, with no deficiencies and were told
we were doing an excellent job at infection control. We also are required to have an Infection
Preventionist (IP), we have a nurse that is great at this and has been certified and trained for several years
in this capacity. We regularly monitor our residents for signs and symptoms (3X a day), we also take
staff temperatures 3X a day in order to monitor signs and symptoms.
Thank you for allowing us to take care of your family. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Sincerely,
LaDeana Burrell – Administrator
580-237-6164 The Commons
580-237-7273 Communication line (my office line)
[This information is also available on our facebook page.]
| Consideration | Mitigation Steps
Phase 1 |
Mitigation Steps
Phase 2 |
Mitigation Steps
Phase 3 |
| Visitation
|
Visitation generally prohibited, except for:
§ Compassionate care situations restricted to end-of-life and psycho-social needs-limited and controlled coordinated by the facility, visitation is not mandated; but rather at the discretion of the facility. § These visitors must adhere to the restrictions in the facility policy which includes screening, social distancing, hand hygiene and masks. § Window visits and virtual visitation shall be offered. § Access to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman. |
§ Visitation limited to compassionate care situations to include end- of- life and residents with significant changes in condition including psycho-social or medical issues, limited by appointment only as coordinated by the nursing home based on their ability to manage infection control practices and proper social distancing.
§ Only in designated areas to ensure safe distancing, proper hand hygiene, and masks, with overall facility supervision of safe practices related to visitors. § Each facility must determine their capacity to manage limited visits, with staff availability to screen all visitors and monitor visitation, availability of PPE supplies, and disinfection between visits. § Access to communication with friends, family, and their spiritual community. § Access to the Long-Term Care Ombudsman. |
§ All residents should have the ability to have limited visitation.
Each facility should develop a plan for Visitation schedules, hours, and locations, it shall be by appointment only as coordinated by the nursing home based on their ability to manage infection control practices and proper social distancing, Only in designated areas to ensure safe distancing, proper hand hygiene, masks, and overall facility supervision of safe practices related to visitors. § Each facility must determine their capacity to manage limited visits, with staff availability to screen all visitors and monitor visitation, availability of PPE supplies, and disinfection between visits. § Ombudsman will be permitted entry. |
| Essential/Non-Essential Healthcare Personnel | § Restricted entry of non-essential healthcare personnel. Non-essential personnel may be allowed into the building following an infection control risk analysis by the facility. | § Limited entry of non-essential healthcare personnel. If barbers and beauticians are determined by the facility to be a low risk for entry, they may enter with facility restrictions. | § Limited entry of non-essential healthcare personnel. If barbers and beauticians are determined by the facility to be a low risk for entry, they may enter with facility restrictions. |
| Necessary Trips outside the facility
|
§ Telemedicine should be utilized whenever possible. -Non-medically necessary trips outside the building should be avoided, and quarantine required upon return.
§ For medically necessary trips away from of the facility: must be accompanied by staff and only contact be with medical staff, and all with proper PPE. Monitored for 14 days upon return if asymptomatic and not in a positive COVID-19 status. |
§ Telemedicine should be utilized whenever possible. -Non-medically necessary trips outside the building should be avoided, and quarantine required upon return.
§ For medically necessary trips away from of the facility: must be accompanied by staff and only contact be with medical staff, and all with proper PPE. Monitored for 14 days upon return if asymptomatic and not in a positive COVID-19 status.
|
§ Non-medically necessary trips outside the building should be limited. It is recommended residents with high-risk co-morbidities continue to avoid non-medically necessary trips outside the building; with overall decisions made collaboratively by the resident, their representative, a nursing home representative, and the resident’s physician.
§ Telemedicine should be utilized whenever possible. -Non-medically necessary trips outside the building should be avoided, and quarantine required upon return. § Observe for 14 days upon return. |
| Communal Dining | § Communal dining not recommended but must be limited (for COVID- 19 negative or asymptomatic residents only). | § Communal dining limited. Residents may eat in the same room with social distancing (limited number of people at tables and spaced by at least 6 feet).
§ Limited amount of people in the dining room at a time. |
§ Modified Communal dining – Residents may eat in the same room with social distancing (limited number of people at tables and spaced by at least 6 feet).
|
| Screening | § Resident screening each shift.
§ Staff screening at the beginning and end of each shift. |
§ Resident screening each shift.
Staff screening at the beginning and end of each shift. |
§ Resident screening each shift.
§ Staff screening at the beginning and end of each shift. |
| Universal Source Control & Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) | § All facility staff, regardless of their position, wear a facemask* while in the facility.
§ All facility staff and essential healthcare personnel wear appropriate PPE when they are interacting with residents, to the extent PPE is available, and in accordance with CDC PPE optimization strategies. § New admissions or readmissions from a hospital setting should quarantine for 14 days. |
§ All facility staff, regardless of their position, wear a facemask* while in the facility.
§ All facility staff and essential healthcare personnel wear appropriate PPE when they are interacting with residents, to the extent PPE is available, and in accordance with CDC PPE optimization strategies. § New admissions or readmissions from a hospital setting should quarantine for 14 days. |
§ All facility staff, regardless of their position, wear a facemask* while in the facility.
§ All facility staff and essential healthcare personnel wear appropriate PPE when they are interacting with residents, to the extent PPE is available, and in accordance with CDC PPE optimization strategies. § New admissions or readmissions from a hospital setting should quarantine for 14 days. |
| Cohorting & Dedicated Staff** | § Dedicated space in facility and dedicated staff for cohorting and managing care for residents who are symptomatic or testing positive with COVID-1, and plan for new/readmissions. | § Dedicated space in facility and dedicated staff for cohorting and managing care for residents who are symptomatic or testing positive with COVID-1, and plan for new/readmissions | § Dedicated space in facility and dedicated staff for cohorting and managing care for residents who are symptomatic or testing positive with COVID-1, and plan for new/readmissions. |
| Group Activities | § Restrict group activities but some activities may be conducted (like in hallways) with social distancing, hand hygiene, and use of a cloth face covering or facemask
§ Engagement through technology is preferred to minimize opportunity for exposure. Engage virtually when possible. |
§ Limit group activities-Small group activities may occur with social distancing, hand hygiene, and use of a cloth face covering or facemask and no more than 10 people, must restrict activities that encourage multiple residents to handle the same object(s) (e.g., ball toss). | § Limit group activities-Expanded group activities may occur with social distancing, hand hygiene, and use of a cloth face covering or facemask and no more than 10 people, must restrict activities that encourage multiple residents to handle the same object(s) (e.g., ball toss). |
| Testing | § Staff and residents shall be tested if any symptoms are detected or if a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified (more data upon request) | § Staff and residents shall be tested if any symptoms are detected or if a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified (more data upon request) | § Staff and residents shall be tested if any symptoms are detected or if a positive case of COVID-19 has been identified (more data upon request) |
| Salons | § Salons may open so long as the beautician or barber is properly screened when entering the facility and must wear a mask for the duration of time in the facility. | ||
| Phase Regression | § If there is an upward trajectory of documented cases in a county (state is working on explaining the details), then the facility should stay in phase 1.
§ If one staff or resident is confirmed positive for COVID-19, the facility will stay in Phase 1 until 14 days have passed since the last residents symptoms resolved, with no additional residents or staff testing positive for COVID-19, the facility has demonstrated the ability to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and may go to Phase 2 of the reopening process. |
§ The facility will continue to progress through the different phases of adjusting restrictions until one staff or resident is confirmed positive for COVID-19 and another has symptoms, at which time, the facility will return to the Phase 1. | § The facility will continue to monitor for the presence of COVID-19 in their buildings. This will occur through resident screening daily and staff screening before and after each shift and leveraging the data points requested by the CDC as reported through the NHSN system. |
April 27, 2020
Yesterday, The Commons learned a resident and an employee have tested positive for COVID-19 while undergoing care for unrelated issues. Neither individual showed any signs or symptoms of COVID-19. The resident remains in the hospital and the staff member is in quarantine at home, under the care of a physician. “We have notified public health officials as required and are following procedures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Steven Walkingstick, Executive Director. “We are taking every step as recommended by authorities to continue our work preventing the spread of this virus. We want to make residents, their families, our dedicated staff and our community aware of this latest news and reassure everyone that we are on top of the situation.”
Any media inquiries regarding this situation should be directed to the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Friday April 24, 2020
As we watch more and more news coverage of how the COVID-19 is impacting the lives of all Americans, there are reports that give us reason to be optimistic and some that remind us that we are still in the thick of this battle. I want to address a few recent news events and how they will affect our community.
On Wednesday, Governor Stitt published the Open Up and Recover Safely (OURS) plan that consists of three phases. While much of the state will begin to re-open as we meet certain criteria, communities like The Commons will understandably be the last sector of the state to return to normal operations. At this point, the guidance in phase three of the plan still requires senior care facilities to prohibit visitors. While we will finally be able to enjoy communal dining at a restaurant or getting a haircut, those activities will remain prohibited on campus.
Another recent development in the fight against COVID-19 has been the impact that the virus is having on meat-packing plants across the country. This has the potential to impact our meat supply in the very near future. We are mandated to meet specific nutritional requirements and the dining staff are working on a contingency plan, should the supply of meat diminish. The plan would include utilizing less homemade items and more pre-packaged, frozen items. We can also begin offering more casserole type dishes that are able to be fortified with a protein supplement.
One of the big concerns since the beginning of the pandemic has been the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). We are finally starting to see that supply chain get replenished as we have been able to drastically increase our inventory of masks, gowns and gloves this week. We are also requiring all staff to wear a cloth mask and we reached out to a number of different civic organizations and church groups requesting cloth masks. The Enid community answered our call in a mind-blowing way. We have had hundreds of sewn masks donated to us and it allowed us to check one concern off of the list.
In the event that we have a positive test result from a resident or staff member, we will notify all residents of The Commons or their power-of-attorney and this would trigger more stringent care policies for the clinical staff.
Lastly, I want to address our employees. I have fielded a few questions regarding potential layoffs and/or furloughs from residents who are rightly concerned about the employees they interact with daily after seeing so many reports about historic unemployment claims. I am pleased to say that not only are we not laying off or furloughing employees, we are actively hiring. Additionally, we implemented a Hero Pay initiative this month in which all employees received a one-time appreciation compensation.
Once again, THANK YOU to all of our residents, resident families, staff, partners and the Enid community for your prayers, support, patience and understanding during this season.
Regards,
Steven Walkingstick, Executive Director
previously posted…
During the seven decades The Commons has been serving senior adults and their families, our world, nation, state, county, city and our facility have experienced many different trials and challenges. The year 2020 has presented all of us a great challenge with the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The mission of The Commons is to enhance the quality of life of those we serve in the spirit of Christ by providing an environment where physical, emotional and spiritual needs are nurtured.
While the pandemic has presented new challenges, our mission continues to be the driving force behind all we do. Although there have currently been no cases of COVID-19 in Garfield County, with guidance from the CDC, The Commons has initiated the following precautions:
~No visitors are allowed in our healthcare and assisted living facility The only exception is for those in end of life situations.
~All staff and medical personnel are being screened every time they enter the facility
~All residents are remaining in their rooms
~All community activities and community dining has been suspended
As these new procedures have been put in place, our staff continues to focus on enhancing the quality of life of those we serve by nurturing the needs in these areas:
Physically: Our dining staff are preparing easy to consume meals according to each resident’s dietary needs; serving with disposable dinnerware; serving each resident personally room by room; providing multiple drink and snack options room by room.- in both our healthcare center and assisted living.
Our therapy department is meeting with and continues to assess each resident’s needs individually and develop plans to meet those needs.
Our nursing staff continues to meet each resident’s medical needs as well as monitor any signs of new illness.
Emotionally: Our activities staff is focused on innovative ways to engage residents individually with additional one on one conversations, visits and activities. We are strongly encouraging family phone calls, virtual visits, messages, letters and cards. We will be asking for the communities’ help including school age children in the days to come.
Spiritually: Our chaplain and many staff members are trained and focused on recognizing and addressing spiritual needs such as grief, purpose and loneliness. Prayer and spiritual services are available to all residents as well as staff.
We have established a direct line at (580) 237-7273 that anyone may call 24 hours a day for the latest updates. We ask for your continued prayers as we have the honor of serving senior adults during these unprecedented days.
We also ask that you check on your senior adult neighbors and loved ones. Please join us in doing all we can in protecting the most vulnerable people in our community.
