Hello Village at Marymount Family and Friends. This is Sue Nall the Executive Director.
Today’s testing yielded another positive COVID test. We tested residents and staff in the infected area. Vaccinated staff will be tested once per week. Unvaccinated staff will continue with twice weekly testing.
Our COVID update since March 2020: Villa St. Joseph has 3 Active Staff and Resident Cases. We have a total of 111 resident and staff cases. Memory Care Assisted Living at Villa St Joseph has 2 Resident or Staff cases and a cumulative total of 2 cases. Marymount Place has 0 Active Resident or Staff cases — and a cumulative total of 15 resident/staff cases.
Last week, CMS announced strong modifications for nursing home visitation. At the core of these changes is infection control. CMS places considerable emphasis on educating residents and visitors about risks in these situations. SNFs cannot require visits to be scheduled — or limit the number of visitors or the frequency or duration of visits. Our administrative team modified our visitor education sheets. Visitations reopened today per the new guidelines.
CMS recommends visitation of residents in quarantine, or during an outbreak. County color codes and vaccination status do not affect one’s ability to visit. Families who visit must continue to record their temperature and verify they have no symptoms of COVID prior to visiting. Masks must be worn in all public areas. Only fully vaccinated visitors can visit without masks. This is not advised in semi-private rooms. If visitors prefer visits in larger open areas, then they can still request a meeting area.
CMS does not recognize an exception for staffing concerns, stating only that appropriate distancing should be maintained. Large gatherings of visitors (such as holiday parties) should be avoided.
Staff must be vigilant that visitors are wearing masks – especially in public areas. We know this is a big shift from what we have been doing but it is important to follow this protocol.
Continue to practice the three W’s: wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance.