Hello Village at Marymount Families, Friends, and Staff. This is Sue Nall the executive director.

We had a staff member test positive for COVID today. The good news is this person tested negative the last time they worked. Our first floor Skilled Care Unit and second floor Continuing Care Unit staff will now wear N95 masks and face shields until further notice. We conducted outbreak testing on a wing of our second-floor residents. Staff on all other floors must wear a surgical mask and eyewear.

Our COVID updatesince March 2020: Villa St. Joseph has 4 Active staff and or Resident Cases. We had a total of 209resident or staff cases. Memory Care Assisted Living at Villa St Joseph has 0 active Resident or Staff cases and a cumulative total of 14 cases. MarymountPlace has 0 Active Resident or Staff cases — and a cumulative total of 36resident/staff cases.

Clearly, COVID remains a force to be reckoned with. The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com today reported that more than half of Ohio’s counties — including Cuyahoga — are now red or designated as having high COVID transmission on the latest CDC map. As noted in my recent update calls, the CDC maps show Ohio has been steadily worsening in terms of COVID community spread since mid-July. Ohio has seen more than 10,000 new COVID cases per week, every week since the beginning of May. There are probably many more cases that are not being reported due to at home testing.

We all tend to drop our guard when the weather is warmer and we’re doing more group socializing. I understand that wearing a mask in 90-degree heat can be daunting. But in addition to getting the vaccine and booster shots, wearing a mask in crowds, diligent hand-washing, and social distancing remain three of the most effective ways to prevent COVID.

Don’t forget we will be having our next vaccine clinic on August 11. Staff members please see your unit manager if you would like your resident to receive the vaccine.