Keeping Family Members Informed During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The following memo was sent on April 20, 2020.
TO:
Family Members and Representatives of Mary Morton Parsons Health Center and Assisted Living Residents
FROM:
John Burns, President and CEO
Will Blackwell, Vice President Health Services
Sloan Verlander, Assisted Living Administrator
SUBJECT:
Keeping You Informed During the COVID-19 Pandemic
DATE:
April 20, 2020
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Westminster Canterbury Richmond has been committed to transparency regarding our preparation and response. We follow the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Virginia Department of Health (VDH) as we care for your loved ones.
Since the beginning of March, a Coronavirus Task Force comprised of staff from various departments, including an RN Infection Preventionist, met to review existing policies and procedures related to infectious diseases and to plan for other concerns. A Coronavirus Incident Command team meets at least six days a week and additionally as needed to address the latest changes and needs. All residents remain under self-quarantine measures. Every employee is screened with questions and a temperature check upon arrival to campus, prior to reporting to work. Since early April, all employees wear masks at all times to reduce the risk of asymptomatic spread of the virus. We are working diligently to keep our residents and employees healthy.
Westminster Canterbury Richmond has had confirmed cases of COVID-19 in two residents and four employees. The two residents live in Independent Living, received treatment in the hospital and returned home to recover in Mary Morton Parsons Health Center. Both have tested negative for COVID-19. Our clinical staff are professional, prepared, confident, competent and ready to provide care for this type of infectious disease. They are fully trained in isolation procedures and use of personal protective equipment (PPE). We have had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Assisted Living or Parsons Health Center residents. Our four employees are doing well and recovering at home.
New guidance from CMS requires us to provide weekly updates to residents and their representatives. We have been committed to updating you much more frequently since COVID-19 reached our region in early March. There are many ways to stay up-to-date.
• The latest news is always available on our blog at www.WCRICHMOND.org.
• Currently, we do live video updates on our in-house TV970 station on weekdays at 3 p.m. and other times as needed. The updates include the latest news from John Burns, information on services being provided to residents and family members, and wellness and pastoral care moments to lift our spirits.
• Recordings of the live video updates are available later on the blog at www.WCRICHMOND.org, at www.facebook.com/wcrichmond, or hourly on TV971 for those on campus.
We encourage you to watch these updates or read the written summaries.
To help us stay in touch with you in these fast-moving times, please provide your email address to the social worker for your loved one’s area of living. This will allow us to reach you more quickly if we have news for you in the future.
Assisted Living
• Jennifer Kapel – JKapel@wcrichmond.org – (804) 261-5376
• Sloan Verlander – SVerlander@wcrichmond.org – (804) 264-6275
Parsons Health Center
• Vicki Fowler – VFowler@wcrichmond.org – (804) 264-6067
• Dawn Winecoff – DWinecoff@wcrichmond.org – (804) 264-6069
We wish you well during these times and offer the same advice that we give our residents – wash your hands; stay home as much as possible; maintain a social distance of at least six feet from others; and connect with friends and loved ones by phone, Skype, FaceTime and other digital means. You can help protect the essential employees on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, including our dedicated senior living workers.
Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to continuing to stay in touch.