Westminster Canterbury COVID-19 Updates
FROM: John Burns, President and CEO; and Will Blackwell, Vice President Health Services
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Westminster Canterbury Richmond has followed the latest guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Virginia Department of Health (VDH). New CMS guidelines are going into effect this week that lower screening and testing requirements. Please read carefully for the latest updates.
Visitation
Screening prior to visiting Mary Morton Parsons Health Center and Assisted Living areas is no longer required. Visitors are asked to sign the visitor log at the nurses station in Parsons Health Center or in the lobby in The Gables, Monticello and Avalon.
Visitors should read signage posted in high-traffic areas that explains who should postpone their visits and for reminders of the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention.
- DO NOT VISIT if you have any of these symptoms: Fever; Cough; Shortness of Breath; Fatigue; Muscle/Body Aches; Headache; New Loss of Taste or Smell; Sore Throat; Nasal Congestion; Runny Nose; Nausea; Vomiting; Diarrhea; Dizziness/Vertigo; New Onset of Falling; Mental Confusion or Hypotension; Constipation; Conjunctivitis; Orbital Pain; Repeating Shaking with Chills
- If you have been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 10 days, please test for COVID-19 prior to visiting. A home test is acceptable.
- If you have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, please postpone visitation.
Testing
- Routine testing of staff based on vaccination status is no longer required. Staff will be tested if symptomatic and/or post exposure to COVID-19.
- The testing of individuals post-exposure to COVID-19 has increased in frequency, to a series of three tests in five days.
- Residents and staff who are within their 30-day window post-COVID-19 infection will not be tested unless they become symptomatic.
New Admissions to Parsons Health Center
- Admissions to Parsons Health Center are no longer required to be placed on quarantine unless they are symptomatic or positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status. Admissions will be asked to mask when out of their rooms for 10 days following admission.
- New admissions will be required to rapid test for COVID-19 on days one, three and five after admission.
- Residents who have a leave of absence from Parsons Health Center outside of Westminster Canterbury for more than 24 hours will be required to rapid test on days one, three and five after their return.
Resident and Employee Cases of COVID-19
September has brought fewer new cases of COVID-19 than the previous months! Five residents and 10 employees tested positive for COVID-19 in September. Anyone who may have been exposed to these individuals has been contacted.
Ongoing Updates
- https://blog.WCRICHMOND.org
- Touchtown Community Apps and Digital Signs
- The Westminster Canterbury Tales