Dear Residents, Families, and Associates of Byron Park,
We have identified the ONE positive associate from the 12/21 testing date. This associate is stable and will remain at home until cleared by County Health Officials. The source of exposure is known to have been outside of Byron Park and this individual does not provide any direct care to residents. We are confident that there has not been any community transmission. As a reminder, all residents and all other associates were negative during this round of testing.
This week’s testing yielded our first RESIDENT positive since August. One of our assisted living pools that consists of 52 residents has tested positive for COVID19. All associates, all independent living residents and some assisted living residents are negative for COVID19.
As of today, we have 1 active associate case and one positive pool of assisted living residents. Individual testing of these 52 residents is in progress and will be overnighted to our lab partner today. These 52 residents are mandated to quarantine until notified of their negative test result by our team. These residents will have in room opportunities for dining and wellness and reservations for our visitation station is currently suspended for this group. All standard dining, wellness and visitation operations remain open for those not in this group.
As a reminder we implemented a proactive response to mitigate potential spread and an outbreak at Byron Park in the letter dated December 4th, 2020. This notice stated we have modified our protocol for testing and shelter in place requirements for residents who leave the community during the holidays to gather with others outside of the Byron Park bubble, as we had done for Thanksgiving. Due to our enhanced testing, we do not require a quarantine for essential outings. We are strongly discouraging non-essential outings and gatherings of households as this is in alignment with our current regional and state stay home order that went into effect on Sunday December 6th, 2020 and ends on January 4th, 2021.
In wonderful news, our community has been identified for a COVID19 VACCINE partnership with John Muir. Nicole Howell, our county Ombudsman’s Executive Director identified Byron Park as one of the first in our market to obtain this partnership. Our community is now only a few weeks away from a safe and highly effective vaccine. Through our continued advocation and support of our county health officials, I have also received confirmation our entire community will be vaccinated at the same time. Independent living residents will not need to wait for Phase 1C but will be vaccinated with our Phase 1A assisted living residents and community associates. A clinic date will be identified early next week. It is still unclear if it is the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Each vaccine will require a follow up shot 21 or 28 days later depending on the manufacturer. Once a date is confirmed, a flyer with specifics will be distributed via email, door to door, posted to our community site, in person or by phone for those that are vision or hearing impaired.
We know that early detection through our testing programs, vaccination along with physical distancing, proper mask use, hand hygiene, and ongoing health monitoring, we can provide an excellent line of defense in the fight against Covid-19. If you have questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to reach out. I have noted my cell phone number below. I thank you for your trust and confidence during this incredibly difficult holiday season.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Pastora
Executive Director