Hello Everyone,
Over the past six months as we have introduced operational changes in response to the Covid19 pandemic, we worked hard to stay informed, to follow the science, and to ensure that we stay aligned with state, local, and federal guidance. All our decisions have been influenced by a commitment to balance the safety of our residents and associates while balancing “quality of life” considerations. We have introduced testing in excess of any state or federally “mandated” protocols, and to date we have spent nearly $75,000 in Covid-related expenses to provide out teams with the protection they need. We have also incurred additional costs for extended sick time pay for some associates to ensure that we can keep everyone safe without financial impact to affected associates. While we are all hoping for effective therapeutics and/or a vaccine to reduce the duration of this historic event, we continue to explore all viable options that can help ensure your safety while allowing some aspects of life to begin to approximate “normal”.
Recently we discovered a laboratory that offers state-of-the-art PCR pooled saliva testing. This testing is approved by the CDC, meets all local/state/federal requirements and is very simple to administer. A few drops of saliva in a tube (vial) can be tested with high reliability to determine the presence of Covid19. It is the frequency and scope of this testing protocol that allows us to move cautiously into revised Dining and Wellness programs.
We intend to test associates twice per week and test residents once a week. We believe that this high frequency of testing will allow us to open up our dining venues with reduced capacity, conduct more wellness activities and better manage residents who leave our community (without the need for quarantine when they return).
We started conducting the pooled saliva testing on Monday, October 5th, 2020. So far, all of our tests have come back with negative results. We will continue to update everyone with the most updated results or if/when a positive result occurs.
This ground-breaking testing program is not a vaccine, or a veil of protection against Covid19. This is a detection tool we use to keep Emerald Court’s safety bubble intact. We are still requiring everyone to follow the Pillars of Safety: Wearing a mask properly, washing hands frequently, staying physically distanced from others, monitoring temperature and monitoring changes to health condition.
We will continue to stay informed, and our promise to you is to be fully transparent with everyone as Covid19 cases appear. Thank you all for your support throughout this experience.
Sincerely,
Patricia Gustin
Executive Director