Dear Residents, Families, and Associates of The Cardinal,
I am sending this letter to inform you that as of late yesterday evening, we learned that a third-party, private duty caregiver providing services to residents in Independent Living tested positive for COVID-19. This personal service provider was last in the community on Sunday, November 1st. This caregiver wore a mask at all times and followed our COVID-19 protocols. Aligned with CDC protocols, yesterday we conducted a thorough review of this case and notified any residents or associates identified as having potential exposure to this individual. Today, we will be PCR testing these residents and associates as a precautionary measure. The personal service provider is isolating at home and doing well. They will not be allowed to return to The Cardinal until they have cleared the 2-week isolation period. At this time, the source of infection is believed to be unrelated to our campus and may be linked to activity conducted off-site. All other test results this week have been negative including the pooled samples collected on Tuesday and Wednesday. Based on our current safety measures and associates following CDC guidelines by wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), we are confident of minimal exposure to residents and associates.
As a reminder, the CDC defines exposure risk to Covid-19 as prolonged contact (4-5 minutes+) within one’s personal space and without PPE with the affected person. In accordance with patient privacy laws, additional details about the provider and updates on their condition will be provided only by healthcare authorities. Currently, we have no other known cases.
Pooled, saliva PCR testing continues to go well this week but unfortunately, we had less resident participation than last week. Approximately 62% of residents in Independent Living participated in the pooled testing process this week, which is down from 70% last week. We are very eager and excited to re-open some or our dining venues and allow for more resident and friend/family visitation but in order for us to feel safe in doing so, we need to see much more resident participation in the pool testing process in the coming weeks. We strongly encourage all residents in Independent Living to stop by the Art Studio to be tested. Residents in the High-Risk group can be tested on Mondays and Wednesdays and all other residents can be tested every Tuesday. We look forward to seeing all of our residents in the Art Studio next week and we thank you for your support and participation.
Next week our Wellness Team has many fun events planned for all to enjoy. Some of the highlights on the Calendar include a Virtual Travel Tour: The Deep Rivers, Reefs, and Glaciers on Tuesday, November 10th at 2:30pm in the Media Room. The Cardinal will be honoring our Veterans on Veterans Day, Wednesday, the 11th. At 10:00am, a special Veterans Day Ceremony will take place in the main front courtyard followed by a musical performance with the Carol Bailey Trio at 11:00am. We are monitoring the weather closely leading up to this event and are looking forward to honoring all Veterans of The Cardinal and thanking them for their service to our country. On Friday, November 13th, we will be streaming a special performance by the North Carolina Symphony on channel 1341. The Performance is titled “Roaring 20’s” – Branford Marsalis Plays Gershwin. Please tune in to enjoy the show.
Yesterday marked another record for our country as we reported over 100,000 cases of COVID-19 in a single day. We want to remind everyone of the importance of wearing a mask at all times, washing your hands frequently, and watching for social distancing. Our top priority is the health and safety of our residents and associates, and we cannot let our guard down.
Tom Ford will be out of the office until Monday, November 16th. If you have any question or need assistance with anything, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Ernie Kastner, Facilities Services Director, is Manager on Duty this weekend and will be available to assist with whatever is needed. We hope you all have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Mary Casey, Assistant Executive Director