Residents and Family Members,
We continue to be COVID free on the campus. This daily county report identified 257 cases for August (84 in June and 211 in August). The documented positive cases in the last week have been as high as 24 in a day and as low as 1 so still seeing wild swings in the community. The hospital census is currently 7 positives/presumptive COVID patients reported in Parkview and 0 in St Mary Corwin. Two more outbreaks were reported in the last week in Pueblo County and identified as local businesses.
We did complete testing for 75 residents and staff last week. One sample was damaged in transit to the state lab but the remaining 74 were all negative. One of our issues identified by the state for both levels in care is the encouragement of residents to wear masks and social distancing when out of rooms as well as wearing a mask or covering nose and mouth with a cloth or tissue whenever staff are present in the room. The leadership team is working to stress these requirements with staff and will work towards the habit of reminding residents with each interaction for wearing of mask (or covering nose/mouth when appropriate) and social distancing.
As we continue into a new month with limited access to your loved ones, the frustration for some of our visitors is unnecessarily being directed toward staff. We comply with these new requirements each day and for many staff would be very appreciative of “life before COVID”. However, increased regulatory scrutiny and real large dollar fines for not complying have increased the stress levels for staff when added to the desire to try and meet expectations of 120+ residents on campus and family desires for care and improvement in daily living. That said, recent comments at outdoor visits such as “I’ve had enough of this COVID nonsense” and “you just need to make an exception” have no place in our attempt to implement the requirements necessary to be able to host our outdoor visits. As we continue our efforts to follow the rules and recommendations delivered from governing authorities, I would encourage you to write your legislators and the Governor’s office with any concerns and/or ideas you might have to improve the visits from your perspective. Keep in mind this is a trying and stressful time not only for your loved ones, you (the families), but also for our staff who is trying to juggle excellent care with all the new requirements impose on them/us by Covid-19.
Sincerely,
Keith Jackson
Executive Director
