I hope this update finds you and your family in good health and spirit. We are now in week 18 of “COVID measures” here at Saint John XXIII Home. Our baseline testing is complete and we did have one worker test positive (asymptomatic) for COVID-19. We have taken the proper measures to mitigate the spread of the virus internally and of course, the employee has quarantine at home. Any resident that was potentially exposed to this individual has been in isolation as per facility policy and directed by the Department of Health. At the end of the 14 day isolation period, those residents will be retested for COVID-19. Please continue to pray for resident health and negative test results.
As you have likely seen in the news, cases continue to “spike” across the nation. Our requirements continue to be “fluid” and ever changing as we attempt to stay a step ahead of this virus. Our top priority is the health, safety and well-being of our residents, staff and family members.
Facility standards have been released by the Department of Health to allow PA facilities (nursing homes and personal care homes) to resume visitation. We are currently in the process of writing a multitude of policies related to visitation and a new normal. In addition, there are several standards that must be achieved before proceeding to visitation. 1) Facility must reside in a county that is in the “Green” or “Yellow” phase. 2) Facility can not have any new onset cases of COVID-19 for the past 14 days. 3) Facility must have the above mentioned policies in place and posted on the facility website. These policies place restrictions on visitation location, times, frequency, number of visitors at a time, etc.
As mentioned above, the key to our implementation of visitation is dependent upon the status of Mercer County. Should Mercer County go BACK into a “RED PHASE”, we will be required to return to our current structure of no visitation. With this in mind, I ask everyone to do your part to mitigate this virus, follow the Governor’s order of wearing masks, wash your hands frequently, avoid large gatherings, social distance and be aware of travel to “hot spot” cities/states.
Due to the requirements listed above, it is impossible to announce a specific date to resume visitation at this time. However, it appears that we will be able to implement scheduled visitation by months end. We are getting close and will move forward with visitation as soon as we meet the criteria listed above. Please monitor the facility webpage for ongoing updates/information. (www.saintjohn23home.org)
Thank you for entrusting the care of your loved one to us. Thank you for all of your support, patience and understanding through this pandemic and most of all, thank you for your continued prayers.
Sincerely,
Kirk Hawthorne
Administrator/CEO
Saint John XXIII Home