Posts

Showing posts from February, 2021

Update February 25, 2021

 Yesterday, I reported that we had an employee who tested positive using the rapid point of care test.   The test result was sent out for confirmation and the result was confirmed positive.  This does not change anything else that was reported yesterday.  We continue with weekly testing of residents and staff and will delay indoor visits until there are no new positive cases (employee or residents) for the next 14 days.  We will keep you updated.  Please call if you need clarification or have questions.   Sharon Eyster, MA, ACBSW, CNHA, FACHCA Director of Operations

February 24, 2021

The Lancaster County positivity rate this week is down to 8.0%.  According to CMS guidance, we are in a medium risk county (5%-10% positivity rating).  This means that are required to continue testing staff weekly until the county positivity rate drops to less than 5%.  However, when we identify any individual, staff or resident, with a positive test result, we are required to conduct universal testing of staff and residents for 14 days until there are no new positive test results. We continue with weekly testing of staff and residents this week due to the positive employee test result last week.  There was one positive employee test result this week which has been sent out for confirmation.  At this time, we are still considered to be in "outbreak" status according to CMS guidance ( QSO-20-38-NH (cms.gov) )  since we have had one positive test result.  We are continuing universal testing of residents and staff for the next 14 days as described above.  We have met and reviewe

February 17, 2021

 I reviewed the guidance today as it relates to indoor visits.  Since we had a confirmed positive employee test result on Sunday, 2/14, the guidance from CMS restricts indoor visits while the facility has an outbreak (the definition of an outbreak is any new positive test result) requiring us to do universal testing for the next 14 days.  This week's test results were all negative.  If  all test results next week are negative (residents and staff results), we will review plans for re-opening to indoor visits. There is not change to guidance on this despite vaccination status. We will continue to keep you updated.   Sharon Eyster, MA, ACBSW, CNHA, FACHCA Director of Operations

February 14, 2021

Image
  Resident(weekly) and staff testing (two times a week) was completed again last week.  There were two staff test results that had to be sent for validation of negative results since the employees had symptoms on the day of the test.  The employees were immediately sent home.  Today we received one confirmed positive employee test result, the other was negative.  The Infection Prevention Nurse is conducting contact tracing and implementing cohorting strategy based on the results of the positive employee test result.  We will continue testing all residents and staff weekly for the next 14 days.   The positivity rate for Lancaster County this week is 9.7%.  This is the second week in a row that the county positivity rate is below 10%.  Last week, it was 9.9%.  A positivity rating below 10% means that facilities can now stop the twice weekly testing of employees and resume weekly testing.  However, because we have had a positive employee test result, we will be required to test weekly for

Update February 5, 2021

 Testing of residents and staff has been completed this week and we are happy to report that there were no positive test results.  We will continue with testing residents again next week as it is still within the 14 day window of the last positive staff test result. If there are no new positive test results  next week, we will discontinue resident testing.   Staff is still being tested twice a week due to the high county positivity rate.  Today, the reported positivity rate in Lancaster County is 9.9%.  This is the first week in many months that Lancaster County has dropped below 10%. However, under the current guidance, we are required to continue with the twice weekly testing of staff for two weeks.  Our guidance requires us to continue testing at this rate until the county positivity rate remains under 10% for two weeks. We will be holding our second COVID-19 vaccine clinic tomorrow for residents and staff.  All residents and staff who received their first injection on January 16th

Update February 1, 2021

Results of employee testing last week revealed one positive rapid antigen point of care test result for an employee with no symptoms.  The employee was re-tested using the molecular test and sent home until the test result was confirmed.  We received confirmation of a positive test result for this employee.  We will resume weekly testing for all residents due to the positive employee test.  Additionally, we are continuing with bi-weekly employee testing due to the continued high positivity rate in Lancaster County.   This week, the county remains above 10% at 10.8% although it continues to decline. Our next COVID-19 Vaccine clinic will be held  Saturday February 6th.  Please make sure that you have returned your consent forms to get the second dose of the vaccine.  Anyone who did not receive their first dose may sign up to get their first dose this Saturday.  We will be contacting families of residents who have not returned the second consent form.  Newly admitted residents should have