Hello All,
We have clearance from Cowlitz County Health Department to resume admissions, group activities, communal dining, and visitations. We will continue to be under observation for the next two weeks by the health department. If for some reason we do end up getting another positive during that time will just extend the outbreak status. Activities is resuming groups today. We need to work on the dining rooms and get things arranged before we start communal dining.
We continue ongoing testing for residents and staff during our outbreak. We are following all precautions to avoid continued exposure and are now seeing cases decline and residents recovering. We will make an update when we are able to have visitation again. Thank you for your continued patience.
Additional resident testing was completed today and 7 additional cases were discovered. That brings our total to 12 in-house cases of Covid. We are currently monitoring all residents and have protocols in place to prevent spread, including a separated wing and adequate PPE. Families, doctors, and county/state officials have been notified.
During resident testing, we have discovered (5) COVID positive residents. Those residents are on isolation precautions in their own private rooms and their conditions are being monitored closely. We have notified public and state health departments and will update the community when we have more information concerning this outbreak. Dining
and activities will be discontinued for a minimum of 14 days and in-person visitation will resume Monday the 27th at the earliest (depending on next two resident testing cycles).
This message is to update that we have had a 3rd staff member who is positive for COVID resulting in facility now in lock down at a minimum through Sept 5th. No visitations continue, all residents with outside appointments will have them canceled till further notice. There is 1 resident with symptoms at this time and all test results on other residents have retuned negative. All direct care staff will now increase PPE to N95 masks with face shields and new disposable gown worn for each resident contact. Testing of staff will continue twice weekly and for a minimum of two weeks residents will also be tested twice weekly. We appreciate your patience during this quarantine we understand the impact this has for residents, families and staff.
All testing for Covid on 1/18/21 was negative. Our nursing home residents and staff received the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine and the staff and residents in our assisted living received their first dose.
Today is the last day of 2020,
The majority of our Skilled Nursing Facility staff and residents have been vaccinated. We received, from CVS/Walgreens, the Pfizer vaccine on Monday and will continue to vaccinate our Assisted Living facility and staff. CVS will complete the second step of vaccinations going into the month of February 2021.
-Justin
Today is 12/14/20
It has been nearly a month since our first positive case and as of today we have only one staff positive case and no resident cases. In total, there have been 5 resident positives (3 resolved and 2 expired) and 3 staff, all resolved. We will test staff again tomorrow 12/15/20. If no positive cases arise, we will be considered out of outbreak status and able to rejoin Washington phased re-opening guidelines. We are hopeful that we will be able to resume the re-opening coinciding with vaccine distribution, which should arrive, at the earliest, next week. We will keep these updates going in the event of any new cases or new outbreaks. Thank you for you patience and trust in mitigating this challenge.
Updated 12/15/2020 9:30am: In our reporting of results, I made an error of addition. We had 3 total staff positive cases, not 4. The result of our residents is still 5 (3 resolved, 2 expired). All updates have been edited to reflect this change.
-Justin Settlemier
Administrator
Dear Families and Loved Ones,
I want to first of all thank you for putting your faith and trust in us to care for your loved ones during one of the most difficult times we have ever faced. When this foreign illness started we, like you, had grave concerns and uncertainties surrounding the spread of such a hidden threat.
Slowly, with the efforts of many, it has been rewarding to see whole communities and our country come together to protect our elderly, immunocompromised, and frail population. It has been an absolute honor in our professional careers to be a part of a team that has put everything aside to protect, care, comfort at risk patients and become experts on infection prevention.
I am extremely proud of the patience, tenacity, and peace that our residents have shown through this fight, as well as you have, with all of the unknowns. I am writing this because I believe in the human spirit to fight in the face of adversity, to press forward to every challenge, and to come out victorious in the face of fear.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for choosing us to care for you loved ones, thank you for being patient and following the social distancing rules, thank you for being adaptable to change in technology (using facetime and other apps to communicate with loved ones), and most importantly, thank you to everyone who have supported your loved ones with letters and words of encouragement, goodies, flowers, masks, and LOVE through this fight.
Here’s to flattening the next curve, here’s to being prepared, here’s to never giving up.
Warm gratitude,
Justin Settlemier
Administrator
Woodland Care Center