WRMC Assisted Living Residents & Families,
On Monday we performed rapid response testing for all staff and vendors. We had 2 Assisted Living Caregivers test positive and are awaiting their PCR results. Today, we tested all staff and vendors through PCR testing and we are awaiting those results from our partner laboratory. This morning, we tested all Skilled Nursing, Memory Care, and Traditional Assisted Living community members using rapid response tests. We had 1 Traditional Assisted Living community member test positive from building #2. The resident and their family member were informed of the results prior to this call. This takes WRMC to 2 positive Traditional Assisted Living community members. All residents on 3rd floor of building 2 have been self-isolating in their apartments.
We anticipate that Medina County will drop from Purple to Red on the State of Ohio’s Public Health Advisory System, as they are currently triggering only 5 out of 7 to meet the requirement. However, the positivity rate in the county jumped this week from 15.8% to 26%. 93% of new onset cases over the last 2 weeks have come from persons not residing in congregate living settings, such as skilled nursing facilities or assisted livings.
Due to the significant increase in positivity rate, visitation for Independent Living will remain suspended indefinitely.
As Hanukkah is coming to an end and Christmas is next week, we are significantly concerned with the safety and well-being of all of our community members. The last 2 surges in our nation came from family gatherings at Halloween and Thanksgiving. WRMC is strongly encouraging our community members to NOT attend family gatherings. If your family is going to have a gathering, please take every precaution possible. If you have a runny nose or a scratchy throat, please do not expose yourself to your loved ones. What seems like a mild symptom could be leading to something much worse.
Over the last week we have received several inquiries in regard to the COVID vaccine. The priorities in the State of Ohio are persons working in hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and then assisted livings. We have contracted with Walgreens to provide our vaccines for Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living. We will be receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
Skilled Nursing residents and our staff will be the first to receive the vaccination, this will take place sometime within the next 3 weeks. Assisted Living resident vaccinations will happen at a later date. We were informed today that Independent Living community members will not be able to obtain the vaccine through this process. This unfortunately is out of our control, as who receives the vaccine at this time is determined by the State of Ohio. We will be communicating more information as it is available.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
Sincerely,
Jason French
President