Friendship Village Senior Services’ Update and Response to COVID-19 as of Tuesday, May 26th, 2020
Dear Friends, Residents and Families of Friendship Village:
Between rainstorms, Memorial Day weekend was beautiful across St. Louis and Friendship Villages and there are several items to report on this day after, Tuesday, May 26th, 2020.
Chesterfield
There are no Residents in Independent Living who are positive for COVID-19, and we remain very thankful for this.
In the skilled nursing facility, there are two Residents recovering in the COVID Care Center and we anticipate they will graduate by Saturday at the conclusion of the terrific care they have been receiving from their multidisciplinary care teams.
On Friday, as part of a program by the State of Missouri, all Residents in the skilled nursing facility who had not previously recovered from COVID-19 were tested (except for 3 Residents still needing family authorization, who will be tested soon). In all, 49 Residents were tested and every one of them came back negative. At this moment in time, our team has a full status on every Resident, symptoms or not (not including the final 3).
In addition, 66 employees who had not previously recovered from COVID-19 were also tested and every one of them also came back negative. There are still a handful awaiting their tests due to shift scheduling, but none of those have shown any symptoms as of this time. Still, 2 employees remain in quarantine at home for a few more days.
Sadly, two of our Residents did pass away early in the weekend. Both of them had previously recovered from COVID-19 and were no longer symptomatic or infected but passed from this life with other complications. We mourn for their loss and we pray for their families.
We were pleased that a number of families scheduled and then conducted window visits with their loved ones over the weekend. These are great events for everyone involved. Please remember, though, that these visits require coordination with the facility administrator in advance so that Residents can be moved at the planned time to a window that is conducive to a visit.
Sunset Hills
There are no Residents in Independent Living or Assisted Living who are positive for COVID-19, and we remain very thankful for this.
In the skilled nursing facility, there are six Residents recovering from COVID-19 in the COVID Care Center and they are doing well with care delivered by our multidisciplinary care teams. Early on, the team detected that 5 of these residents were on the same unit. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the facility had taken steps to segregate each unit and to keep staff dedicated to a single unit to avoid the risk of spreading the virus.
Last week, the facility independently tested all of the Residents on that same unit in order to get a snapshot of the prevalence of the virus among them. This was not part of the State program in which Chesterfield participated (noted above). In all, 23 Residents were tested, and 22 residents came back negative. The final one joined the previous 5 in the COVID Care Center and is doing well.
As a precaution, the facility will continue independently testing the blocks of Residents on each of the remaining units to determine the presence or absence of COVID-19 in the rest of the facility. Currently, no other Residents have shown any symptoms of COVID-19, and we thank God.
No additional staff have tested positive and, over time, the five that did test positive are beginning to return to work from their self-quarantine status. We are making arrangements with the State to test all of the remaining staff. Currently, no others have shown symptoms of COVID-19.
We pray strongly that the coronavirus has been effectively contained in the facility and that the spread has stopped. We are going to keep checking to make sure.
We were pleased that a number of families scheduled and then conducted window visits with their loved ones over the weekend. These are great events for everyone involved. Please remember, though, that these visits require coordination with the facility administrator in advance so that Residents can be moved at the planned time to a window that is conducive to a visit.
In Assisted Living, arrangements are being made to conduct balcony visits next weekend and we ask any interested families to coordinate with the facility in advance of any window or balcony visit so that the staff, the Resident, and the families are in the right places at the right times to optimize everyone’s time.
Both Villages
We place strong emphasis on reminding our independent living residents that the No Visitor policy remains in effect and that we continue to highly discourage non-essential trips off campus and none to visit family and friends where there is even the slightest risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus. Please pray that adherence is maintained and that all of our Residents remain COVID-19-free.
There have been no changes to any of these policies for Independent Living Residents and all of the policies of the past several weeks remain in place.
As always, please pray with us for God’s intervention in preventing Residents and other staff from contracting the virus.
No Visitor Policy Still in Full Effect
As many would expect, all of the security and no-visitor policies remain in full effect at all locations as we continue to combat the coronavirus. We appreciate the cooperation and understanding of all involved, Residents and families alike.
Although the State of Missouri and St. Louis County has lifted stay at home orders, Friendship Village must still adhere to our protocols and the guidance provided by the CDC and the Departments of Health as prescribed for senior living communities. We will maintain our measures and vigilance, as we are currently, until a time when we feel there will be an opportunity to safely begin relaxing some of our measures, but that time is not now. Our No-Visitor Policy remains in effect until further notice. We appreciate your continued understanding and cooperation.
Gift-Giving in Appreciation of our Staff is Open on our FriendshipVillageSTL.com website:
Many family members and Residents have inquired as to how to donate a gift of appreciation for the staff for their service during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our website at FriendshipVillageSTL.com now has an easy-to-use tab to use in making contributions for the staff and we thank all of you for considering a gift. As funds are collected, we will identify the best use of those funds in order to do the most that can be done for our employees. Every gift is appreciated, large and small.
Our teams have received many generous contributions from YOU! We are working excitedly on ways to express your support and appreciation to the staff as soon as we possibly can. There have already been some pizzas and sandwiches, delightfully enjoyed, funded by our donors, and there will be more to come. We can always give them more!
As always, all of us thank you all for your continued prayers as we continually ask our Lord Jesus Christ to enable us to do our best to fend-off the COVID-19 coronavirus and to maintain the safety and protection of our Residents and staff.