Dear Patients, Families and Community:

I hope that you had a nice holiday weekend. On behalf of River View on the Appomattox Health & Rehab Center in remembrance of Memorial Day, we remember and honor the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.

COVID-19
As of the date of this letter, we continue to have no patients or employees that have tested positive for COVID-19. We hope this is reassuring to you.

Mitigation
As previously mentioned, patients who experience signs or symptoms of COVID-19 are placed under isolation precautions immediately. Our trained infection control preventionist assists the staff in monitoring patients more frequently and ensuring infection control procedures are strictly followed. Use of isolation precautions is a routine occurrence in skilled nursing facilities for an array of contagious illnesses. Each staff member received re-training in infection control and prevention measures prior to COVID-19 entering the community, and ongoing training is taking place so that we are prepared.

Testing
While we await state-specific guidance regarding point prevalence testing, we are working with the local health department and a private laboratory to test patients for COVID-19 as appropriate. We currently have adequate access to testing. In the center, testing of symptomatic patients is ordered by a provider and in coordination with the local health department. Any patient who is symptomatic for COVID-19 is considered to be positive and is placed under isolation precautions until their test results are confirmed. Even after testing negative for COVID-19, patients who have respiratory symptoms remain on isolation precautions until their symptoms resolve. We are also requiring a negative test prior to admitting any patient from the hospital setting.

PPE
We continue universal facemask use in the center and are using full PPE when providing care for patients who are under isolation precautions. Our PPE supply continues to be adequate, and we are identifying additional sources of PPE should it be needed. The CDC offers PPE optimization strategies, which have been implemented.

Visitation
As nursing facilities remain under a federal mandate to restrict visitation, we are exploring ways that we can enhance the lives of patients and residents. Some patients miss the socialization that occurs naturally during meals, and many patients require encouragement to consume their meals. As appropriate, we are planning activities that incorporate snacks that are suitable for each patient’s diet. Another way that you can offer encouragement to your loved one is by sending a card or letter. Traditional mail is very popular among our patient population and it offers the opportunity to read your uplifting sentiments many times over.

Communication
In addition to any individualized updates you receive about your loved one, we remain committed to providing you with regular communication about the status of COVID-19 in the center. Our communication plan is posted on the Center website for your review as well. If you have questions about our efforts to prevent COVID-19 or the status of your loved one, you are welcome to contact the center at any time.

Thank You
As we close this Memorial Day week, we’d also like to thank the first responders and other healthcare heroes who are on the frontlines fighting a different kind of battle against COVID-19. Our staff remain dedicated to ensuring that your loved one receives care and compassion every day. We ask that you continue to practice social distancing, good hand hygiene and limit unnecessary exposure where possible.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me directly with concerns or questions.

Sincerely,

Todd Yacovone, LNHA
Administrator

To read the official letter, please click here!