A Message for our Families
(Updated January 2025)
COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Information
There is nothing more important to us than the health and safety of your loved ones in our care.
We are doing everything in our control to provide our residents a safe and comfortable environment. We have implemented daily cleanings, are monitoring residents at every shift, and our staff is engaged in aggressive infection prevention strategies. We continue with enhanced daily cleaning, continue with monitoring of our residents and staff remain focused on infection prevention strategies and continue to follow the core principles of infection prevention.
We continue to follow all guidance from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and state Departments of Public Health.
Please contact us with any questions or concerns. The safety of our residents and staff are of the utmost importance to us.
Visitation
Visitors are required to self-assess for COVID-19 signs and symptoms and are advised that they will be requested to postpone their visit if they are experiencing any symptoms or if they have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the past 10 days. Visitation can continue even for residents who are COVID + , as long as the visitor is wearing proper personnel protective equipment.
Vaccination
To protect all residents, staff, and others in our communities from the known and substantial risks of COVID-19, Athena Health Care Systems and its managed centers have strongly advocated and educated our staff, residents and their families to become vaccinated. We also strongly advocate for the vaccination of all health care personnel. COVID-19 vaccines protect health care personnel when working both in health care facilities and in the community. They provide strong protection against workers unintentionally carrying the disease to work and spreading it to patients and co-workers.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recommends all staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exemption on file.
The types of employee exemptions accepted by Athena on hire are medical, religious, and personal exemptions. Our facilities must ensure that all personnel (including non-direct care staff) are fully vaccinated (received an initial primary series) against COVID-19 unless:
- Administration is medically contraindicated, which means administration of COVID-19 vaccine is likely to be detrimental to the individual’s health, or
- The individual objects to vaccination based on a sincerely held religious belief and the individual is able to perform their essential job functions with a reasonable accommodation that is not an undue burden on the nursing home.
- The individual objects for personal reasons.
In addition, CMS requires that all staff be provided education on the most current annual COVID vaccine regarding the benefits, risks and potential side effects associated with the vaccine and be offered the vaccine. Staff who decline must complete a declination form, and will need to follow mitigation measures as outlined by Athena, State specific regulations and CDC guidance.
Health Departments
Check with your local authority for more information
Ongoing Safety
We take cleanliness and ensuring a safe environment for our residents very seriously, and our policies and the practices at our centers reflect that. Every center is frequently and thoroughly cleaned by professional staff. We have aggressive infection prevention strategies which are exercised by all of our staff. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, our infection prevention efforts are at an even more heightened level. We have stepped up our typical cleaning and disinfecting schedule that would be in place during the regular flu season, requiring more frequent surface cleaning on high contact areas and other strategies.
We continue to follow the guidance of the state regulators and have taken additional steps to protect our residents. Please consult the CDC Coronavirus website, or your state’s Department of Public Health. These are the authorities with the most up-to-date information.
Our staff is committed to making sure families are able to connect with their loved one in our homes. Please contact us and we will make sure you are able to speak with your family member in our care.