A Message for our Families
(Updated March 25, 2020)
CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) UPDATE
During these unprecedented times, please know that 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, restricted visitors to our centers, are monitoring residents at every shift, and our staff is engaged in aggressive infection prevention strategies.
While the state has implemented a visitation ban, we also are committed to helping families connect with their loved ones. Please contact the center and we will make sure you are able to speak with your family member in our care. We also encourage you to visit the center’s Facebook page for additional updates.
We know this is a difficult time. We care deeply about our residents and staff, and appreciate your understanding. Please contact us with any questions or concerns. We know we can get through this – together.
Health Departments
Check with you local authority for more information
Important First Steps…and 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.
These efforts are enhancements to guidelines and recommendations set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for institutions like ours. At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, we initiated a series of protections aimed at mitigating the threat of the pandemic at our centers. These included:
- Restricting visitors to the building;
- Requiring anyone entering the center to complete a health questionnaire and have their temperature taken;
- Increasing monitoring of all residents at every shift;
- Our staff are trained in steps to minimize the spread of airborne illnesses when providing care and have received additional training and reinforcement;
- Athena centers employ an in-house “Infection Preventionist,” an in-house, specially trained clinician responsible for implementing our infection prevention policies and procedures, as well as training staff on these policies and procedures. These specialists also conduct audits to ensure staff are following proper protocols, especially related to hand hygiene, personal protective equipment use, and cough etiquette.
We continue to follow the guidance of the state regulators and have taken additional steps to protect our residents. The Coronavirus pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation. 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.
We understand this is a difficult time for our residents and their families, but there is no greater priority for us than their health and safety of our residents and staff. We are doing everything in our control to provide our residents a safe and comfortable environment.
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.
Media Inquiries:
Tim Brown
Director of Marketing & Communications
Athena Health Care Systems
TBrown@AthenaHealthCareSystems