Statement from Evergreen Health Care Center on Covid-19 Patient Diagnosis
This morning we learned that a former patient of Evergreen Health Care Center tested positive for Covid-19. The patient was in our center up until Monday, March 16, on our short-term unit. This individual is being cared for outside of our center in a local hospital.
We have notified the Connecticut Department of Public Health and its division of Epidemiology and we are acting on all guidance they provide. We have requested testing for each of our staff members and residents and are awaiting further guidance from the state. We have also requested additional personal protective equipment that will be needed in the weeks ahead through our trade association that is coordinating with the state.
We have taken other immediate steps to protect the health and safety of our residents and staff. We are undertaking a deep cleaning of the entire building. We also have quarantined the entire unit where the former patient resided, including limiting it to specific staff.
At the start of this pandemic, we initiated a series of protections aimed at mitigating the threat of coronavirus at our center. These include restricting visitors from Evergreen, taking the temperature of anyone who enters the facility, requiring anyone who enters the facility to complete a health questionnaire, and increasing monitoring of all residents every day.
We also have been taking the temperatures of every patient at every shift since this weekend. We also began taking temperatures and requiring completion of a health questionnaire for all staff at the beginning of each shift last week. We are continuing this practice.
There is no greater priority for us than the health and safety of our residents and staff. Our thoughts are with our former patient. We understand this is a difficult time for our patients and their families, and we want them to know that we are doing everything in our control to provide a safe environment. We also want to thank our many staff for their unflinching commitment to the health of all our residents.
We will continue to provide all updates as they become available.
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Tim Brown, Director of Marketing & Communications
Athena Health Care Systems
860-751-3937 – direct
TBrown@AthenaHealthCare.com