Ongoing resident and staff testing did reveal one new case of COVID among our resident population. That brings the total COVID positive residents in-house to 12 and staff to 4. All residents and staff are doing well. Please remember that Facetime calls can be set up with the recreation department Ext 423 to limit the amount of traffic and possible exposure to our residents. With the holidays upon us, please remember that if you are not feeling well or have been exposed in any way, please refrain from visiting.
COVID-19 Updates
Thursday, December 15th Update
Ongoing resident and staff testing did reveal two new cases of COVID among our resident population and two new cases of staff positives. We have had other residents turn negative. That brings the total COVID positive residents in-house to 11 and staff to 4. All residents and staff continue to be doing well, with general cold symptoms as the primary condition. Again, I must again stress the importance of practicing proper infection control protocols while in the facility to keep our residents, employees, and visitors safe. Regardless of the vaccination status of visitors, proper mask wearing is mandatory. I understand it may not be comfortable, and many of us do not wear masks in other places, and some of you may disagree. However, first and foremost, the residents and employees are our responsibility, and this is one of the most effective ways to protect them. No changes have been made to our visitation policy, but please refrain from visiting if you are not feeling well or have been exposed on the outside. With the holidays upon us, please use proper judgment in taking any of the residents out on pass for gatherings. As we have seen from one resident, being exposed and turning positive causes a spread to many others in this environment rapidly. Please remember Facetime calls can be set up with the recreation department at Ext 423 to limit the amount of traffic and possible exposure to our residents.
Tuesday, December 13th Update
Ongoing resident testing was completed last evening, and this morning did reveal 2 new cases of COVID among our resident population. That brings the total COVID positive in-house to 15. We had many residents in the past two days turn negative, which is wonderful news. We have 2 staff positive currently from in-house testing. All residents and staff are doing well, with general cold symptoms as the primary symptom we have seen. All but one of our residents who tested positive were fully vaccinated, and both staff members are fully vaccinated. Therefore, I must again stress the importance of practicing proper infection control protocols while in the facility to keep our residents, employees, and visitors safe. Regardless of the vaccination status of visitors, proper mask wearing is mandatory. I understand it may not be comfortable, and many of us do not wear masks in other places, and some of you may disagree. However, first and foremost, the residents and employees are our responsibility, and this is one of the most effective ways to protect them. No changes have been made to our visitation policy, but please refrain from visiting if you are not feeling well or have been exposed on the outside. With the holidays upon us, please use proper judgment in taking any of the residents out on pass for gatherings. As we have seen from one resident, being exposed and turning positive causes a spread to many others in this environment rapidly. Please remember Facetime calls can be set up with the recreation department at Ext 423 to limit the amount of traffic and possible exposure to our residents.
Thursday, December 8th Update
Ongoing resident testing was completed last evening, and this morning did reveal 7 new cases of COVID among our resident population. That brings the total COVID positive in-house to 22 and Influenza to 2. We have no staff positive currently. I truly cannot stress enough how important proper infection control practices while in the facility are to the safety of all residents, employees, and visitors. A slight change to the visitation policy is being put into place as of today, a negative test will be required daily even if timing is less than 24 hours. Test kits will be available 7 days a week during this outbreak. Please refrain from visiting if you are not feeling well or have been exposed on the outside. Please try to limit visitation and out on pass visits as much as possible to help us control this outbreak. This variant seems to spread rapidly. All positive residents are stable and doing well. Facetime calls can be set up with the recreation department Ext 423 to limit the amount of traffic and possible exposure to our residents.
Wednesday, December 7th Update
Ongoing resident testing was completed last evening, and this morning did reveal four new cases of COVID and one new influenza case among our resident population. That brings the total COVID positive in-house to 15 and Influenza to 2. We have no staff positive currently. I truly cannot stress enough how important proper infection control practices while in the facility are to the safety of all residents, employees, and visitors. We are caring for one of the most vulnerable populations. No changes have been made to the visitation policy, but please refrain from visiting if you are not feeling well or have been exposed on the outside. Also, please remember Facetime calls can be set up with the recreation department Ext 423 to limit the amount of traffic and possible exposure to our residents.
Our mitigation efforts continue, and we will keep you apprised of any new cases.
Tuesday, December 6th Important Update
I am sure many of you have heard on the news about the rapid spread of several viruses currently in Suffolk County, including Influenza, COVID 19, and RSV. We had one resident test positive for influenza, and 11 residents test positive for COVID. All the COVID-positive residents are on East Wing, and our COVID protocol is in effect. Symptoms are consisting of some low-grade fevers and cold symptoms. As a result, we have implemented some enhanced infection control measures to ensure the continued safety of our residents. Specifically, we are requiring everyone who enters our building to wear an N95 facemask, as well as enforcing strict social distancing and limiting larger gatherings regardless of vaccination status. We cannot stop visitation, but please do not visit if you are not feeling well in any way.
Testing for visitors has not changed, a negative COVID test must be presented every 24 hours. We supply tests to visitors Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 am and 4 pm. I cannot stress the importance of mask wearing in the facility. I understand many of us are vaccinated and tested but remember, we can still test positive tomorrow and have exposed the most vulnerable population. I know it’s frustrating, and the rules at San Simeon are very strict, but it is for the safety of our residents, staff, and families. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me. I will update you as changes come. No staff positives currently to report.
Thursday, October 20th COVID-19 Update
Our last two COVID positive residents are now testing negative, therefore all residents have recovered and there are no current cases of COVID-19 in the building. Again, we cannot stress enough how important mask wearing and social distancing are, especially while visiting loved ones at the facility. Likewise, if you are not feeling well or think you may have been exposed to someone with COVID, please refrain from visiting. It’s better to be safe than sorry. We continue with regular testing and stringent infection control practices to try to keep the virus out of our building.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Thursday, October 13th COVID-19 Update
We had two additional residents test positive for COVID between yesterday and today, but three previous cases are now testing negative, so our current total of COVID positive residents in house is eight. Sadly, I must report that we had one of the residents with COVID pass away yesterday. Our sincere condolences to their loved ones. No new staff positives at this time to report. No new updates to our visitation policy at this time.
As always, we appreciate your cooperation. We will keep you informed of any changes.
Tuesday, October 11th COVID-19 Update
Testing today revealed a total of three new cases of COVID among our residents. Of the residents previously positive two have turned negative bringing the total in house today to eleven. All the positive residents are from C unit. We also had one employee test positive with routine weekly testing today. Visiting guidelines have not changed but please be reminded if you do not feel well, please refrain from visiting please remember sometimes a positive result shows up a few days after symptoms appear.
Please also be reminded that strict social distancing and N95 masking rules remain in effect while in the building visiting with residents.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Friday, October 7th COVID-19 Update
Unfortunately, we had two visitors, and one staff test positive this week. After resident testing, we had eight positive residents. All are currently confined to the C Unit. We have taken appropriate steps to isolate these residents and have tested all residents as a precaution.
We are not making any changes to our visitation policy at this time; however, we cannot stress enough how important it is to wear a mask at all times, and social distancing are, especially while visiting loved ones at the facility. Likewise, if you are not feeling well or think you may have been exposed to someone with COVID, please refrain from visiting. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
N95 masks are required on all units as precaution at this time.
As always, we appreciate your cooperation. We will keep you informed of any changes.
