COVID-19 Update 8.06.21

8/6/2021

COVID-19 Update

 

Dear Residents, Family, Patients and Staff:

We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones well and in good health. It’s been unfortunate to see that Covid Cases in our County have been consistently rising. We went from Green to Yellow based on the information provided to us by Johnson County Department of Health positivity rates. We have increased Staff Covid testing as required by the Department of Health.

The data is providing evidence that Counties throughout the United States with low vaccination participation are the Counties that are struggling the most with a rise in Covid positivity rates. Data is also showing that lack of mask wearing, even with individuals who have been vaccinated, is having a direct correlation with a rise in positivity rates as well. Therefore, we encourage everyone reading this letter, to please consider getting the vaccine and be a part of getting a stronger grasp on this virus. There are States now that are requiring that all healthcare workers be vaccinated and there have been talks that the current Federal Administration will be seeking to move this route Nation-wide as soon as the end of this month or next.

For Staff Members who have not been vaccinated and have gotten Covid, we have heard they wished they would have taken the vaccine. What’s more is that when we have a positive Staff Member, we then have to close a portion of the facility, we have to stop visitations to that area of the building, Residents and Patients are then isolated, and we then go through rounds of Covid testing which we have a limited supply of and are very expensive. As an organization we want to incentivize our Staff to do their part in helping prevent the spread of this virus by getting vaccinated. Therefore, we are providing a $200 incentive with proof of vaccination as our way to thank you for being a part of the solution (please collaborate with Nik in HR).

We are also asking our Visitors to continue to abide by all the recommendations the CDC is asking us to follow; mask wearing, social distancing, and hand hygiene while you are in Shawnee PARC visiting. As the Covid positivity rate is continuing to rise, we require your partnership with us in keeping the people that we care for as safe as we can possibly keep them while still allowing visitation. The new Delta Variant is even more contagious than its original form. We can’t emphasize enough the importance you have in keeping our building safe by following the protocols presented by the CDC, CMS and the Department of Health.

We would also like to inform you that Shawnee PARC has been given permission by the Johnson County Department of Health to re-opening its Covid Unit on Wednesday the 11th. This will allow our facility the capability of taking care of our own Residents and Patients in-house should they acquire the Covid Virus. This Unit will also give us the opportunity to meet the need in our community to care for Patients that currently need placement for sub-acute care. We are certainly pleased to be able to provide this urgent and crucial service given the rise in cases in our County.

We encourage everyone to remain diligent with the safety practices that are being put in place to help keep our Residents, Patients, Family Members, Staff and Community as Covid Free as possible. Flareups are likely to happen and we ask that you respect and abide by the interventions necessary to help contain the virus and to keep Everyone as safe as possible.

 

At your service,

The Leadership Team at Shawnee PARC