Novel Coronavirus – COVID 19- Guidance for Visitors
Centers for Disease Control and NYS DOH have established guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is expected that the spread of COVID-19 infections will continue to increase. It is known that older individuals, particularly those with underlying health conditions, have shown greater susceptibility to the virus and often experience much more serious illness and outcomes. To ensure a safe environment for our residents amid the outbreak of COVID-19, Pinnacle Multicare has updated our visitor policies.
We ask that you do not visit anyone in the facility if you:
- Have travelled within the past 14 days to restricted countries, which currently include:
- China (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- Iran (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- Italy (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- South Korea (Level 3 Travel Health Notice)
- Japan (Level 2 Travel Health Notice)
- Have signs or symptoms such as a fever of 100 F or higher, cough, shortness of breath, nasal congestion, rummy nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea.
- Have had contact with someone with or under investigation for having COVID-19.
To prevent the spread of this and other infections and for your safety, it is recommended that you:
- Wash your hands, thoroughly and frequently!
- Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer
- Use proper coughing etiquette by coughing or sneezing into your elbow.
Pinnacle Multicare has implemented a proactive approach in trying to deal with this situation. Numerous alcohol-based hand sanitizers have been placed throughout the facility. Housekeeping protocol for cleaning and disinfecting resident and workplace areas, equipment, and other contact areas such as over bed table, bedside commode, tables, doorknobs, light switches, desk, toilets, faucets, remotes are in place. Our staff has been and continues to receive education and in-services on this topic. We will be monitoring the in-flow of visitors, vendors, staff members throughout each shift. The current efforts in place are geared towards shifting focus from containment to mitigation of the virus. Mitigation is recognizing that there is a community spread, which there clearly is. The aim is to limit the spread of the virus so that the public health system does not become overwhelmed. Those mitigation steps include promoting more social distancing, limiting large gatherings at which the virus might spread, including potentially suspending visitation in nursing homes.
Governor Cuomo has suspended visitation at Pinnacle Multicare due to its close proximity of cases arising in New Rochelle. As a result, effective Friday March 13, 2020 we will be suspending visitation by family members/loved ones until further notice. This restriction is being enforced in order to safeguard our residents who are at a higher risk of being susceptible to infectious diseases. This is especially true for residents with critical conditions such as open airways (i.e. tracheostomies). Only on a case-by-case basis will structured visits be permitted. Please contact administration at 718-239-6523 for more information.
In the meantime, families and friends are encouraged to utilize alternate means of communication with residents, including telephone and electronic applications (e.g., Skype, WhatsApp, etc.). We will do our best to help facilitate these interactions as we navigate through these next few weeks. We apologize for any inconvenience these measures may impose. With your cooperation, we together can protect the health and lives of all our residents.
Best Regards,
Nitika Singh, MBA, LNHA, Administrator