Brunswick At Longstown COVID Information

The second week of outbreak testing has been completed as of this past weekend.  There were no new positive employee or resident results.  We have resumed communal dining, group activities, and visitation as previous.    Everyone must continue to screen in and out of the building and no one is permitted inside if presenting with symptoms.  Staff are required to continue wearing eye protection and surgical masks throughout their shifts when working.   The county positivity rate increased from 10.2% last week to 11.1% this week, meaning, under current Department of Human Services guidance, we are now required to test all unvaccinated staff weekly.  We will continue routine weekly testing of unvaccinated employees in accordance with the guidance beginning this Friday. For your information; CMS issued new guidance to nursing home providers today regarding outbreak, high-exposure, and routine testing requirements.  The new guidance now makes frequency of routine testing of unvaccinated cont

 Weekly testing was completed for all residents and employees.  We are pleased to report that there are no new positive test results this week.  Today is day seven of outbreak testing.  As I mentioned previously, we must go 14-days with no positive cases.  We will be testing all residents and employees, regardless of vaccination status, again next Friday and Saturday to complete outbreak testing.  Additionally, the York County positivity rate has increased to 10.2% putting us in a high risk area.  This means that we will now begin testing all unvaccinated employees weekly following next week's outbreak testing.   It is our  hope that there will be no new positive test results next week so that we may resume normal visitation, group activities and communal dining.  For now, there will be no change as all residents remain in a Yellow Zone until the 14th day with no new positive employee or resident test results. I will provide an update after next week's testing. We sincerely app

We learned late last evening that an employee was exposed to COVID-19 by a positive family member living in the home.  The employee last worked on Thursday.   Testing was conducted on all residents and employees today. During testing, we did identify one positive employee.  All residents have tested negative.  Because of the one positive test result, the building is considered to be in "outbreak status".  Therefore, we must suspsend communal dining, group activities and visitation until we complete 14-days of testing with no new positive test results.  Outdoor visitation is still available as an option, weather permitting.  Window visits will be scheduled for anyone who is interested. We ask that you contact the administrator or activities in advance to schedule visits.  Staff have been calling families to provide an update. Sharon Eyster, MA, ACBSW, CNHA, FACHCA Director of Operations 

 While we have seen the county positivity rates rising with increased number of cases across the state and country, we are fortunate to say that we continue to have no positive employee or resident cases of COVID-19 at the Brunswick.  The York County positivity rate is 9.3% this week. Because we are in a medium risk area (greater than 5%), staff must continue to wear masks and eye protection throughout the building for the protection of the residents.   Since the county positivity rate remains under 10%, we will continue with monthly testing of unvaccinated employees.  Our next testing day is scheduled on Monday, August 30, 2021.   I will continue to keep you updated on our COVID status and any changes here.  As always, please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns.  Have a nice weekend! Sharon Eyster, MA, ACBSW, CNHA, FACHCA Director of Operations, Wilmac Corporation

I wanted to let you know know that the York County COVID-19 county positivity rate has been on the rise the last several weeks.  The county positivity rate this week is 7.1%.  We are currently testing unvaccinated staff monthly per DHS guidance.  Our staff have been wearing eye protection since the positivity rate went up to 5%.  If the positivity rate rises to 10%, we will begin testing weekly.  We have been reminding our staff to take precautions when out in the community to protect the residents.  Additionally, we have been re-educating staff on the importance of infection prevention such as proper mask wearing and hand hygiene.  As a reminder, if you are not feeling well, we ask that you not visit at this time. We are screening every individual who comes to the building. Many people have seasonal allergies and often assume symptoms are related to that.  We cannot assume that signs and symptoms are seasonal allergies.  Anyone who presents with signs and symptoms (fever, respiratory

 “The summer night is like a perfection of thought.” – Wallace Stevens  With the positivity rate in York County still below 5%, we are still conducting monthly COVID testing for employees who have not received the COVID vaccine. Masks are still mandatory for staff and visitors but not for residents. If anyone is interested in receiving either the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, please see Ashley Creek, Administrator.   The July raffle basket, Beach Basket was a success! We will be continuing this monthly raffle basket to grow the Employee Appreciation Fund to work towards getting every employee a fleece jacket. July’s basket was donated by the activities department, look for pictures on our social media. Our next fundraiser will be in August, subs and pretzel sandwiches! July treated the employees with sugar cookies, a Hawaiian shirt day, a mac and cheese cookout (look for pictures on Facebook and Instagram!), lollipop day, and a special luncheon for all employees!