Committed to Safety of our Residents, Team Members, and Families
Our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our residents, team members, and families. We recognize that while we’ve prohibited visitation over the last six months, our team members are the biggest variable in the lives of our residents. We have prioritized their safety so that we can keep our residents safe. We have done this by working diligently to provide all of the personal protective equipment they need to protect themselves from transmitting any symptoms to our residents.
When our team members enter the facility, they are first asked to sanitize their hands; then there is a station with surgical and/or N-95 masks for them to don. Once they have done that, they are then screened for any symptoms and their temperature is taken. If a team member has experienced any symptoms, or has a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees, they are not permitted to work in accordance with Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Ohio Department of Health (ODH) guidelines.
Since mid-April, we have had the ability to test team members and residents for COVID-19 using a nasal swab. Through our partnership with University of Cincinnati Medical Center, we are able to receive results in 24-48 hours. We use the information to determine if we need to quarantine or isolate our residents, and if we need to keep team members off of work following CDC guidelines.
Since July, our team members have been participating in bi-weekly testing. I’m proud to report that our positivity rate has been about 1%, and in almost all of the cases, the team member has been asymptomatic.
In July, we started visitation, and we’ve adopted a similar process for screening our families and we have spaced people out six feet apart and, in many cases, we’ve used a plexiglass screen to separate people.
We share this with you because we believe that our facilities are some of the safest places for our residents, team members, and families. We are proud of the job we have done managing our residents and team members throughout the first six months of COVID, and we expect to continue making every effort to maintain the highest level of infection control practices.
We invite you to complete the contact us form located on each facility web page if you’re interested in more information.
Thank you.
Chase M. Kohn
Chief Operating Officer
Gail, an independent living resident who moved in last July, during a critical time of trying to manage COVID-19, has said, “moving into an apartment at Western Hills Retirement Village saved my life!” She initially came from the hospital after being told she might not survive. The therapy team worked with her to build her strength; nonetheless, it was three months before she could get back on her feet. She moved into an apartment and is now feeling more active. She shared how happy she is that she stayed and has so many new friends and loving people around her. She’s even more amazed that she never developed the virus and attributes that to the entire team being so cautious.
Gail
Independent Living Resident
All locations are accepting short-term rehab patients, long-term care and Alzheimer’s care residents. Contact the location nearest you to find out how our team have been successfully discharging patients back home to a better quality of life.