We are writing to you now in the midst of one of the most uncharted times in our lives. Never in the 55-year history of Beatitudes Campus have we faced a situation like this. Despite all our best efforts and preparation, the COVID-19 pandemic facing Arizona and the world found its way within the walls of our campus. We understand how pervasive the virus has become in Arizona, and particularly Maricopa County, and we are experiencing how swiftly and silently it spreads.
The residents we serve are beloved family members and part of the community and their health and well-being is entrusted to our team of staff and caregivers. Family members, our residents and our Beatitudes team are intertwined and make up the Beatitudes Family. We never lose sight of our sacred responsibility to protect and care for our residents.
Since the beginning, back in March, we worked under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Maricopa County of Public Health to take the necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus. In May we created an isolation unit in our health care center. We instituted a lockdown in all of our areas to slow the spread of someone outside of the campus bringing the virus in. We monitor our residents several times daily in our licensed areas (health care center and assisted living) for symptoms of COVID-19, and we screen all staff for temperatures and symptoms before they step foot on campus. We ramped up infection control procedures, we instituted a mandatory mask protocol for residents and staff and donned protective gear where appropriate to keep our residents and each other safe.
This morning we were informed that a resident who lives in Plaza South tested positive for COVID-19. This individual is now in quarantine, and the team is working on tracking the individuals who may have been potentially exposed. We will contact you if you have been exposed and we will take the necessary precautions. Fortunately, this individual was very diligent in keeping a log of people they were in contact with and a log of medical appointments, so our contact tracing process will be greatly simplified.
Our early efforts to stop the spread of the disease were working, but were hindered by limited access to testing here in Arizona. The state of Arizona finally tested residents and staff in our health care center, and we are waiting for the Maricopa County of Public Health to test all residents in our assisted living area. Recently, instead of waiting for testing to become available through the state of Arizona and/or Maricopa County, we proactively contracted with three private labs to begin testing on a wider scale. Thanks to private donations to the Beatitudes Campus Foundation, we have been able to test (and re-test) many team members so far. Next Tuesday, we are testing (or re-testing) 419 staff members, and plan to do continued testing on all our direct care staff. We also contracted with these labs to do testing and re-testing of our residents living in the health care center, which includes our memory support neighborhoods. We knew that testing would reveal more positive cases even before anyone exhibited symptoms, because we know from the CDC that up to 50 percent of the people who test positive for COVID-19 are asymptomatic or exhibit little to no symptoms. Across Beatitudes Campus, we remain relentless in our efforts to keep the virus from spreading within the campus.
During this testing blitz, the number of residents and staff who have tested positive confirms that Beatitudes Campus is not immune to the spread of the virus. So far, we have tested 72 residents in our licensed areas, and some within our independent living area have received COVID-19 tests. We know of 30 total positive results. Many individuals who have been tested have been asymptomatic or show very mild symptoms, and six have recovered.
In our testing with staff, we know of 37 positive results and two positive results with contracted health care workers. Again, many staff who had positive results have asymptomatic or show very mild symptoms. Others, however, were not so fortunate. We are pleased to say that many more than one-third of the individuals have recovered, also. You can find the information on our dashboard at the end of this letter.
It is with heartfelt sympathy that we share a total of six residents have passed away with COVID-19. The loss of our beloved residents is reflective of the severity of this disease. We offer our sincere condolences and lift our residents up in prayer. We share deeply in the grief the families are experiencing. We will honor these residents and celebrate their lives once this pandemic is gone.
We understand how incredibly difficult this crisis has been for our families. Prior to this pandemic, our staff and residents celebrated birthdays, holidays and other special times together. We remember times of shared joy and observances that we now must go without. Since the day that we locked down the campus, we have felt the deep void of our normal, everyday occurrences being absent. We are working tirelessly to create virtual experiences for all of our residents.
In spite of all the pain and worry that we all feel – residents, staff, families and community alike – please be assured that our staff continues to provide care and comfort to all of our residents. We are fighting this virus as best we can and your family members' safety and health remains our top priority. Although this virus has curtailed the daily rituals and celebrations of community that Beatitudes Campus is known for, we trust that we will make it through these difficult times together, with all of our efforts and sacrifices that we have made and will make. We don't have a crystal ball to predict when this will end, but we know it will happen. And when it does, we will be able to allow ourselves the time to remember, to grieve and to rejoice. We all are Beatitudes Strong!
Be well,
Michelle Just, President & ceo
Rev. David W. Ragan, Sr. VP of Resident Services
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