First of all, I want to thank all of you for being so engaged with Beatitudes Campus, particularly at this time. To the families who care about their loved ones, the residents who have chosen the campus as their home and the staff who work even more closely together as a team to keep Beatitudes strong, I am appreciative of the trust you have given the campus. I want to be honest and transparent with you, writing about the good things, and the not-so good things in my weekly letters to you. We are calling these letters the “State of the Campus” letters, and we plan to write them on Tuesdays and Fridays. Of course, if something occurs that you should know about, we will let you know on other days, too.
Today is a “testing blitz” day at Beatitudes Campus. All of our staff – all 419 of them from every area of campus and across every shift – are getting tested for COVID-19. As I have said throughout this pandemic, testing is one of the major keys to tracking and containing the virus. The state of Arizona has struggled for months to obtain enough tests and to ramp up testing, and has made some progress, particularly in the last week. However, instead of waiting for the government to act on our behalf, we have decided to conduct our own testing blitz for staff, thanks to the generosity of donors to the Beatitudes Campus Foundation.
It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that two residents have succumbed to COVID-19 since the past weekend. One resident lived in Vermilion Cliffs Advanced Memory Neighborhood in the Health Care Center and the other lived in the Virginia G. Piper Early Memory Support Neighborhood also in the Health Care Center. Our hearts are saddened, as these two individuals brought a lot of light and love to the campus. We pray for their families as they grieve.
At the end of this letter, you can find our COVID-19 dashboard [wip on bcampus.org], which contains more detailed information about resident and staff cases of COVID-19. We currently have a total of 17 residents and 24 staff with COVID-19, and 25 have recovered. Two of our staff are in the hospital struggling with the disease. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to all our residents and staff as they navigate the disease.
We continue to fight this virus with all the tools and resources available. I echo the sentiments that Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said last week at his press conference: “Right now, Arizonans are safer at home. And when you're away from home, limit social gatherings, stay six feet from others, wash your hands and wear a mask.”
If you have any questions or comments, please email them to [email protected]. Please stay safe.
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