Beatitudes Community

From the President & CEO | July 17

I believe we have gotten a little bit of encouragement this about the pandemic in Arizona. It's not time to celebrate, and our work to mitigate the spread is far from over, but it looks like the cases in our state are moderating and the stress on our hospitals is easing a bit. Testing has ramped up, and the state of Arizona has committed to testing 60,000 Arizonans at its Testing Surge sites. This is encouraging, even though new COVID-19 cases are increasing at a faster rate than testing. Arizona still has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 cases per capita in the country.
As mentioned in my last letter, we tested all employees at the campus with the PCR (viral nasal swab) COVID-19 test. It was quite the scene in the Life Center throughout the day, but we accomplished it all. We will be getting results starting on the weekend. I want to thank all the donors to the for subsidizing the cost of the testing and making this happen. As I have said before, we decided to pay the contracted lab directly in order to get results sooner than the 10-14 days that local labs are taking for results. The lab that we contracted sends the swabs to New York in order to get quicker results. With 40 percent of people infected with COVID-19 being asymptomatic and the chance of transmission from people with no symptoms is 75 percent, we felt that it was crucial to get testing and results done as quickly as possible.
We also received encouraging news from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The federal government will be supplying nursing homes with a new and rapid point-of-care testing system, which is 85-90% accurate. The plan is to supply testing instruments and tests to all nursing homes in the country, beginning with 2,000 going out as early as next week to nursing homes in current “hot spots” and a “slow roll-out” taking place over the following weeks/months. Arizona is considered a hot spot by Center for and Medicaid Services, so hopefully Beatitudes Campus will see the system soon. When the government-provided supplied tests run out, nursing homes will be able to purchase supplies directly from the manufacturer. We will keep you updated on the tests. Another benefit of this testing system is that it can also test for the flu.
While waiting for information on the HHS testing, for at least the next month, we will be administering weekly PCR (viral nasal swab) COVID-19 tests to all staff who work in the Health Care Center and Plaza View, as well as staff from Beatitudes at Home, , Security Department and Transportation Department. All other staff across the campus will be tested bi-weekly. We absolutely know that testing is the key to preventing the spread of the coronavirus.
We report that a resident in Independent Living has tested positive for COVID-19. This resident lives in Central Park North and will be home quarantining. We did welcome some staff who have recovered and have returned to work. And thankfully, several residents who were in the COVID Isolation Unit have returned back to their rooms. Sadly, we lost another beloved resident due to COVID-19. This resident made such an on our staff, and our hearts and prayers for healing are extended to the family.
As of this morning, we currently have 19 active COVID-19 cases on campus – 6 residents and 13 staff. Thankfully, 46 individuals have recovered – 16 residents and 30 staff. We have lost 9 residents to COVID-19 and no staff. Our hearts prayers go out to the families and the individuals for healing and peace in this uncertain time.
so much for trusting us during the coronavirus pandemic. We are working hard to ensure our entire community of residents, families and staff are safe. We are Beatitudes Strong! Please reach out to [email protected] for any comments or concerns.
Please wear a mask, wash your hands, and don't gather in crowds. Stay safe!

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Author Info: Michelle Just
Michelle Just is the President & CEO of Beatitudes Campus, a team member since August 2000.

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