Part of any strategy to mitigate the spread of coronavirus is consistent adherence to infection control principles. Our staff is continuously educated through in-service sessions and has been diligent in following enhanced infection control protocols throughout the campus since the beginning of the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and prevention have outlined strict protocols, which, like most guidance during this pandemic, have changed for the better as we learn more about the coronavirus. To ensure that we are executing best practices, we voluntarily enlisted the help of an infection control expert to perform an in-person audit of our protocols. This is not required by any regulatory body, but we wanted to go above and beyond recommendations to ensure we had robust infection control measures. The expert came on Wednesday, july 29, and spent eight hours reviewing every floor in the Health care Center, Plaza View, Beatitudes Home Services and dining to ensure that we are in compliance with the guidance that we have been given. A formal written report will be produced, which I will share with you when we get it.
On Thursday, Beatitudes Campus did another mass testing of all Beatitudes Campus staff. As I have said in many letters, we feel that this is one of the most important things we can do to slow the spread of COVID-19. We will be getting the staff results starting this evening. We did receive the results of Tuesday's retesting of residents on the third and fourth floors in the Health Care Center. There were two positive asymptomatic residents and 26 negative results. We have moved the two residents from the fourth floor to our Isolation Unit on the third floor.
We do want to report another resident from Independent living (Plaza North) tested positive for COVID-19 and is also in our Isolation Unit in the Health Care Center. This resident had been in the hospital, transferred to a skilled nursing facility (not Beatitudes Campus), where she contracted COVID-19. This resident returned to the apartment on Tuesday and was notified by the other facility of her positive result on Wednesday. This resident did not have contact with any resident neighbors during that time. For Campus specifics, please refer to the dashboard at the end of this letter. Today, I want to close my letter reflecting on the inspiration of Congressman John Lewis, who was laid to rest on Thursday. So much can be said of this three-decade congressional representative and civil rights icon, who spent his life fighting injustices and helping build a nation and world society at peace with itself. He wrote in a New York Times op-ed, penned two days before his death, “In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.” He called upon all of us “to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe.” In a way, I think that our journey through this coronavirus pandemic is similar. All of us who are at Beatitudes Campus are answering our calling – to serve seniors who live here as well as those throughout the world and keeping them as safe as possible. We are making noise and advocating and standing up for the inequities that seniors face, particularly during this uncharted and unparalleled time. We hear the call of love, the call of service and the call to sacrifice for others while we battle this coronavirus pandemic. As John Lewis said, “Walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit and the power of everlasting love be your guide.”
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