COVID-19 Updates

COVID-19 Visitor Restrictions and Resident Monitoring Measures

May 14, 2020 update

We are committed to being transparent with you and letting you know if we have any cases of COVID-19 in our community. We recently conducted universal testing on all of our residents and caregivers and are grateful to report everyone tested negative and that we do not have any cases in our facility.

We have a plan in place to continue testing asymptomatic residents/patients and caregivers on a regular basis. Proactively testing everyone in our facility helps us identify asymptomatic cases and isolate those individuals to prevent spreading. And, we will immediately test anyone who shows symptoms and anyone who has a known exposure to COVID-19.

We remain closed to visitors but exceptions will be made for people who are coming to visit a loved one at the end of life.

March 13, 2020 update

The COVID-19 situation is changing quickly and we have another important update to share in order to protect the safety of our residents, their families and our caregivers.

On March 13, 2020 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new recommendations for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties to further slow the spread of the virus in the community and especially to protect vulnerable older adults in long-term care facilities. Effective March 14 we are no longer accepting new admissions and only essential visitors may enter our facility. We will screen essential visitors for signs of illness or potential COVID-19 exposure before allowing them to come inside using the same screening process that’s been in place since March 10. Visitation exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis for people who are coming to visit a loved one at the end of life.

Please read this carefully so you understand how these new changes may impact you and your loved one(s).

Updated visitor restrictions:

  • Only essential visitors are allowed in our facility. Essential individuals include:
    • Our caregivers
    • Outside medical professionals (i.e. hospice caregivers, paramedics)
    • Vendors
    • Adult protective services staff
    • Licensing/Survey staff
    • Long Term Care Ombudsman
    • Friends or family members visiting during end-of-life stages
  • Visitors who are deemed essential must sign the visitor log and provide name, phone number, email address, name of person they are visiting, date, time in/out
  • Visitors must be over the age of 18 and must show identification; we will make exceptions for younger visitors in end-of-life situations
  • Visitors will continue to be screened for any current symptoms of illness or a fever, or if someone in their home is sick or has a fever
  • Visitors will continue to be screened for known exposure to confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
  • Visitors will continue to be screened for recent travel, including visits to any local facilities associated with known cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
  • Visitors who answer ‘yes’ to any of the screening questions or who are running a fever will be turned away. Exceptions will be made if the visitor is here to see or provide care for an individual at the end of life. Under those limited circumstances the visitor must:
    • Use appropriate personal protection equipment (gown, gloves and mask), contingent on supply
    • Limit their visit to the resident’s room
    • Limit surfaces touched
    • Follow proper hand hygiene

The CDC’s new recommendations are based on the urgency of the situation facing our community. We strongly encourage you to keep in touch with our residents by phone or video chat such as FaceTime, Skype or Zoom calls. Caregivers will help if your loved one needs some tech support to use these tools. It’s important our residents maintain social connections to friends and family during this difficult time.

As we shared in our last update, we continue daily monitoring our caregivers’ health and our residents’ health in accordance with the enhanced WA guidelines and the CDC’s recommendations issued on March 10. We are vigilant about watching for any signs of illness and especially for fevers and respiratory symptoms.

Your continued understanding and cooperation with the changing situation is greatly appreciated. We cannot stress it enough, all of these measures and precautions are focused on keeping everyone in our facility safe.

Don’t hesitate to reach out is you have questions or concerns that we haven’t already addressed.

March 11, 2020 update

We continue to closely monitor the spread of COVID-19 in our community and want to reiterate the safety of our residents, their families and our caregivers remains our top priority.

On March 10, Gov. Jay Inslee and the State Department of Health each announced new requirements for assisted living facilities to help contain the virus and reduce the risk of spread. We immediately implemented these requirements, in addition to the ones we proactively put in place last week and our existing infection control protocols.

Please read the new visitor restrictions and additional monitoring measures we’ve put into place to keep our community safe.

Updated visitor restrictions:

  • Unnecessary visits are strongly discouraged; in the event of an outbreak, no visitors will be allowed
  • Residents are allowed one visitor a day* and visit must take place in the individuals’ apartment (no visits allowed in resident gathering areas)
  • Visitors must be over the age of 18* and must show identification
  • All must sign the visitor log and provide name, phone number, email address, name of person they are visiting, date, time in/out
    • We will keep visitor logs for 30 days
  • Visitors will continue to be screened for any current symptoms of illness or a fever, or if someone in their home is sick or has a fever
  • Visitors will continue to be screened for known exposure to confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
  • Visitors will continue to be screened for recent travel, including visits to any local facilities associated with known cases of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
  • Visitors who answer ‘yes’ to any of the screening questions or who are running a fever will be turned away
    *Exceptions will be made in end-of-life situations

We’ve also stepped up the monitoring of our caregivers’ health and our residents’ health, in accordance with the new guidelines issued on March 10 and the CDC’s recommendations.

Caregiver monitoring and restrictions

  • All caregivers are screened at the start and end of shift for any symptoms of illness or a fever
  • If a caregiver is sick, they must immediately put on a face mask, leave the facility and quarantine themselves at home
  • We will prioritize sick caregivers for COVID-19 testing
  • We are keeping records of any other facilities where our caregivers may work

Resident monitoring and restrictions

  • Every resident will be monitored daily for symptoms of respiratory infection or a fever
  • If a resident has a fever and shows symptoms of a respiratory infection, they must remain in their apartment and enhanced infection control droplet precautions will be implemented until COVID-19 is ruled out
  • We will continue social distancing among residents, this includes staying 6 feet away from others
  • Large group events and activities are canceled
  • Large group dining is canceled and we’ve implemented interventions so smaller groups dine at a time and individuals are seated farther apart
  • Residents must perform hand hygiene and put on a mask (contingent on supply) when they leave their room

Our cleaning staff is vigilant about disinfecting surfaces to prevent the spread of germs. In addition to our routine cleaning procedures, we’re wiping down high touch areas such as doorknobs, elevator buttons, hand rails, remote controls, wheelchairs and bathrooms several times throughout the day.

We will keep you updated as the situation changes and we encourage you to visit the CDC’s and the DOH’s websites for the latest developments on COVID-19 in our community.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and for following these new guidelines to help us protect those who rely on us for care.

March 7, 2020 update

The health and safety of our residents and our caregivers is our top priority. Effective March 5, 2020, we are restricting unnecessary visits to Providence Heritage House at the Market until further notice. In addition, we are screening every person who comes to our facility for potential COVID-19 exposure by asking a series of questions. We’re asking if people have any symptoms of illness, if they’ve been potentially exposed or had known contact with an individual under investigation for or confirmed with COVID-19 infection, and their recent travel history. Anyone who answers ‘yes’ to the questions won’t be allowed in.

In addition to following our infection control protocols and procedures, we are vigilant about disinfecting our facility daily. Special emphasis is placed on sanitizing high touch areas in patient/resident rooms, common areas and restrooms. We have also implemented ‘social distancing’ in our facility to minimize excessive person-to-person contact around activities such as special events that might involve large groups.

We are closely monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation and will implement further safety precautions as needed to protect our residents, their loved ones and our caregivers.