Holiday Letter 2020
November 20, 2020
To Our Residents and Their Families:
First and foremost, we want to wish you a most blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! This year has been unprecedented in so many ways, but one thing that has remained the same is the enduring gratitude we have for each member of our Facility community. We appreciate your support over the course of 2020, and especially as we have worked to keep everyone as healthy and safe as possible through the COVID-19 experience.
We have shared with you the Guidance received from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and agree with their suggestion that the safest course of action this year is for residents to celebrate the holiday with us here; however, we understand that you are choosing to leave the Facility for Thanksgiving. Based on that decision, we want to provide you with the following important guidelines and recommendations for your time away from us:
- Limit close contact (maintain physical distancing of six feet or more), keep gatherings as small as possible, and use technology to engage with others remotely;
- Wear facemasks or cloth face covering at all times (including in cars, homes, restaurants, etc.);
- Limit contact with commonly touched surfaces or shared items;
- Keep safe around food and drinks. Avoid communal serving utensils, passing of food, potluck or buffet style food service, and instead opt for individually prepared plates by a single server;
- Perform hand hygiene often (e.g., wash hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer);
- Avoid large gatherings, crowded areas, and high-risk activities such as singing;
- For those attending a gathering, avoid contact with individuals outside of their household for 14 days prior to the gathering;
- Ask anyone who has signs or symptoms of COVID-19, or has been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19, to not attend the gathering;
- If possible, conduct gatherings outdoors. Indoor gatherings should have good ventilation, open windows and doors if possible;
- Verbally greet others instead of shaking hands or giving hugs. Think ahead about how you will manage to prevent physical interactions with loved ones of different ages such as young children; and
- Check local conditions and state requirements for precautions and restrictions, including positivity rates and quarantine requirements, before crossing state lines.
It is our collective responsibility to do what we can to stop the spread of COVID-19. While we would prefer that you stay in the Facility this Thanksgiving, we strongly encourage you to follow the above recommendations if you are committed to an off-property celebration. In addition, please know that you may be tested for COVID-19 and/or placed on transmission based precautions on your return depending on the amount of time you are away; whether you were exposed to COVID-19 while away; and whether you are showing symptoms when you come back to us.
We thank you for your commitment to infection prevention. Again, Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!
Warmly,
VPAC Leadership Team
