Dear Residents, Families and Employees:
The COVID transmission rate in Bucks County remains high and the 7-day metric for positivity was flat week over week. As of today, 10.7%. On late Friday, we found out that an Independent Living Resident was positive for COVID. In the last 24-hours we have 3 more confirmed positive cases (1) Personal Care Resident and (2) employee cases in Independent Living and Personal Care. We did contact tracing for the IL resident and have offered to test anyone who was exposed. For the PC resident and 2 employees, we are still in the process of our contact tracing. However, we have made the decision to offer testing to all Personal Care employees and residents. The testing is done no sooner that 2 days from exposure, and then again 5 – 7 days from exposure.
The protocol for employees and residents who are fully vaccinated and have been exposed to someone who is positive with COVID-19 (close contact within 6 feet for at least a cumulative total of 15 minutes) are:
- You may continue your normal activities if you do not have symptoms, follow all infection control protocols, including wearing your mask.
- All our team members are fully vaccinated.
- For various reasons, there are some residents who are not vaccinated. For anyone who is not fully vaccinated and has been exposed (as defined above) to someone who is COVID-19 positive, a strict 14-day quarantine must be adhered to.
- Anyone who develops any single symptom or symptoms, regardless of vaccination status, must quarantine. For residents, you MUST quarantine in their room or apartment. For employees, you cannot report to work. In all cases, medical attention with your healthcare provider must occur.
- Visitors who have a positive viral test for COVID-19, symptoms of COVID-19, or meet the current criteria for quarantine should not enter the facility.
COVID-19 affects different people in different ways. Most infected people will develop mild to moderate illness and recover without hospitalization. The CDC does not list different symptoms for the Delta or Omicron variant or others. The symptoms are:
| Most Common Symptoms | Less Common | Serious Symptoms – should seek immediate medical treatment |
| Fever or Chills | Aches & Pains | Difficulty Breathing |
| Dry Cough | Sore Throat | Shortness of Breath |
| Tiredness/Fatigue | Diarrhea | Chest Pain or pressure |
| Congestion and/or Runny Nose | Headache | Loss of speech or movement |
| Loss of Taste or smell | ||
| Nausea or vomiting | ||
| A rash on skin, discoloration of fingers and toes |
On average it takes 5–6 days from when someone is infected with the virus for symptoms to show, however it can take up to 14 days.
You have most likely seen on the news; the Omicron variant is in almost every state across the U.S. According to the CDC, “The Omicron variant likely will spread more easily than the original SARS- CoV-2 virus and how easily Omicron spreads compared to Delta remains unknown. CDC expects that anyone with Omicron infection can spread the virus to others, even if they are vaccinated or don’t have
symptoms”. As a reminder, everyone in the community is expected to wear a cloth face covering or face mask that covers your nose and mouth while in the facility. We also ask that residents keep their face covering or mask on during visits with family, and when an employee must enter the room/apartment. It has been quite a long time since we have experienced a COVID-19 surge like this. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, we are implementing the following:
- As of dinner tonight, we are closing the Bistro and Personal Care Dining Room. Our goal is to get through the 1st round of testing so we can determine if we will be able to have the restaurant open for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day reservations and reopen the PC Dining Room.
- Today, the Dining team started making calls to IL residents to get dinner orders for tonight. For the next few days, please:
- Independent Living Residents
- Call 215.895.1178 to place your dinner order. If no one answers, please leave your order on the recording. We need all dinner orders 24 hours in advance, for example have your dinner order for Thursday called in by Wednesday 2pm. Everyone should have already received the weeks menu in their inhouse mailbox.
- Dinners will be delivered to the tables on your floor by the elevators. Time frame is 4pm- 5:15pm.
- If you would like lunch, the bistro will be open from 12pm-1pm for takeout only. No seating will be available. It will run just like Sunday nights, deli sandwiches available with fruit and cookies for a flat rate.
- Personal Care Residents
- Breakfast trays will be delivered between 8am-9am
- Lunch trays will be delivered between 12pm – 1pm
- Dinner trays will be delivered between 4:30pm-5:30pm
- For us to be able to maintain the delivery times, all orders must be handed in to the nursing station or dining room 24 hours in advance. All menus will be put on the doors in advance so there is time to fill out the menus.
- I will provide an update regarding Dining on Thursday, December 23rd.
- We have cancelled “Singing Seniors”, which also means cancelling the upcoming concert in early January. Singing is an activity that increases the spread of COVID-19 more rapidly.
- Other programming will continue with seating 6’ apart. This means that for programs in Heritage Hall, the capacity is reduced.
- Families should not take your loved ones that reside in the Health Center residents into any part of Independent Living, which also includes the 9th floor.
- As a reminder, all visitors, families, and employees MUST enter either through the Main Entrance or the Health Center Entrance, NO OTHER DOORS. Every person visiting must go through the COVID-19 screening process without exception. Also, Monday through Friday from
4:30 p.m. – on, and all weekends, visitors for the Health Center must enter through the Main Entrance for Independent Living & Personal Care.
I thought it would be very helpful to review the CDC guidelines for face coverings and masks. (This excludes employee requirements when caring for a resident with an active COVID-19 case)
| Type of Mask | Do Wear | Don’t |
| Cloth Masks | A mask with a proper fit over your nose and mouth to prevent leaks | Wear a mask with gaps around the sides of the face or nose |
| Multiple layers of tightly woven, breathable fabric | Has exhalation valves, vents, or other openings. | |
| Has a nose wire | A mask with a single- layer fabric, or those made of thin fabric that do not block light | |
| Fabric that blocks light when held up to a bright light source | ||
| Disposable Face Masks (sometimes referred to as surgical masks, or medical procedure masks) | Wear a mask with a proper fit over your nose and mouth to prevent leaks | Gaps around the sides of the face or nose |
| Multiple lays of non-woven material | Wet or dirty material | |
| Has a nose wire | ||
| Extra Protection | Wear two masks (a disposable mask underneath AND a cloth mask on top) | |
| Combine either a cloth mask or disposable mask with a fitter or brace | ||
| Knot and tuck ear loops of a 3-ply mask where they join the edge of the masks. | ||
| For disposable masks, fold and tuck the unneeded material under the edges (see the following you tube video https://youtu.be/GzTAZDsNBe0external icon). | ||
| Use masks that attach behind the neck and head with either elastic bands or ties (instead of ear loops) | ||
| Gaiter Face Coverings | Wear a gaiter with two layers or fold it to make two layers. | |
| Facial Hair | Certain types of facial hair, like beards, can make mask fitting difficult. To have a better fit, people with beards may consider shaving their beards or trim it close to the face. | |
| Or wear on disposable mask underneath a cloth mask. The second mask should push the edges of the inner mask against the face and beard. |
As a reminder, for visitors to the Health Center, visits may be conducted in residents’ rooms, with the following exceptions:
- If one resident is not fully vaccinated and the other resident is fully vaccinated, visits may not take place in the room.
- If one resident is immunocompromised, regardless of the vaccination status.
Lastly, for any resident or employee who did not get the COVID-19 booster, we can provide it. I would need for you to inform the front desk of your interest. The booster is another added layer of protection to try to mitigate serious illness because of the COVID-19 virus. For any questions, you may contact me at ldukert@wesleyenhancedliving.org or 267-895-1132. Internally, my extension is 502.
Happy Holiday Season – Lynne Dukert, Executive Director
