We have no new positive cases in the community at large.
The most recent positivity rate in Delaware County is 1.1%, which is a slight increase from the last 2 weeks. Pennsylvania is up slightly week over week to 1.2%. We continue to hold at 88.2% staff vaccinated as of week ending June 27th. Our staff percentage is the highest reported in both Delaware County and Chester County. There are now 4 total sites that are above 75% in Delco. They are now reporting resident vaccination and we are at 98.3%. We continue to provide onsite vaccination clinics, the next one being July 14th.
The increase in positivity rate is somewhat concerning in relation to the onset of the delta variant as the more prevalent virus. We have recently had some tense conversations with visitors related to mask wearing and our current protocols and let me be clear, these are non-negotiable. And if the conversation becomes less than cordial, we reserve the right to ask someone to leave the premises and also to bar the return of visitors. This is a last resort and I would hope that cooler heads would prevail and there is an understanding that our intention is to provide the safest possible environment for our residents, not inconvenience anyone intentionally. This is not a forum for debate. It is our resident’s home. Please respect that statement. Our most current protocols are posted prominently in and around the community and if there are questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
On to other topics, we had a visit from an organization named APIC, which is the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. A fancy name for clean freaks! The Pennsylvania Department of Health contracted with APIC to do onsite surveys and provide our staff with training. The survey took place last week and our surveyor was very impressed with the current infection control policies and protocols in place and gave us a few suggestions to improve upon our current systems. For those who do not know, we do have an infection preventionist on staff and also our Director of Nursing Kim has gone through the training as well for back up. The take away from the survey is that we are doing better than the other communities the surveyor had been to so far. I do appreciate the effort by PA Dept of Health to set this up(no other states have followed their lead) and I appreciate the efforts of our staff and management to take infection control seriously at all times. It is an ongoing process.
On that dirty note, please enjoy your weekend!
