Update From Administrator – August 7, 2020
I am sorry this is so late on Friday but this week has been a whirlwind, no pun intended, kind of week.
Sunday
So much as happened in a short week. Let me start with the most important information first. With the advent of shutting down our visitation process on Sunday we were directed to test all of our employees and residents on the Monday. The swabs were sent to the state lab for a quicker turn around. Almost all came in by yesterday and there are still two out there they are tracking down but except for the one employee who originally tested positive and starting us off on this cycle, no one has a test result that is positive. This is great news. One testing cycle done a second one to take place.
Monday
The state directed us today to conduct a second round of testing on all residents and employees this coming Monday or Tuesday. It will depend on us getting those last 2 results. Our fingers are crossed for good results. Everyone is doing well with the swabbing. Our residents are so patient and accept this testing now easier because they know the process. They are quite the troopers. The staff are very accustomed to the process as we test every single week.
I appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding with this process. Again it is all intended to protect our residents and catch something quickly. The Department of Health anticipate that they kind of thing will take place all over the state as nursing centers test and get back a positive result. Until a vaccine is in the pipeline we must keep masking and testing.
Tuesday
Some changes have taken place in our organization this week as well.
We are happy to announce that Christa Coccia the Assistant Director of Nursing has been promoted to the Director of Nursing position. Kim Woodruff the last DNS has taken over the Orchard View Manor center and will be taking Brenda Fontaine with her as the Infection Control Nurse for that center.
The change has opened opportunities for several nursing personnel in our center. Nick Peret RN has been promoted from the Nursing Supervisor post into the Assistant Director of Nursing position and Heather Rickett the RN on the 2nd floor is now our Infection Control Nurse. Congratulations to those dedicated nurses who stepped forward to into this advancement and to carry on our quality of care initiatives.
Secondarily a brand new air conditioner was installed on Tuesday. The company brought in a team and a crane to remove the huge unit out back an install a huge A/C. That was a wonderful addition to our center and I expect this will keep our center nice and cool for the next 20 to 25 year.
Wednesday
Following the windy storm this week our company headquarters located in Farmington CT is in the middle of a disaster zone. Connecticut was hit hard but the storm because the storm headed in land rather than coastal. That has impacted some of our systems but we are managing fine.
For us in Rhode Island, many power lines down have effected everyone in various communities of our state. Many were out of electricity depending upon their location. We lucked out at Oakland Grove and had no issues during or after the storm. As a matter of fact we were able to hold a Open Air job fair out front. That resulted in us hiring a new full time nurse for our center.
Thursday
Yesterday we experienced a power failure at our center because a local transformer somewhere in the neighborhood went out of service. Needless to say our generator kicked in and staff had to implement our emergency procedures insuring vital equipment to the generator supplied outlets. That put a few of our computers into a fritz, shut down non-emergency equipment and kept myself, the new DNS and Maintenance to hang out to make sure all was ok. By 12:30 am all was back to normal.
Friday
Nothing substantial has happened but we are all cleaning out desks and offices with the intension of relocating the Director of Social Services Catie back out to the front lobby. The new DNS Catie will be located in the Nursing department suite just beyond the back of the receptionist desk. Dina the second social worker is now located on the 4th floor since she works primarily with all 4th floor patients coming from the hospital, discharging back to home or transferring back to either 3rd or 2nd floor following a hospital stay. Having an office up on the 4th floor makes Dina a lot more accessible to those patients who need to speak with her.
It is our hope that the weekend be peaceful for everyone. It has been a long eventful week but we feel great about the various accomplishments and positive about our new team. We will update you once we get the go ahead regarding visitation appointments
Meanwhile stay healthy, wear your mask, social distance and God Bless,
Susan LaNinfa