Dear Village at Belmar Community,
We are writing to inform you that we received confirmation at approximately 2:00 pm this afternoon that one of our residents in Assisted Living at Village at Belmar has tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19). At this time the resident is resting comfortably in their apartment, has no symptoms and you can feel confident knowing they are receiving the very best oversight and care. We are taking all appropriate steps and known best practices to protect the rest of our residents and associates.
We know you’ll join us in keeping this new resident, the family and loved ones in our thoughts.
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our residents, families and associates. While we understand this situation may be concerning, we have prepared for such an event and are taking every precaution to protect our community from the spread of the coronavirus.
We have been in close communication with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jefferson County Health Department and will follow their direction and protocols, as well as those of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Governor’s office and our Medical Consultant, Dr. Gagandeep Singh.
While a full investigation is underway, we can share the following details:
The resident recently moved into our community and per our new resident protocol, had a negative COVID-19 test prior to move-in, was put into a fourteen day isolation in their apartment where staff used full PPE during their care. The new resident had their second test yesterday per our protocol which would have been the end of their fourteen day isolation period. The results came back today and were positive for COVID-19 although the resident has been and remains asymptomatic.
Ascent’s Home Office Director of Clinical Services immediately came to the community to work with our Executive Director and team to ensure all protocols were put into place. This resident’s family has been notified and they will continue to receive quality care, meals and necessary services in their apartment by staff wearing protective equipment, and they will remain isolated from the general population until the quarantine is lifted.
We have begun a comprehensive contact tracing process to identify every associate who has come into contact with the positive coronavirus resident for the prior 10 days which is our contact tracing protocol. We utilized interviews with associates, care plan documentation and video surveillance from our security system to identify the population requiring a test. We have identified 15 individuals through contact tracing who will require testing. There are approximately 35 additional staff members who have requested testing, which we will accommodate. Those individuals will be tested today and tomorrow, and their samples will be sent to the laboratory where we should receive results by the end of the day Friday.
We have issued a memo to all residents in Assisted Living this evening notifying them that effective today we will no longer allow residents to travel freely throughout the community while maintaining social distancing, as has been allowed since mid-March. Resident travel throughout the community will now only be allowed if the resident is escorted by a Village at Belmar associate and is wearing a mask. Window Visits will continue under the previously established guidelines, but will now require associate escort and for the resident to wear a mask to and from the visit.
Though the coronavirus pandemic presents unprecedented challenges, our team is well-versed in containment procedures and best practices in these situations. Every year we are faced with outbreaks such as the norovirus and influenza and are skilled at managing those to ensure the health and well-being of our community members.
We appreciate this may be a difficult and uncertain time for you. We will be updating you on this situation as additional pertinent information comes available, and we will continue to work diligently to keep the rest of our community safe and healthy.
If you have any further questions, please reach out to Village at Belmar’s Executive Director, Michael Ruback.
Sincerely,
Tom and Susie Finley – Founder and Principal
