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COVID19 Update

11-19-2021

Good morning everyone,

More updates on COVID19 but this time, we feel some good news, finally. Last week, CMS announced new resident visitation guidelines for nursing facilities. We did not publish anything before now because we had to get guidance from our local agencies on how this would be implemented in Nebraska. In summary, CMS is removing restrictions that were placed on visitation practices in March 2020 and returning to a more normal visitation process. Westfield will slowly move back into this more normal process, BUT we must continue to be cautious as the local positivity for COVID19 is high and we will do anything necessary to continue to keep COVID19 out of Westfield and specifically to keep residents safe from the virus. Here is a brief checklist for our families and visitors to keep in mind:

  • Visitors must screen upon entry. Please follow posted instructions to do so.
  • Visitor must wear mask at all times while in the building.
  • Hand sanitizer needs to be used by visitors.
  • Visitors are to not “wander” about the facility, they need to go directly to resident room, or directly to a visitation area.
  • Please respect social distancing at 6’.
  • There is no limit to the number of visitors at one time.
  • There is no time limit on visitations.
  • There are no age limits on visitation.
  • There are no limits to how often you visit during the week.
  • Common or shared visitation areas will be disinfected between visits.
  • If resident and guests are fully vaccinated, in room visits with no masks have been approved. 
  • Main entry doors will be locked/unlocked electronically at the following times, for security reasons:
  • Unlocked at 6:00AM – Locked at 7:00PM
  • Our reception/welcome desk is staffed from 8:00AM – 5:00PM Monday through Friday.
  • Weekend visitations are allowed.
  • There are no longer required “conference room” visits. All visits are able to be done in a residents room or other designated visitation area.
  • COVID19 vaccination is strongly encouraged for all residents and visitors.
  • There has been no formal changes with volunteers at this time.
  • All guidelines are subject to change at any time.
  • Facility reserves the right to refuse anyone for a visit or entry into Westfield, should they pose a risk to residents or staff, for any reason.

We are excited about these changes and know that you will all work with us to make this a successful transition. Please feel free to call me and ask questions or discuss things so that we can all learn together.

I am pleased to report that all of our COVID19 tests this week have been negative, both residents and staff. We will test again on Tuesday of next week and then re-evaluate necessary steps after that. We did administer all of the residents who were able and willing to receive the COVID19 booster vaccine yesterday and that percentage of booster vaccinations among residents is 89%, which is a great accomplishment. Thank you all for your support in making that happen. We continue to administer the boosters to staff today and into early next week.

Well, the Living Room is FINISHED! We are so excited for the new addition to Westfield and it is getting used all day long. What a great use of that space for residents to sit, visit, read and relax. Just across the room is a full library of books, magazine, puzzles, games, cards and more for residents to use. And, of course, we have the aviary close by. We look forward to hearing what others think and seeing how much residents can use the new living room. A special thank you goes out to families and loved ones who have donated funds to help make this space possible. Please visit our Newsroom for a few pictures of the project.

          https://westfieldqc.com/about-us/newsroom.html

What do we have to be thankful for this year? As we look at the coming Thanksgiving holiday next week, I am sure all of us ask ourselves that vary question and for those of us here at Westfield, we are SO thankful for those residents that we have the pleasure of serving. Their stories, their smiles, their energy, their humor…we are SO thankful! We are also SO thankful for those who serve residents. The staff at Westfield continue to come to work every day, given challenges, restrictions, rules…and they continue to serve. We are SO thankful! We are SO thankful for the wonderful families who support their loved ones who live here at Westfield and who support all that we do here, in so many ways. We are SO thankful! We are SO thankful for the community of Aurora! We receive so many well wishes, words of encouragement, letters, cards, gifts, and so much more from our church families, from groups around the community, the schools. We are SO thankful! So, what do we have to be thankful for this year…SO MANY THINGS!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Chris Young
Administrator