COVID-19 Information

February 10, 2023

Dear Residents, Families, and Friends,

At this time, we are seeing a resurgence of COVID  at the St. Augustine Health Campus. Currently, this week, we have 10 residents and 15 staff members that have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Staff are quarantined at home and are following the CDC return to work procedures. Residents who have tested positive are quarantined in their rooms. We are testing and monitoring the rest of the house for signs and symptoms. Therefore, if you are not feeling well, we ask that you refrain from visiting at this time.

A reminder that all staff and visitors are required to always wear masks when inside the building. When visiting, please look for a “Stop Sign” before entering a Resident room. This will let you know of any special PPE that is required before entering.

Many of our activities are being held on resident floors to mitigate the spread of the virus between residents and between floors. We continue to test staff and residents and will watch for signs and symptoms.

Thank you for your understanding and assistance in keeping our residents healthy and happy! If you have any questions, please contact me at 216.634.7435.

Elayne Newcomb, LNHA

Administrator

January 13, 2023

Dear Residents, Families, and Friends,

Nationally we are still seeing an uptick in the flu, COVID and RSV. Our top priority is the health of all residents and staff of St. Augustine Health Campus.

After a long period of “normalcy,” we too are seeing a resurgence of COVID. Currently, this week, we have 11 residents and 6 staff members that have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Staff are quarantined at home and are following the CDC return to work procedures. Residents who have tested positive are quarantined in their rooms. We are testing and monitoring the rest of the house for signs and symptoms. Therefore, if you are not feeling well, we ask that you refrain from visiting at this time.

Please remember that all staff and visitors are required to always wear masks when inside the building. When visiting, please look for a “Stop Sign” before entering a Resident room. This will let you know of any special PPE that is required before entering.

If any resident would like to receive a COVID vaccine or booster, please contact the unit manager. Thank you for your understanding and assistance in keeping our residents healthy and happy!

Elayne Newcomb, LNHA

Administrator

December 19, 2022

Dear Residents, Families, and Friends of Towers Assisted Living,

With the holidays upon us, it is a special time to want to gather with family and friends. However, COVID and the flu are running rampant. 

At the Towers, within the past week, we have 15 residents who have tested positive for COVID-19. As per guidelines, all residents and staff are being tested. As of now, no staff members have tested positive. Residents who have tested positive are quarantined in their apartments and are not allowed any visitors. Although a few residents have mild symptoms, others have more severe cases.

Ensuring the health and wellness of our residents is always our top priority. We continue to work diligently to mitigate any spread of COVID-19 within our assisted living by continuing to follow all required CDC and ODH guidelines.

We have notified public health officials as required and want to make residents, families, and our dedicated staff aware of this situation and reassure everyone that we are on top of it.

At this time, for the safety of all residents and staff, we would encourage you to refrain from visiting. If you have plans to gather with loved ones over the holidays, we ask you to reconsider or that masks be worn and that you practice social distancing. Unfortunately, gatherings are still a major contributor to the spread of COVID-19.  

Please call me or Gail Francis, Director of Nursing at 216-634-7444 with any questions or concerns you may have.

Cathy DeMarco, Assistant Director

Gail Francis, Director of Nursing

St. Augustine Towers

Dear Residents, Families, and Friends,

I hope you are enjoying the end of summer and soon fall will be with us.

We are getting ready to give everyone the annual flu shot and have been informed that we
will also be getting the new Moderna-BioNTech booster. This booster is supposed to
cover different strains of Covid-19 and the literature states this might be the vaccine
that we now get annually. I am excited that we have a 95% and a higher rate of
residents getting both the flu and the Covid-19 boosters. We just had a staff member
test positive for Covid-19, and this staff member has had all the boosters. This just
tells us we must stay on top of all the vaccinations we are able to receive.

On another note, please do not provide your family member with any type of
personal hygiene wipes. These wipes are advertised as flushable and that is just not
true. One wipe has caused so much water damage, it takes the maintenance
department a week to several weeks to fix the damage. I appreciate your help with
this matter, toilet paper is the only thing allowed to be flushed down the toilets.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call me at 216-634-7462, this is an
effort to keep the residents happy and safe.

Thank you

Brigid Nolan
Director
St. Augustine Towers

Dear Families, Residents, and Staff,

We are getting ready to give the annual flu shot and have been informed that we will also be getting the new Moderna-BioNTech booster. This booster is supposed to cover different strains of Covid-19 and the literature states this might be the vaccine that we now get annually.

Staff and Residents (or their Resident Representative who give consent) will be able to receive the flu shot and/or the Covid vaccine/booster when eligible.

We currently have six residents on the third floor who have tested positive for COVID-19. Therefore, residents on 3 south and 3 east have been placed on precautions and have been asked to stay in their rooms until we can mitigate the spread of this contagious variant of the virus.

Visitors will be asked to follow the infection control guidance listed on the “stop signs” listed on the resident door. This may include wearing gowns when before entering a room. As is required for the protection of healthcare privacy of the resident, their resident representative has been notified.

With the release of this next booster, residents and staff will not be considered fully vaccinated unless they have received the booster when eligible. Therefore, we will continue to take extra precautions needed to protect the health and safety of all of our staff and residents.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 216.634.7435.

Elayne Newcomb, LNHA

Administrator