April 23, 2020

Dear Families, Patients and Community:

We hope you are doing well and staying safe during these ever-changing times. I wanted to provide you with an update on several items of interest. We have been contacted by several news organizations this week, resulting in publicity surrounding a number of COVID-19 diagnoses in our Center and among employees.

COVID-19
As of today, Dulles Health & Rehab Center has had 65 patients and 19 employees who have tested positive for COVID-19. As of today, 41 patients remain in the Center continuing the process of recovery. We are in frequent communication with the local health department and our medical director for guidance in treating patients with COVID-19. We are excited to report that 7 of our patients have recovered from COVID-19 completely! Our employees who tested positive have either recovered or are in that process now. All were or are quarantined in accordance with federal and state guidelines until they are able to return to work.

Mitigation
We continue to screen and monitor all patients in the Center very closely. The staff are screened both before and after their shifts for temperature and respiratory symptoms. We send staff home if they do not pass the screening criteria. Staff are not permitted to return to work until they have satisfied CDC criteria for return to work. We are diligent in practicing social distancing within the Center and in encouraging staff to do the same in their personal lives. In fact, a part of our daily screening questions is confirmation that social distancing is being practiced by the individual.

We are also placing patients with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis in a designated area of the Center with staff who are dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients. We are so fortunate to have caring “heroes” serving patients, many of whom have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and returned to continue treating patients.

Testing
The Governor recently announced that in the Commonwealth of Virginia, testing of all new nursing home residents will be required. We are still waiting on those details, but in the meantime, the Fairfax County Health Department has asked that we temporarily cease admission of new patients. We do re-admit patients who have been sent to the hospital for acute treatment needs. The Fairfax County Health Department is closely directing the process of testing in the Center and is guiding us through admissions decisions.

PPE
You may have heard general news reports about the challenges of obtaining sufficient “personal protective equipment” or PPE. Our staff has been using “universal” face masks for several weeks now and are confident that our supply of surgical face masks is sufficient. Some administrative staff may choose not to wear face masks while in their office alone, but if out in any public Center area or a patient room, they are required to wear a face mask. We have full PPE available and in use throughout the Center. We have a process to maximize current supply of PPE in accordance with CDC guidelines.

Staff Training
We are continually working to educate and re-educate staff on proper PPE usage, social distancing and infection control procedures, information regarding COVID-19 and to cross train staff to create the most efficient staffing model should we experience more COVID-19 activity.

Physicians
We are still encouraging physicians and nurse practitioners to complete patient visits in person while making telemedicine visits possible should the need arise. For specialty visits that your loved one might ordinarily have had to travel outside the center to complete, we have the technology and ability to conduct that visit by telemedicine. This is working very well in the Center. Our medical director Dr. Jay Rana is also very engaged with us as we continue responding to COVID-19.

Visitation
We know that the continued restriction on in-person visitation is frustrating. As the weeks pass by, we understand the disappointment in not being able to get back to normal routines. But we are seeing the positive benefit of restricting visitation, and we are also seeing many effective and heart-touching video-visits occur every day. If you have not tried this type of visit, please reach out to our social services or activities department and we will provide assistance. Our practice in the Center has not allowed “window visits” due to privacy and safety concerns; but as special occasions arise, we may consider allowing a window visit with advance notice and scheduling. We will also continue to facilitate phone calls and other means of remote visitation. We also encourage you to write a letter or send a card; we have seen the delivery of mail is a true bright spot in a patient’s day. As Mother’s Day approaches, we are also brainstorming as to special ways we can help make that day special.

Communication
We know that communication is key to your peace of mind. We encourage you to check our website frequently. We also encourage you to make sure the Center has a current email address for you. We have been communicating frequently by email with patients and families, and we want to ensure that you continue to receive communications as quickly as possible.

Thank You
We want to thank the local community for their overwhelming support during the past few weeks and even in response to recent publicity. We have received many phone calls, cards, emails and letters of support. We also want to thank local businesses for donations of supplies and food. These positive expressions of support keep us motivated and remind us that we are making a positive impact on lives. We continue to encourage you to stay safe, practice social distancing and good hand hygiene as you are out in the community obtaining essential supplies.
As always please feel free to reach out to me directly with concerns or questions.

Sincerely,

Leslie Ruffner, LNHA Administrator

To see the official letter, please click here!