Exactly one year after the announced pandemic shutdowns, Moravian Manor Communities (MMC) jubilantly reopened its doors on Saturday, March 13 to visitors. “The sense of true joy was visibly seen and felt throughout our skilled nursing and assisted living neighborhoods over the weekend,” exclaimed David Swartley, President/CEO. “Despite the masks, it was unmistakable. There were a lot of emotions on display from our residents, their families, and staff. It was heartwarming to see a flow of friends and family through our doors once again!”
Nicole Michael, Director of Sales and Marketing, was on hand to help capture the moments to share with our community. “What a privilege to witness these emotional and long-awaited reunions. The joy in their eyes was priceless,” she expressed.
At the start of the pandemic, MMC closed its doors to the general public. During this time, a COVID task force was formed. This task force implemented a rigorous infection prevention program that kept many residents COVID-free since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, Moravian Manor Communities maintained one of the lowest positivity rates in Lancaster County. We also were recognized by the PA Department of Health Epidemiology for outstanding work in minimizing the spread of COVID-19. Because of the low positivity rate, MMC was able to permit, on occasion, window visits, modified in-person visits, as well as compassionate care visitation. Now that a vast majority of our population has been fully vaccinated, and with the newly released guidelines by CMS, our doors are open again to the public.
Family and friends are welcome to visit Monday through Friday, 7:30 am – 7:30 pm and on weekends from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. All visitors must check in at the main Lemon Street entrance to be screened, and are strongly encouraged to follow our visitation guidelines.
NOTE: Photos were taken during the “initial greeting” when visitors first arrived. For the remainder of the visits, residents and family members continued to wear their masks and follow social distancing guidelines.
Susie (resident) and her daughter-in-law Helen share a special moment
Cynthia (resident) and son Rich are overjoyed to see each other in person finally
Donna (resident) had a visit from good friends, the Hoods
Joann (resident) with her son Steve, visiting in her room
Lois (resident) gets a quick hug from her granddaughter Amy before socially distancing while visiting in person for the first time in a year
Moravian Manor Communities is excited to welcome back visitors for the first time since the start of the pandemic! Our visitation hours are as follows:
Monday – Friday | 7:30 am – 7:30 pm
Saturday & Sunday | 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
To keep our community safe, we strongly encourage you to adhere to the following visitation guidelines:
All visitors must enter through the main entrance. Visitors will be screened and provided a visitation sticker.
Visits must occur in the resident room or outside, weather permitting. Visitors may not walk around the hallways or congregate in common areas.
We strongly encourage no more than two visitors at a time.
We strongly encourage a 2-hour time limit on visits.
We strongly encourage no visits during meal times.
Residents may not leave the campus.
Visitors may not have snacks, food, or drinks during visits.
All visitors must wear a surgical mask covering the nose and mouth. Moravian Manor Communities will provide these masks for you.
Eye protection is optional.
We strongly encourage visitors to keep the room door open. We will be monitoring compliance with the Core Principles for visitation. Per CDC guidance, “Visitors who are unable to adhere to the Core Principles of COVID 19 infection prevention should not be permitted to visit or should be asked to leave.”
We thank you for your assistance in this matter and look forward to seeing everyone back on campus soon!
According to the Department of Human Services, our licensing agency for Personal Care and Assisted Living Communities, we are required to develop a Reopening Implementation Plan. This guidance was issued on June 26, 2020.
The Reopening Plan is available here. For any additional questions or information regarding our PPE plan, please contact me directly at susanb@moravianmanor.org
I am writing to update you on the latest information regarding COVID-19 cases at Moravian Manor Communities (MMC) and update you on the vaccine administration.
Lancaster County’s “positivity rate” has decreased over the past month; however, this week, it plateaued at 6.1%. We anticipate that CMS data released on Monday, March 15, will enable us to reduce our mandated testing to one time per week.
Currently, we have two residents (Warwick Woodlands) who are COVID positive and no staff that have tested positive.
All of our residents who desire to be vaccinated have received at least one shot. MMC will hold the second clinic for Warwick Woodland residents on Friday, March 26, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Words cannot express my relief that our residents are all at least partially vaccinated. The data from the vaccine results continues to be astounding. Very few folks get sick after receiving the vaccine. A successful vaccine program, along with our lovely spring weather, is a reason for hope!
Another positive development this week is the update from CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services). They have opened up all care areas for visitation with few restrictions. Moravian Manor Communities plans to open up on Saturday, March 13, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for visitation in our skilled, assisted living, and personal care areas.
This announcement came late in the week has created a flurry of activity for our team. Being in lockdown most of the year, we desire to be as safe as possible with the reopening. I have attached some guidelines that our team developed late this afternoon.
For those of you seeking additional information, continuous updates are available at the following websites:
Please reference the Core Principles below as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s expectations and best practices. Our licensing agencies mandate us to follow these Core Principles.
Best Practices & Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention
We will screen all visitors for symptoms of COVID-19. MMC will deny entry to anyone with signs or symptoms or those who have had close contact with someone with a COVID-19 infection in the last 14 days.
Hand hygiene
Face covering or mask
Social distancing at least six feet between persons
Cleaning and disinfecting high-frequency touched surfaces in the facility often, and designated visitation areas after each visit
Appropriate staff use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Effective cohorting of residents (e.g., separate areas dedicated to COVID-19 care)
Guidelines for Visitation
The hours of visitation will be Monday through Friday 7:30 am – 7:30 pm & Saturday and Sunday 8:30 am – 4:30 pm.
All visitors must enter through the main entrance. Visitors will be screened and provided a visitation sticker.
Visits must occur in the resident room or outside, weather permitting. Visitors may not walk around the hallways or congregate in common areas.
We strongly encourage no more than two visitors at a time.
We strongly encourage a 2-hour time limit on visits.
We strongly encourage no visits during meal times.
Residents may not leave the campus.
Visitors may not have snacks, food, or drinks during visits.
All visitors must wear a surgical mask covering the nose and mouth. Moravian Manor Communities will provide these masks for you.
Eye protection is optional.
We strongly encourage visitors to keep the room door open. We will be monitoring compliance with the Core Principles for visitation. Per CDC guidance, ” Visitors who are unable to adhere to the Core Principles of COVID 19 infection prevention should not be permitted to visit or should be asked to leave.”
When a new case of COVID-19 among residents or staff is identified, a facility should immediately begin outbreak testing and suspend all visitation (except that required under federal disability rights law) until at least one round of facility-wide testing is completed.
Families may now bring in items when they visit. There is no need to drop off items in the vestibule.
I am writing to update you on the latest information regarding COVID-19 cases at Moravian Manor Communities (MMC) and update you on the vaccine administration.
Lancaster County’s “positivity rate” continues to decrease. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) positivity rate for Lancaster County is 9.7%. However, MMC is required to use the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data. Their current rate for Lancaster County is 10.7%. Therefore, MMC continues to test all employees two times per week. Our testing for the week of February 22 yielded one employee has tested positive (the second set of tests has not yet been resulted). This employee and four others (due to possible exposure) are self-quarantining at home. Our employees either are asymptomatic or dealing with mild symptoms.
Currently, six residential living residents are COVID-19 positive. All six residents reside at the Warwick Woodlands campus. Three of those residents have moved to our skilled nursing area for further monitoring and assistance.
On Tuesday, February 23, MMC will hold the second clinic for personal care and residential living residents on the Founders Campus. MMC completed our third clinic for employees and residents in our care areas. These clinics are all provided through the state contract with CVS. Lancaster General Health supports the long-term care community by setting up additional opportunities for our employees who took the “wait and see” approach to the vaccine. We are grateful they are providing this service as we strive to get a higher percentage of our employees vaccinated. We have currently vaccinated 60% of our employees (this percentage excludes occasional staff and minors). A number of our employees experienced symptoms following the second vaccine. Typically, these symptoms (flu-like) are considered to be expected side effect that resolve within twenty-four hours.
MMC and Phoebe Pharmacy have scheduled a clinic on Friday, February 26. They are securing the vaccines through the Federal Government, and it will be the Moderna vaccine. I want to stress that this is the plan as of today. There is currently a “mad rush” to secure the vaccine allotments. I know of several facilities where the pharmacies could not deliver the “promised” doses in the initial timeframe. At this point, we are optimistic that the schedule will be as advertised.
For those of you seeking additional information, continuous updates are available at the following websites:
