From: David Swartley, President/CEO
Date: December 11, 2020
RE: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update #33
I am writing to given an update on the latest information regarding COVID-19 cases at Moravian Manor Communities.
Residential Living cases remain at eight total cases, all on the Founders Campus. Two residents were hospitalized for reasons other than COVID; one resident has returned to our skilled nursing area while the other is being treated in the hospital for health issues beyond COVID-19.
As of Friday, December 11, we have had twenty residents test positive for COVID-19 in our Herrnhut neighborhood. Since my last update, three residents have died from COVID related illness. Currently, four other residents on Herrnhut are very ill from the COVID-19 virus.
This time of loss is a painful time for our families, residents, and staff. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members and staff as they grieve the loss of a loved one. Our Medical Director, Dr. Howse, and our clinical team continue to provide compassionate care for our residents who have contracted the COVID-19 virus.
In the past few days, we have had no additional residents test positive for COVID-19. Since Lancaster County’s positivity rate remains above ten percent, we continue with twice weekly testing for our staff and residents. This week, for our second round, we implemented Point of Care (POC) testing. POC testing gives us results almost immediately, and our first round has gone very well. Testing this week has yielded no additional positive tests; however, some tests from our first round of testing earlier in the week are yet to be resulted.
One concern at all health care facilities is the positivity rate of employees. We have had numerous employees test positive over the past several weeks. Any positive test or direct exposure to someone testing positive requires employees to self-quarantine for up to fourteen days (symptom-free) before returning to work. These quarantines create additional strain on the remaining staff who need to fill the open shifts. I am now one of those employees working from home due to COVID exposure. Employee absences put a heavy load on those employees still able to work.
Our hospitals are full of COVID + patients. This morning, Wellspan Ephrata had thirty-five COVID + patients, and Lancaster General’s COVID census was one-hundred and eight.
Our Medical Director keeps us apprised of the CDC’s latest recommendations and the PA Department of Health updates. Moravian Manor Communities continues to follow all infection control protocols stipulated by the PA Dept. of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for dealing with the new Coronavirus.
For those of you seeking additional information, continuous updates are available at the following websites:
- Pennsylvania Department of Health: www.health.pa.gov
- Center for Disease Control: www.cdc.gov
You can also email specific questions to:
- Dr. Lynn Swisher, NHA, Vice President of Health Services, lynns@moravianmanor.org
- Donna Gerofsky, RN, ICP, donnag@moravianmanor.org