COVID-19 Alert

Respiratory illnesses remain very prevalent in our area. We have been able to find pharmacy providers to do COVID and RSV vaccine clinics. We will be having the RSV vaccine clinic on 2/7/24 and the COVID vaccine clinic will be on 2/28/24. Residents that have consents on file for the vaccines will receive them on those dates. Staying up to date on all vaccines in one of the most effective ways to help prevent serious illness. If you have questions regarding the vaccines, please call and speak with the Infection Preventionist at our facility.

We are in the process of obtaining consents or declinations for the RSV Vaccine. Please call the facility at 337-234-7331 concerning your decision. We must have a response for every resident, please call even if you are declining. You may ask for Theresa Portier or Tabitha Hornsby between 8:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Thursday and Friday until 12pm. Thank you for your cooperation.

We have had two employees test positive for COVID.  We are starting outbreak testing twice a week for all employees and residents.  Flu, RSV, and COVID are on the rise in the community.  Please do not visit if you are ill even if symptoms are mild.  Masking is required for all employees and visitors.  Residents are encouraged to wear masks when they come out of their rooms.

We currently have 4 residents that tested positive for the flu and two that tested positive for RSV.  All residents that test positive are placed in droplet precautions and restricted to their room for 7 days.  We have alerted the Office of Public Health and are working with their epidemiologist to track cases.  Nursing staff are monitoring all residents and anyone that develops symptoms will be tested.  We are masking for all employees and visitors, and residents are encouraged to wear a mask when out of their rooms.  Influenza is on the rise in the community, so please do not visit if you have any symptoms of respiratory illness regardless of severity.  

We currently have 2 employees tested positive for COVID. Both are excluded from work until the meet the CDC guidelines to return to work. All residents were tested yesterday and were negative. All employees and residents will continue to test twice a week at this time.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID.  We are implementing outbreak testing and will be testing employees and residents twice a week until we have 14 days with no new positive cases.  Masking is mandatory for employees and visitors at this time. 

Our pharmacy provider will be here on October 25th to do a vaccine clinic for residents.  We will be administering flu vaccines, but it is uncertain if the pharmacy will have received the new COVID vaccine at that time.  If the pharmacy hasn’t received the COVID vaccine by the date of the vaccine clinic, we will host another vaccine clinic at a later date.  Dr. Williams would like to stress the importance of staying up to date with all vaccines.  The new COVID vaccine has been formulated to protect against the Omnicron variants of COVID which are currently circulating.  Dr Williams reported that less than 8% of Louisianians are up to date on their COVID vaccines, and this increases the risks to our residents.  We encourage everyone to get vaccinated.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID.  All residents and employees will test twice a week.  Masking is required for employees and visitors. 

We have a resident that has tested positive for COVID. Since the resident contracted the illness prior to admission to our facility, we are currently doing contact tracing on the hall the resident resides on. Masking is required for staff and visitors at this time.

We tested all residents for COVID again today and they were negative.  We have not had any additional employees test positive.  We currently have one employee that remains out of work due to COVID at this time.  We will test all employees and residents again next week. 

We have had an additional employee test positive for COVID.  Residents were tested today, and the results were negative.  We will continue testing twice a week until there have been 2 weeks with no positive cases. 

We had an employee test positive for COVID.  We have tested all residents and they are negative.  We will continue to test all residents and employees twice a week until we have had no new cases. We will have signs posted on the front door with our current COVID status.  Masking is mandatory for all staff and visitors.  Please perform frequent hand hygiene with alcohol-based hand rub.  Please do not visit if you are feeling ill even with mild symptoms.   We will continue to post updates on our website and through robotic calls. 

At Amelia Manor, we are preparing for upcoming flu, pneumonia, and other viral infections by coordinating a vaccine clinic with our pharmacy. Learn how to protect yourself and loved ones from avoidable sicknesses. 

Shingles S (lnha.org)

Pneumococcal S (lnha.org)

Seasonal Flu S (lnha.org)

Policy Statement

Our facility permits residents to receive visitors subject to the resident’s wishes and the protection of the rights of other residents in the facility.

Policy Interpretation and Implementation

1. Residents are permitted to have visitors of their choosing at the time of their choosing.
2. The facility provides 24-hour access to individuals visiting with the consent of the resident.
3. Family members are designated as such by the resident or representative. Immediate family is not limited to individuals related by blood, adoption, marriage or common law.
4. Visitors may include, but are not limited to:
   1. spouses (including same-sex and transgender spouses);
   2. domestic partners (including same-sex and transgender domestic partners);
   3. other family members; and
5. All lawful marriages and spouses are recognized for purposes of this and all other policies, regardless of any contradictory state or local laws.

Reasonable Clinical and Safety Restrictions

1. Some visitation may be subject to reasonable clinical and safety restrictions that protect the health, safety, security and/or rights of the facility’s residents such as:
   1. keeping the facility locked or secured with a system in place for allowing visitors approved by the resident;
   2. denying access or providing limited and supervised access to an individual if that individual is suspected of abusing, exploiting, or coercing a resident until an investigation into the allegation has been completed or has been found to be abusing, exploiting, or coercing a resident;
   3. denying access to individuals who have been found to have been committing criminal acts such as theft;
   4. denying access to individuals who are inebriated or disruptive;
   5. denying access or providing supervised visitation to individuals who have a history of bringing illegal substances into the facility which places residents’ health and safety at risk; and/or
   6. restrictions placed to prevent community-associated infection or communicable disease transmission to one or more residents.

• • (1) A resident’s risk factors for infection (e.g., immunocompromised condition) or current health state (e.g., end-of-life care) will be considered when restricting visitors.
  • (2) In general, visitors with signs and symptoms of a transmissible infection (e.g., a visitor is febrile and exhibiting signs and symptoms of an influenza-like illness) are asked to defer visitation until no longer potentially infectious (e.g., 24 hours after resolution of fever without antipyretic medication), or according to CDC guidelines, and/or local health department recommendations.

Visitation During Communicable Disease Outbreak

1. Visitation policies may be modified during infectious disease outbreaks or pandemics in order to align with current CMS and CDC guidelines and offer maximum visitation. For example:
   1. providing access to devices for virtual visitation;
   2. designating visitation areas in the facility outside of resident rooms;
   3. offering options for outdoor visitation;
   4. posting signage with infection prevention and control instructions (i.e., hand hygiene, cough etiquette, PPE, etc.);
   5. ensuring access to hand hygiene and PPE supplies; and
   6. contacting the local health department for guidance or direction on how to reduce the risk of communicable disease transmission during visitation.
2. During an infectious disease outbreak, residents on transmission-based precautions are permitted to have visitors. Before visitation the visitor is:
   1. made aware of the potential risk of visiting;
   2. instructed on the precautions necessary in order to visit the resident; and
   3. asked to adhere to infection prevention principles (e.g., hand hygiene, cough etiquette, etc.).

Restriction of Individual Visitors

1. The facility does not restrict, limit, or otherwise deny visitation privileges on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.
2. The facility does not restrict visitors based on the request of family members or the healthcare power of attorney. If a family member (or HPOA) requests that a certain individual be denied access to resident based on safety or security concerns, the staff will protect resident safety while allowing visitor access until the allegations are investigated.
3. Residents are permitted to visit with representatives from federal and state survey agencies, resident advocates, the state long-term care ombudsman, protection and advocacy agencies for individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness, clergy and/or their personal physicians at any time. Space and privacy are provided for such visits.
4. The resident has the right to deny visitation at any time. If a resident chooses to withdraw consent for visitation by a particular individual, the name of that person and the date of withdrawn consent are documented in the resident’s medical record.
5. The facility reserves the right to limit the number of visitors in the room at one time to protect the rights of the person sharing the room.
6. If it is determined that an illegal substance(s) has been brought into the facility by a visitor, it is immediately reported to the charge nurse or supervisor. The supervisor and the DNS determine whether the situation warrants a referral to law enforcement.
   1. If the supervisor notifies law enforcement, in accordance with state laws, he or she immediately implements measures to protect the health and safety of all residents, visitors and staff. This may include supervising the visitation until the situation is addressed or law enforcement arrives.
   2. If items or illegal substances are in plain view, and these pose a risk to the residents’ health and safety, the items may be confiscated by facility staff. The circumstances, description of the item(s), and rationale for confiscating are documented in the resident’s record.
   3. Facility staff does not conduct searches of a resident or their personal belongings, unless the resident or representative agrees to the search and understands the reason for the search.
7. Incidents of any visitor’s disruptive behavior are documented in the resident’s medical record or other facility approved form.
8. A critically ill resident may have visitors of his/her choice at any time, as long as visitation is not medically contraindicated. The rationale for medically-restricted visitation is documented in the resident’s medical record.
9. Unless otherwise permitted by the resident, visitors are required to wait outside the room or in the lobby while the resident is receiving treatment, undergoing examinations, and/or receiving personal care.
10. The facility reserves the right to change the location of a visit if such visit infringes upon the rights of the resident’s roommate or other residents in the facility.
    1. Space is available in the lobby/lounge for residents to receive guests in reasonable comfort and privacy.
11. Residents, family and/or resident representatives are informed upon admission of their visitation rights, and related policies.
12. Inquiries concerning visitation and access to the facility should be referred to the administrator or his/her designee.

We had additional residents test positive for COVID this weekend.  Residents will remain in isolation for 10 days.  Everyone should continue to practice hand hygiene and masking.  Please check the facility front door for current COVID status when entering the building. 

We have had residents and employees test positive for COVID.  As per outbreak testing protocols, all employees and residents will test at least twice a week.  Residents that test positive are placed in isolation for 10 days.  All employees and visitors are required to mask.  Residents are encouraged to wear a mask when they are out of their rooms.  Please refrain from visiting if you feel ill even if symptoms are mild. 

We had an employee test positive for COVID.  We have begun outbreak testing and all residents tested negative.  We will continue testing residents and staff twice a week until we have 14 days without a positive case.  Mandatory masking will remain in place at this time.

We currently do not have any COVID cases among residents or staff.  Lafayette Parish Transmission Rate remains HIGH, and new cases in the community continue to rise.  Masking is still required for the safety of our residents, staff and visitors.

We had a resident test positive for covid. We will continue to post updates on the website and via automated message.

We had three residents test positive for covid. We will continue to post updates on the website and via automated message.

We had another employee test positive for covid. We currently have 13 residents and 2 employees with COVID. We are testing residents again today. We will continue to post updates on the website and via automated message.

We currently have 13 residents in isolation for COVID and 3 employees that are out of work with COVID.  Since 4/1/2020, we have had a total of 159 resident cases and 153 employee cases.  We will continue twice a week testing for residents and staff. 

We have had four residents test positive. Please continue to follow all infection control recommendations if you choose to visit during this outbreak.

We have had three residents and one employee test positive. Please continue to follow all infection control recommendations if you choose to visit during this outbreak.

We have had two additional caretakers test positive. Please be mindful of infection control recommendations if you choose to visit.

We had an additional 2 residents test positive for COVID.  We currently have 8 residents in isolation and 4 employees out on sick leave.  We will be testing residents again on Thursday.

We had an additional 4 residents test positive for COVID.  All have been placed in isolation.  There are currently 6 residents and 4 employees with active cases of COVID.

We have had an additional 2 residents and 4 employees test positive for COVID.  We are testing all employees and residents twice a week.  To date we have had a total of 146 residents and 150 employees test positive for COVID.  Practicing principles of infection control, such as masking, social distancing, and hand hygiene, and vaccination remains the most effective ways of preventing serious illness.  If you have questions about the COVID vaccine or the testing protocols, please contact the infection preventionist at 337-234-7331

We have had an additional 3 residents and two employees test positive for COVID since the last update. We currently have 7 residents in isolation and 2 employees that are excluded from work. Since the start of COVID in 2020, we have had a total of 147 resident cases and 147 employee cases.  We tested all residents again today and will continue twice weekly testing until we have 14 days with no new cases.

We had an additional two residents test positive for COVID. We currently have 7 residents still in isolation and 4 employees remain out of work. All resident cases remain isolated to one hall.

We have had an additional two residents and two employees test positive for COVID. At this time, we have 5 residents in isolation for COVID and 6 employees out of work. All resident cases have been isolated to one hall.   Since the pandemic began in 2020, we have had a total of 139 resident COVID cases and 144 employee cases. 

We all must remain diligent in masking and hand hygiene practices to help prevent transmission. We are continuing outbreak testing twice weekly and as needed. We will continue to post updates on our website.

We have had another employee test positive for COVID. We will be testing residents again tomorrow. We currently have 5 active resident cases and 6 employee cases. We will continue to post updates on our website and with automated messages.

We had another employee test positive for COVID. We are continuing outbreak testing twice a week until we have 14 days with no new cases.

We have had 3 additional residents and 4 employees test positive for COVID. We have 5 residents that are currently in isolation for COVID, and 5 employees that are medical leave due to COVID. We will continue to test all employees and residents twice a week and as needed for symptoms. Mandatory masking remains in place for all employees and visitors.

We have had an employee and a resident test positive for COVID today. We will continue to test twice a week and as needed for all residents and employees.

We have had one resident and two employees test positive for COVID since the last update. We will continue twice a week testing for all residents and employees.

We have had two residents and one employee test positive for COVID today. The residents will be in isolation for 10 days. The cases both occurred on the same hall. We will be testing residents again on Thursday and as needed for any symptoms. Staff will continue to test twice a week and as needed.

All resident COVID tests from last week were negative. We will continue to test all residents and employees twice a week. Community transmission remains high, and we have typically seen spikes in the number of cases after the holidays. Please do not visit if you are sick or been exposed to someone that is ill even if symptoms are mild. If you have been around your loved one during the holidays and you develop signs of illness, please call and report it to the infection preventionist. We hope you have a blessed and happy New Year.

We had an employee test positive for COVID. We will continue twice a week testing for both residents and employees.

We had an employee test positive for COVID. We will continue twice a week testing for both residents and employees at this time. We have created a new sign that we posted on the front door that will notify all visitors of the current number of active COVID cases and the cumulative total since the pandemic began in 2020. You will find information about our current testing protocols and masking guidelines on this sign as well. We will continue to post on our website and use automated messages to alert everyone of changes.

All resident COVID tests from last week were negative. We currently don’t have any active employee cases. We are testing all residents and employees twice a week again this week. Both COVID and flu are high transmission within the community. Please use caution and practice infection control principles throughout the holiday season.

We had an employee test positive for COVID. We currently have two employees out with COVID. Residents were tested again today. We will continue twice a week COVID testing for all employees and residents. Mandatory masking remains in place for all employees and visitors. Residents are encouraged to wear a mask any time they leave their rooms.

All resident COVID tests on Thursday were negative. We will continue to do twice a week testing until for employees and residents until we have 14 days with no new positive cases.

All resident COVID tests from Monday were negative. We had one employee test positive for COVID today, and they were excluded from work for 7 days as per CDC and CMS guidelines. We have had a total of 20 resident cases and 2 employee cases of COVID since this outbreak started on 11/22/22. We have 15 residents that have recovered and 5 that remain in isolation on transmission-based precautions. We will be testing residents again Thursday. The community transmission for COVID and flu remains high in our community. Please do not visit if you are having any symptoms or have been exposed to anyone with an illness. Masking remains mandatory for all employees and visitors, and it is encouraged for all residents that come out of their rooms.

We have had 2 additional residents test positive for COVID. Both were placed in isolation. We had 2 residents that completed isolation today and an additional 11 that will complete isolation tomorrow. We plan to test again on Monday and Thursday this week.

We had an additional resident test positive for COVID. We currently have 18 residents with active cases of COVID. All residents that test positive for COVID will be in isolation for a full 10 days with the date of testing being day zero. We do not currently have any employees with active cases. We will continue testing twice a week

We did have two additional residents test positive for COVID today. There have been 17 resident cases and 1 employee case since this outbreak began. All but one of the cases have been isolated to Hall C. We did perform PCR testing on residents again today. We have been working with the Office of Public Health regarding resident placement and testing frequency. We will test residents again on Thursday. Employees will continue to test twice weekly. Residents that are in isolation may still have visitors as long as all appropriate personal protective equipment is worn. Please see the nurse prior to visiting any resident in isolation. We will continue to post updates via our website and automated messaging as test results become available.

Since the pandemic began in 2020 we have had a total of 126 resident cases and 126 employee cases.  Mandatory masking is still required for all employees and visitors.  Residents are encouraged to wear a mask anytime they leave the room.  Hand hygiene and social distancing of at least 6 feet is utilized to help prevent the spread of illness.  Please monitor for any symptoms of illness and refrain from visiting if you are symptomatic regardless of severity. 

We have had an additional 11 residents test positive for COVID. We currently have a total of 13 residents that have tested positive. They have all been placed in isolation for a total of 10 days. All but one of the cases have been located on Hall C. At this time, we are encouraging residents to stay in their rooms and to wear a mask if they leave the room. During a COVID outbreak in a nursing home, all residents are considered potentially exposed. If families decide to take their loved ones out for Thanksgiving, there is a potential for COVID exposure to any one they come in contact with. We are testing all residents again tomorrow. Residents and staff will continue to test twice a week until the outbreak is contained. Mandatory masking remains in place for all employees and visitors.

Since the onset of COVID in 2020, we have had a total of 122 resident cases and 126 employee cases.  We continue to stress the importance of infection control principles:  Hand washing, social distancing, masking, monitoring and reporting illness, cleaning of high touch surface areas, and staying up-to-date on all COVID vaccines.   We continue to monitor all residents every shift for signs of illness and have the capability to perform rapid antigen testing at any time. 

Any employee that tests positive for COVID is excused from work.  Staff may return after 7 days with a negative test, and care for all residents.  If their repeat test on day 5-6 is positive, then they will be excused for a total of 10 days before they can work with all residents. 

We will continue to post updates via automated messaging and our website regarding the current COVID status within our facility. 

We have had two residents test positive for COVID. They have been placed in isolation for a total of 10 days. Mandatory masking remains in place for all staff, visitors, and residents when they come out of their rooms. We will continue to screen all residents for symptoms of COVID and for fever every shift. Staff and residents will test twice a week until we have 14 days with no new cases. It is imperative that everyone remain diligent about screening for symptoms and not visit if they have been ill or exposed to someone that is sick. Please be conscious of infection control principles during the holidays. We would like to encourage everyone to get flu shots and COVID bivalent boosters. We will continue to send updates via automated messages and on our website.

The Louisiana Department of Health issued a statement today regarding influenza activity. As flu cases and hospitalizations continue to rise in the Southeast, the Louisiana Department of Health urges the public to get vaccinated to ensure protection during peak flu season and the approaching holidays. As of November 14, influenza activity in Louisiana continues to increase dramatically and already has reached its highest point in the past 5 years. Reports to LDH’s Office of Public Health through its Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet) showed 10.49% of patient visits were due to influenza-like illness. This is nearly twice the national average of 5.5%. Flu hospitalizations have surged to a decade high in the United States. So far this season, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates at least 2.8 million illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations, and 1,300 deaths from flu.

According to State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter, a yearly flu vaccine is the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses. Washing your hands frequently and staying away from others if you are sick can also help reduce viral transmission. “Everyone 6 months of age and older should get the flu shot,” Dr. Kanter said.  CDC recommends individuals be vaccinated as soon as possible for peak flu protection.  Dr. Kanter added it is safe and convenient to get both your flu shot and your COVID-19 booster shot at the same time. There is no spacing needed between the two vaccinations.

Severe complications are most common in the elderly, pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses, children younger than age two, and children with health problems like asthma and diabetes. These complications include pneumonia, dehydration, worsening of long-term medical problems like heart disease or asthma, brain dysfunction, sinus problems, and ear infections. Symptoms of the flu include: sudden onset of body aches, fever greater than 100.3, and cough and/or sore throat. 

Due to the high rates of influenza cases in our community, Amelia Manor is still requiring mandatory masking for staff and visitors.  If you have any signs of illness please refrain from visiting the facility.  If you have been diagnosed with the flu, you should wait a minimum of five full days and have improvement in symptoms including being fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications before coming to visit.

Institutional Pharmacies of Louisiana will be here on October 18th to do flu shots and COVID Bivalent Booster shots.  Consents for annual flu shots and COVID boosters are perpetual consents so there will be nothing further that is required for your loved one to receive their vaccinations. The CDC and CMS have released new guidance regarding COVID guidelines in nursing homes. We will send further information later in the week once our facility has ample time to review and update our policy.

All COVID testing this week has been negative!.  Please continue to self-monitor and refrain from visiting if you have  any signs of illness.  We are monitoring Tropical Depression 9 closely.  We do receive regular updates from the state and we will provide updates to families if the storm becomes a threat to Louisiana.  .

It has been over 14 days with no new positive cases of COVID. Residents will not have to do routine COVID testing at this time. Community transmission remains high and all employees that are not up-to-date on their COVID vaccines will still have to test twice a week. Mandatory masking remains in place at this time.

All employee and resident COVID tests so far this week have been negative! We tested residents again yesterday and are awaiting the results. Tropical Storm Fiona is not projected to impact our area at this time, but we are monitoring the storm closely. We receive weather updates from the Emergency Preparedness office and will provide notification if there are any changes.

We do not currently have any active cases of COVID amongst residents and staff. Our last positive COVID case was on 9/2/22. We will continue to test all residents and employees twice a week until we have gone 14 days with no new cases. Prevalence remains high in the community. Please remain diligent in refraining from visiting if you have been exposed to COVID or have any signs of illness. The new bivalent booster is now available. This booster provides added protection from the Omicron variant of COVID. The CDC and Louisiana Department of Health is recommending that all adults receive the new bivalent booster at least two months after their last COVID vaccination. The bivalent COVID vaccine can be given at the same time as the flu shot. We are working with our partner pharmacy to set up a vaccine clinic for the end of September or the beginning of October. All those who have previously consented for the flu and COVID vaccinations will be placed on the list to receive their vaccines at that time. If you have any questions regarding the flu or COVID vaccine, please call the facility and ask for the DON or ADON.

We have had two residents and two employees test positive for COVID. We are continuing to test at least twice a week and as needed for those with any symptoms.

Resident COVID tests from Monday were negative. We will continue to test residents and employees twice a week. We would like to remind all visitors to be sure to sign in using the Accushield system at the front entrance. Community transmission remains high, and masking is required for all visitors. Please do not visit if you have any symptoms of COVID or other illness. If you have tested positive for COVID you must wait at least 10 days to visit residents. Flu season is also fast approaching. We are working with our consulting pharmacy to coordinate a flu clinic for mid-September to early October. Fact sheets for Influenza, Pneumonia and Shingles vaccines can be found at LDH Immunization Program Resources | La Dept. of Health and the CDC Vaccine Information Statement | Current VISs | CDC. We also have fact sheets posted in the facility and on our Facebook page. Please call the facility and ask for the infection preventionist if you have questions.

Resident COVID results from Monday were negative. It has been 14 days since the last since the last staff member tested positive for COVID so residents will no longer need to have routine testing at this time. We will continue to test staff members based on the CMS and state guidelines.

All resident COVID tests from Monday came back negative. At this time we do not have any active cases of COVID among residents and staff. We will continue to test all residents and employees twice a week until there have been 14 days without a positive case. Residents will test again on Thursday.

We take the safety of our residents very seriously. For security measures, we have installed a video camera / intercom at the front door. This will allow staff to screen for potential risks prior to opening the door. We have also implemented an electronic screening process for all visitors to sign in. Everyone should sign in via the Accushield kiosk that is at the front entrance. This will record your temperature and COVID screening. You will follow the prompts on the screen and select the resident you are coming to see. Upon completion of the sign-in process, a name badge will print. We ask that you wear the badge the entire time you are in the facility. Please sign out at the kiosk when leaving. We appreciate your assistance with these new measures we are taking.

All resident COVID tests from Monday were negative. Residents were tested again yesterday and the results are still pending. At this time, we do not have any residents with active COVID cases. There are currently two employees that tested positive this week and are restricted from work. We will continue to test all staff and residents twice a week until we have t14 days with no positive cases. Masking and hand hygiene are required for all visitors that enter the facility.

Our consulting pharmacy came yesterday and provided COVID vaccinations and boosters for those residents that were due for their next shots. We encourage all residents, staff, and visitors to stay up-to-date with COVID immunizations. The immunizations have proven to be safe and effective at helping to prevent serious illness from COVID. COVID booster shots are recommended five months after completion of a primary vaccine series, and a second booster is recommended four months after the first booster for those over 50.

Good afternoon! With the increase in Covid cases throughout our community, we are making sure everyone is reminded of their role in keeping our residents safe and healthy. Please help us by using proper hand hygiene and wearing face masks correctly.

Hand hygiene should be done as soon as you enter our building, and before leaving your loved one’s room to exit the building. You should rub your hands palms together, rub the backs of both hands, interlink fingers and rub hands together, interlink fingers and rub the backs of fingers, rub each thumb in a rotating manner with the opposite hand, rub each wrist in a rotating manner. If you are using hand sanitizer, you should rub hands together in this manner until it dries. If you are using soap and water, you should rub hands together for a minimum of twenty seconds before rinsing.

Face masks should be worn at all times in our building. Face masks should cover the nose and mouth completely at all times. To put on or take off a face mask, you should only touch the ear loops or head band portion, never touch the portion that covers nose and mouth.

Thank you for doing your part to help keep our residents safe and healthy!

All resident tests from last Thursday were negative. We did have part time employee test positive on Saturday but she had not worked in the week prior to her positive test. Residents were tested again today. We will continue twice a week testing until there are two weeks with no new positive cases. We currently have 4 residents on our COVID unit in transmission based precautions and three employees that are excluded from work at this time

We have had three additional residents test positive for COVID this week. We currently have 7 residents on our COVID unit and four employees out with COVID. Residents were tested again yesterday and we are awaiting test results from Omega Laboratory. Community transmission remains very high at this time and we encourage everyone to take precautions.

We have had two additional residents and two employees test positive for COVID. At this time, we have 10 residents on the COVID unit in isolation and two staff members that have been excluded from work. We will test all residents again on Thursday and if they develop symptoms. Please refrain from visiting if you have any symptoms or have been exposed to someone with COVID.

 We have had additional residents test positive for COVID.  We currently have 8 residents on our COVID unit.  They are all either asymptomatic or have mild cold symptoms and are doing well at this time.  We will be testing residents again on Tuesday and Thursday, and as needed for any symptoms of COVID. 

We have had 3 additional residents test positive for COVID. We currently have 5 residents in isolation on the COVID unit. We do have a few resident test results from Thursday’s PCR testing that are still pending. We will be having to move some residents to different rooms in order to create more space on the COVID unit. Residents will be tested again on Monday with a rapid COVID test and on Tuesday using PCR testing which will be sent out to Omega Diagnostics. Masking is mandatory for all staff and visitors and residents are encouraged to wear a mask when coming out of their rooms. We will continue to provide updates via automated calls and on our website.

We have two residents that have tested positive for COVID. They have been moved to the designated COVID unit and placed in isolation. Residents were tested again yesterday with PRC tests and the results are still pending. We are testing all residents again today with rapid tests. Employees and residents will continue to test twice a week, and we will send out notifications when we receive test results.

We had an employee test positive for COVID today. We will continue to do outbreak testing twice a week until we have 14 days with no new positive cases. All resident tests from last week were negative. We will be testing residents again on Tuesday. We will update everyone with any changes. We are working with our pharmacy provider to arrange another COVID vaccine clinic. We encourage everyone to stay up-to-date with the COVID vaccine and boosters

We had an employee and a contract worker test positive for COVID today. We will continue testing all employees and staff twice a week. All resident tests from the first part of the week was negative. Resident were tested again yesterday and we are awaiting the results from the lab.

We have had a contract worker test positive for Covid.  We will begin outbreak protocols and test all residents and staff twice a week.

All resident tests this week have been negative!  We currently have one resident on the COVID unit and one employee out due to COVID. The resident will meet criteria to return to general population tomorrow.  We will continue to test all residents and employees at least twice a week until we have 14 days with no new positive cases.   We would also like to take a moment to remember all of those who have sacrificed to provide us with the freedoms we are blessed with. Have a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend.

We currently have two residents on the designated COVID unit.  Both are asymptomatic and doing well.  The employee that had tested positive, has recovered and been cleared to return to work.  We are continuing to test residents and employees twice a week.  We will continue to post updates as test results come in. 

We have had a resident test positive for COVID. They have been moved to the designated COVID unit and placed in transmission based precautions. We have tested all residents again and are awaiting the results. We will be testing all residents and employees at least two times next week. All visitors must adhere to infection control practices – masking, hand hygiene, and screening. Please do not come to visit your loved one if you have any symptoms of illness or been exposed to COVID. We will continue to send updates via the automated call system and our website.

All resident COVID tests have  been negative so far this week and we haven’t had any additional employees test positive.  We re-tested all residents again today. We will continue to test all residents and employees again twice a week next week. We will be administering the COVID second Booster shot to all residents that are eligible tomorrow.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID and they have been excluded from work until they meet the criteria by CDC for nursing homes to return to work. We have begun outbreak testing twice a week for all employees and residents. We will notify families if we have any additional positive cases. We will be having a COVID vaccine booster clinic on May 20th. Dr. Williams our medical director recommends that all residents receive an additional booster. If you have questions regarding the additional dose of COVID vaccine, you may call and speak with the DON or ADON at 337-234-7331..

We have scheduled a COVID booster clinic for May 20th.  It is recommended that all residents in nursing homes receive the second COVID booster when they are eligible.  Dr. Williams has advised that we administer the booster to all residents that are eligible.  If you have any questions regarding administration of an additional dose of COVID vaccine to your loved one, please contact Debbie Candella, RN Director of Nursing at 337-234-7331.

Resident and employee tests from last week were all negative. We are testing residents again today and employees will test twice this week. We continue to monitor for any symptoms of COVID daily for all residents. We have upgraded our time clock to improve efficiency with staff screenings. It remains imperative that all visitors monitor for symptoms and refrain from visiting if they experience any possible signs of COVID or other infections.

We don’t not currently have any residents or staff with active COVID cases. All resident tests from Monday were negative, and we are awaiting the results from Thursday. Residents will be tested again on Monday, and if there are no new positive cases, we will not have to test residents again. We will continue to test employees twice a week at this time. Based on the most recent recommendations from the CDC and CMS, Dr. Williams our medical director is recommending that all that are eligible receive an additional COVID booster shot. We will send out further information when we have a date for the COVID booster clinic confirmed. If you have questions, please call and speak with the DON or ADON.

 We have had a resident test positive for COVID and has been moved to the designated COVID unit with designated staff to provide care. The resident has not had any direct contact with other residents since admission. We will be testing all residents and staff tomorrow. We will continue testing twice a week until we have 14 days with no positive cases. All visitors must continue to screen every time they come to the building and follow infection control practices. Hand hygiene and masking is imperative. If you have any symptoms at all you should refrain from visiting. COVID symptoms include runny nose, congestion, sore throat, fever, cough, new or worsened shortness of breath, body aches, nausea, vomiting, and changes in taste or smell. We understand that many people have allergy symptoms this time of year, but we must all ere on the side of caution and refrain from visiting if you have any symptoms. We encourage continued masking in the community as well since the parish transmission rate has increased to substantial levels and the flu is still very active. We will continue to post updates via automated calls and our website.

We remain COVID free at this time. We are currently only testing employees that are not up-to-date on all eligible vaccines. We had the pharmacy come on Friday for a COVID vaccine clinic, and residents that were eligible for the COVID booster received their vaccines. We will be working with our pharmacy to provide the shingles vaccines for residents. We will send out a message with more information when we are able to confirm the dates.

All resident and employee COVID testing from last week was negative!. It has been over 14 days since we have had a positive case. At this time we are only testing employees who have not received the COVID booster vaccine or completed their primary series of vaccinations. We will send a notification if there are any positive cases in the future.

All resident and employee tests from the first part of the week were negative. We are testing residents and staff again today. We do not have any current cases of COVID within our facility. CMS and state guidelines have changed. If someone isn’t up to date with all recommended COVID vaccines, then they will be required to be placed in isolation upon return from the hospital or an extended pass. If your loved one hasn’t received the COVID booster shot, we will be reaching out to you to discuss further.

All resident COVID tests from Monday were negative! We have had two staff members that tested positive and are currently excluded from work. At this time we do not have any active resident cases of COVID.  We will continue to test all residents and employees twice a week. We will be testing residents again on Thursday and as needed for anyone that develops symptoms.  To date,  we have had a total of 102 employees and 83 residents that have been diagnosed with COVID since the pandemic began. 

We have resumed some communal activities and dining for those that wish to participate.  We are still encouraging all residents to wear their masks when out of their rooms.  All visitors must wear masks in common areas and should refrain from visiting if there is any signs of illness. 

All resident and employee COVID tests for this week were negative. We will be doing testing again on Monday. We currently have one resident on our COVID unit who will complete isolation Monday morning. We had state come this week for a targeted infection control survey and we had no deficiencies.

All resident and staff COVID tests done Monday were negative!  We will continue testing twice a week until we have had 14 days with no new positive cases. We have one resident on our designated covered unit at this time. All residents and staff thus far have recovered well.  Since December 2021 we have had a total of 30 resident cases and 47 employee cases.   Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020,  we have had a total of 83 resident cases and 100 employee cases.  Our facility is in compliance with the CMS COVID vaccine mandate. Additional infection control practices are in place for employees that have medical and religious exemptions including, testing above current facility practices, separate dining table, and social distancing. We currently have 6 employees with exemptions. Any contract workers with an exemption, are required to adhere to the same standards as our employees.  We are continuing to utilize contingency staffing. Any employee that tests positive may return after 5 full days of isolation to work on the COVID unit. They must wait a minimum of 7 days and have improved symptoms not requiring meds to return to the other areas of the facility. If you have any questions regarding our COVID status or infection control, please contact Debbie Candella, RN,DON. 

All resident test results from Monday were negative. We have not had anyone test positive for COVID since last update. We will be testing residents again on Thursday and as needed if they develop any symptoms. Staff continues to test twice a week. The facility is in compliance with the CMS COVID vaccine mandate. All employees have had at least one dose of the COVID vaccine or they have an approved religious or medical exemption in place. Community transmission remains high. We urge everyone to take proper precautions during the Mardi Gras holiday.

We have received all of the COVID test results from the end of last week, and there were three additional residents and one employee that tested positive for COVID. We currently have 12 residents on the designated COVID unit. Five of these will complete their isolation tomorrow. In order to create space to properly isolate residents, some residents have had to move rooms or may have to move to a new room upon completion of isolation. Over the last few weeks, all of the resident cases have been on Hall A and Hall B. We encourage residents to stay in their rooms or to maintain at least 6 feet from others and wear a mask when out in common areas. During the most recent outbreak, we have had 29 residents and 47 employees test positive for COVID. We are thankful that so far none of the cases have resulted in serious illness or hospitalization. We will continue testing residents and employees a minimum of twice a week until there are no longer any positive cases. Community transmission remains high, and we encourage everyone to be safe during the Mardi Gras season.

We had one additional resident test positive for COVID. He was having mild symptoms and a rapid test was performed. All residents had a PCR test on Monday and we are awaiting the results of those. We currently have 11 active resident cases on our COVID unit. We will send out further notice when all test results come back. We will be testing residents again on Thursday. We do not currently have any active employee cases. 

We received the results of Thursday’s PCR COVID testing, and we had 5 residents test positive for COVID. All have been transferred to the COVID unit and placed in transmission-based precautions. All residents that have tested positive so far have had mild symptoms such as fatigue, congestion, runny nose, and mild cough. We are encouraging hydration and using over the counter medications such as tylenol and robitussin as needed. As of this time, all current cases have been isolated to Hall A and Hall B. We are encouraging residents to stay in their rooms as much as possible. We are also working to keep the resident’s movements restricted to their halls as much as possible.

Since December 2021, we have had a total of 22 resident cases of COVID (20 facility acquired and 2 community acquired) and 45 employee cases. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020, we have had a total of 74 resident cases and 98 employee cases of covid. Currently we have 15 residents on our designated COVID unit and 3 employees out. We are utilizing contingency staffing at this time which allows staff members that test positive to return to work after 5 full days on the COVID unit or 7 full days to their normally assigned departments.

We continue to implement the core principles of infection control with our residents and staff. At this time all activities are restricted to things that will allow at least 6 feet between residents. 98% of our residents are fully vaccinated and all of our current active employees are in compliance with the mandatory CMS mandate which requires staff to be vaccinated or have an approved religious or medical exemption. We are verifying that any agency staff that are scheduled are also in compliance with the Covid vaccine mandate. We are testing all staff and residents at least 2-3 times a week and all agency staff each shift they work. We have consulted with the Office of Public Health and our Medical Director to guide our course of action throughout this pandemic utilizing all current CMS and CDC guidelines.

As per CMS guidelines resident visitation remains open. Even residents in transmission-based precautions for COVID are allowed to have visitors as long as they follow all protocols for isolation. We would like to remind all visitors of the risk of exposure to COVID if you visit and stress the importance of compliance with infection control principles of hand hygiene, masking, staying at least 6 feet from others, and honest / accurate reporting and screening for symptoms of COVID.

We will continue to provide updates on our website and through automated calls to keep everyone updated on the current status that our facility is facing. You may call the facility and speak with the Infection Preventionist if you have further questions.

We tested all residents yesterday with the Abbott BinaxNow rapid antigen tests and results were negative. We will be doing PCR testing today for all residents. There have been no new cases since the last update.

We did have five residents and three employees that tested positive for COVID when we received the results from Monday’s testing. We have isolated them on the COVID unit and we will be testing residents again on Wednesday and Friday this week. We currently have 11 residents on our COVID unit.  We have dedicated staff to care for them and keep them isolated from other residents.  We currently have 6 employees out with COVID.  Employees are required to isolate a minimum of 5 days and potentially longer based on symptoms.  Since the most recent wave of COVID that began in December on 2021,  we have had 15 residents test positive and 2 residents admitted from the community with COVID.  We have had a total of 44 employees test positive.  We continue to stress the importance of masking, hand hygiene, maintaining at least 6 feet between others, screening for symptoms, and cleaning of frequently touched surfaces.  We are encouraging all residents to stay in their rooms and if they do come out to wear a mask. At this time we are structuring our activities toward more individual focused projects.  Sylvina Alexander, our new activities director, has started an in room art project for residents, a super bowl pool, and will be doing hall bingo.  We are working on ways to keep residents engaged while still providing social distancing.  We are encouraging residents to eat in their rooms but they are may come to the dining room as long as infection control principles are maintained.  Visitation will remain open as per CMS guidelines, but no one should visit if they have been exposed to someone with COVID, or if they are having symptoms of COVID even if mild.  There is a risk of you being exposed to COVID if you choose to come and visit with your loved one.  If you have been diagnosed with COVID, please contact the facility to see when it would be appropriate for you to resume in person visits.  We continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated.  The vaccine has been proven effective in preventing serious illness in our residents and staff that have tested positive.   We will continue to post updates on the website and send out automated calls when we receive test results. 

We have had five residents and one employee test positive for Covid since the last update. All have been placed in isolation with designated staff to provide care. We are screening all residents every shift for potential symptoms of COVID including a temperature and oxygen saturation level. We are continuing to encourage all residents to wear masks when out of their rooms and to socially distance from others. Resident testing will be done again on Monday.

We had another resident and a contract employee test positive for COVID this week. We will continue to test all residents and staff twice a week. We currently have three staff members and 2 residents with active infections. All employees isolate a minimum of 5 days and can return after if afebrile and symptoms have improved as per CDC contingency guidelines. Residents are required to isolate for 10 days on the COVID unit. Our resident cases have been asymptomatic and have all been recovering very well. Please call the facility if you have questions.

We had one resident test positive for COVID. Contact tracing indicated a community exposure. We would like to remind all visitors and everyone that takes residents out on pass to following infection control guidelines like masking and hand hygiene. We currently have two employees out on medical leave due to COVID.  when continue to pray for a safe and speedy recovery for all affected by this illness.  We will continue testing all staff and residents twice a week and post updates with any changes in status.

Since the last update, we have had 2 staff members and 1 resident test positive for COVID. All residents are being tested again tomorrow. Community transmission remains high for all of the state. Please continue to adhere to infection control principles such as masking, hand hygiene, and social distancing. Vaccination is one of the best ways to prevent serious illness. The CMS mandate for mandatory COVID vaccinations for nursing home employees goes into effect on 1/28/22. Any staff member that hasn’t received at least one dose of COVID vaccine or have an approved exemption by 1/27/22 will be placed on unpaid leave. If you have any questions, please call the facility at 337-234-7331.

All resident tests from last Thursday were negative, and we tested residents again today. Our last positive case was a staff member on 1/19/22. We continue to have one resident on the COVID unit in transmission based precautions with dedicated staff caring for that resident. All residents and employees will test twice weekly until we have 14 days with no positive cases.  Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, we have had a total of 86 employees and 57 residents test positive for COVID.  Since the most recent surge which began in December of 2021, we have had 33 employees and 4 residents test positive.  Many people that have tested positive for COVID have had only mild cold symptoms. Masking remains mandatory and when possible, we encourage testing prior to visitation. If you have any symptoms at all such as runny nose, congestion, fever, cough, shortness of breath, nausea, headache, sore throat, etc. please do not visit. Please check our website for further information or call the facility to speak to the infection preventionist.

We have not had any additional positive COVID cases since the last update. All resident tests collected on Thursday were negative. We will be testing residents again on Monday and Thursday of the upcoming week. Employees will continue to test twice a week. We continue to have one resident in transmission-based precautions on the COVID unit.  All residents that test positive for COVID must remain in isolation for a minimum of 10 days.  Currently, we are using contingency staffing for employees that test positive for COVID. They must isolate at home for 5 days and may return to work only on the COVID unit. If there are no active cases on the COVID unit, then the employee must isolate a minimum of 7 days with a negative test or a total of 10 days without testing.  We are also using contingency staffing for those employees that have been exposed to someone with Covid and remain asymptomatic.  They may continue to work with testing as outlined by CDC. We are utilizing this approach for staff members that have been fully vaccinated or had a diagnosis of COVID in the last 90 days.  

Since the last update, we have had one resident and two staff members test positive for COVID. The resident was moved to the COVID unit with designated staff to care for them the duration of their illness. All other resident tests done on Monday were negative. We will be re-testing residents again on Thursday. Since the most recent surge that began in December, there have been 32 employees and 4 residents test positive for COVID.  All employees are excluded from work until they meet the CDC criteria for return to work outlined in Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 infection or exposure to SARS-CoV-2.  At this time our facility is utilizing contingency staffing for the designated COVID unit.  Employees that test positive for COVID are allowed to return to work after 5 days of home isolation and work ONLY on the COVID unit.  We will post notification on our website of any changes in our staffing patterns.  All residents that are exposed to someone with COVID regardless of vaccination status will have to be placed in quarantine for 14 days.  If you have questions, you may call and speak with the infection preventionist at 337-234-7331.

 All of our residents with COVID have recovered at this time.  Residents and staff will continue to test  twice a week until we have a period of 14 days with no positive results.  Since December 2021 we have had 30 cases of staff COVID and 3 resident cases of COVID.  Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in April 2020 , we have had a total of 83 employee cases and 56 resident cases.   

The supreme court upheld the CMS vaccine mandate for healthcare workers.  We are in the process of fully implementing this vaccine mandate and by January 27^th, all employees will have received at least one dose of an approved COVID vaccine or have a religious or medical exemption in place.  For the instances of employees that have an exemption, they will be required to test above what the current facility protocols are.  For example, when we are testing twice a week for outbreak testing, then those with an exemption will be required to test 3 times a week.  We will also have designated break area socially distanced from other employees for those with an exemption. 

If you have any questions regarding our currently testing or vaccination practices, please call and ask to speak to the infection control nurse at 337-234-7331

We had 3 additional employees test positive since last update. All resident tests this week were negative!  We will continue to test all employees and resident twice a week until there are no further positive cases. 

We currently have 3 active resident cases of COVID and 7 active employee cases.  All resident tests for this week are negative so far. All residents will be tested again on Thursday.  We are utilizing the CDC  Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 to clear our employees for return to work.  At this time we are following the conventional guidelines for return to work for the general facility staff.  Only staff working strictly on the designated COVID unit may utilize the five day return to work guidance. 

We have had six additional employees and one resident test positive for COVID since the last update.  The employees have been excluded from work and the resident moved to the COVID unit. We will notify the family directly if a resident tests positive.  We will continue to provide facility updates via website and automated calls.

We have had another employee test positive for COVID. All residents were retested again today. Since December 2021 during the most recent surge of COVID we have had 18 employees and 1 resident test positive for COVID. Since the pandemic began in 2020, we have had a total of 54 residents and 71 employees test positive for COVID. At this time, we are not having group activities and are reminding all residents to wear their masks if they come out of their rooms. Masking is mandatory for all employees and visitors. Please refrain from visiting if you have been exposed to anyone that has been ill. If you are uncertain, we recommend that you have a COVID test prior to coming to visit.

We have had two additional employees and a resident test positive for Covid since the last update. The resident was moved to The designated Covid unit and placed in transmission based precautions. All residents will test again tomorrow. We continue to monitor everyone for symptoms each shift.

We had 3 employees test positive today. All the residents were retested today and will be tested again on Thursday. We should receive the results of the resident tests this evening or tomorrow. At this time, we have not had any residents test positive. We have had a total 14 employees test positive since 12/22/21. We are following the CDC guidelines for return-to-work criteria for healthcare providers. We are very appreciative of our dedicated staff members who have stepped up to ensure that we have adequate staffing to meet resident needs. We are praying for safety and healing for all those who are ill.

We have had three additional employees test positive for Covid. All resident tests this past week were negative. We currently have 10 employees in various departments out with COVID and 1 recovered employee. We will continue to test everyone 2-3 times a week. We will continue to provide updates via automated messaging and our website. We pray you all have a safe and blessed New Year.

We had two additional staff members test positive for COVID today.  We retested our residents today and should receive results tomorrow afternoon or Saturday morning.  The community transmission is exceptionally high at this time.  We would like to caution everyone to remain diligent with infection control practices and to avoid large gatherings.  If you have any questions, please call the facility at 337-234-7331.

We have had two additional employees test positive for COVID today. We will be testing all residents again tomorrow. We will continue twice a week testing for all residents and employees until we have had 14 days with no new cases. Masking is required during all visitations. It remains imperative that everyone refrains from visiting if you have been ill, even if only mild symptoms, or if you have been exposed to someone that has been ill. If you develop symptoms of illness after visiting or taking your loved one out on pass, please report it to facility staff immediately. We will continue to send updates via automated calls and website postings. You may call the facility at 337-234-7331 if you have any questions.

Three additional employees have tested positive for COVID. Resident tests have come back negative at this time. We will test all residents and staff twice a week and as needed if symptoms develop. We urge everyone to be safe, wear masks correctly, perform frequent hand hygiene, social distance and please do not come to visit if you are feeling sick. It is HIGHLY encouraged that everyone who is eligible receive the booster dose. Those with booster doses are found to have milder disease and recover quicker. If you need assistance in locating testing or vaccination sites, please call the facility and ask for the Infection Preventionist.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID.  We will be testing all employees and residents twice weekly.  It is imperative that masking, hand hygiene, and social distancing be maintained.  If families intend to take residents out on pass, you should refrain large gatherings and maintain infection control practices while out on pass.  Anyone that is feeling ill or been exposed to someone that is ill should postpone visits.  We will continue to post updates on our website and via the automated calling system. 

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

We have completed all outbreak testing.  All resident tests are negative and we haven’t had an employee case since the end of November.  At this time, only those staff members that aren’t fully vaccinated are required to test at this time.  We continue to screen the residents every shift for any symptoms.  All employees and visitors are screened upon entering the building.  Our infection preventionist monitors the community transmission rates on a regular basis and she will adjust testing as needed based on this data. 

We would like to caution everyone during the upcoming holidays to be diligent in infection control practices.  If you are taking your loved one out on pass, please be sure to mask and do not have anyone at gatherings if they have been exposed to anyone that is ill or has had symptoms of COVID.  The Omicron COVID variant is spreading across the U.S.  as well as the flu.  Please take precautions to protect yourself and our residents.

Amelia Manor is 14 days COVID-free. According to the guidelines from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, it is not recommended to routinely test residents or vaccinated staff members. We will, however, continue to test unvaccinated or partially vaccinated staff members twice weekly. We continue to follow all infection prevention measures which includes masking, symptom screening, handwashing, and proper cleaning and disinfection. We would like everyone to remain safe, especially during this holiday season, and we strongly advise visitors to correctly wear their masks when around their loved ones and to remain a safe distance of six feet apart. Additionally it is highly encouraged that visitors have a negative COVID test within 72 hours of entering the facility.

Residents were tested for COVID twice last week and all were negative.  We tested residents and employees again today.  We will continue to test twice a week until there have been 14 days with no new positive cases.  There have been increased cases of flu in the community.  Vaccinations are significant in helping to prevent serious illness.  We encourage everyone to get vaccinated. 

We have had another staff member in an ancillary department with minimal resident contact test positive for COVID.  We performed resident testing again today and we continue to screen all residents each shift for symptoms of COVID.  Additional updates will be posted as needed.

We have had another staff member test positive for Covid. This is the fourth employee to test positive since November 19th. Employees that have tested positive work in ancillary departments with minimal to no resident contact. All residents were tested twice last week and were negative. We will continue
to test all residents and staff twice a week until we have had 14 days with no positive cases. We will continue to send updates and notifications of our current status.

We had another employee in an ancillary department test positive for COVID today. The employee is not involved in direct resident care. All residents were tested again on Friday and are being monitored every shift for potential signs of illness. We will continue to provide updates through our website and automated messaging system.

We are continuing to do COVID tests for all employees and residents twice a week at this time.  All residents have been negative, but we did have an employee test positive today.  Mandatory masking remains in place. All visitors must continue to screen and follow masking & social distancing guidelines.   Residents and families are excited about the changes in visitation guidelines but all residents remain vulnerable to potential infections.  If you are not feeling well or have been exposed to someone that is ill within the last 14 days, please postpone visits or arrange a virtual visit. Residents that go out on pass should mask at all times and maintain infection control principles.  Community transmission remains high for COVID, and there have been increased incidents of influenza within the community as well. The safety and well-being of our residents remain a priority for us. We strongly encourage everyone to get the COVID & Flu vaccine.

We had an employee test positive for COVID. They work in an ancillary department with no close contact with residents. As per our outbreak testing protocol, we will begin testing all residents and staff twice a week.  We want to stress again the importance of the infection control principles of masking, hand hygiene, and social distancing. Please do not visit your loved one if you are experiencing any potential signs of COVID or have been exposed to someone that has COVID.

Due to the increased amount of nursing home residents that have received the COVID vaccine and the recent mandate from CMS for the implementation of mandatory COVID vaccine policies for employees in nursing homes, CMS has released new guidelines regarding visitation. Appointments are no longer required to visit residents and there will no longer be a time restriction on the length of visitation. All residents are allowed to receive visitors outside and in common areas. Based on the vaccination status of the resident and / or the resident’s roommate, in room visits may be allowed. Visitors should remain in designated areas and are not allowed to walk around different areas of the facility. Due to the need to screen all persons that enter the facility for signs of COVID, the front doors will remain locked. You should ring the doorbell or call the facility main number to alert staff you are here for a visitation. The principles of infection control such as hand hygiene, masking, and social distancing should continue to be maintained. Anyone that has been exposed to COVID or has any symptoms of illness should postpone visiting until illness or quarantine period is resolved. Visitors who are unable to adhere to the principles of infection prevention will be asked to leave the facility. Vaccinations have been proven to be safe and effective in preventing serious illness. We encourage all visitors to consider receiving both the COVID and the flu vaccines. Visitors that are unvaccinated, are encouraged to do COVID testing 2-3 days prior to visits. If you have questions, please give us a call at 337-234-7331.

Last week residents received their COVID booster and flu shots. CMS and OSHA released a mandate for mandatory COVID vaccines policies for employees in long term care. We have begun implementation and all staff will be required to have their first COVID shot or an approved waiver for exemption by 12/5/21.  

In the coming months, the next vaccination we will be focusing on will be Shingles. Immunizations are one of the best methods of preventing or limiting the effects of certain illnesses. The CDC recommends that anyone over age 50 receive two doses of the Shingrix (recombinant zoster vaccine) 2-6 months apart. This includes if the resident has received the live Zostavax vaccine in the past. Amelia Manor will be obtaining consent from those residents who are able to consent for themselves. If your loved one is unable to make this decision themselves, please contact Taylor, RN, ADON to give or deny consent for the Shingles vaccine. 

IPL pharmacy will be here on Thursday morning to administer the COVID booster and the flu shot. Dr. Williams said that residents can receive both vaccines on the same day in accordance with FDA and CDC recommendations. If you have questions, please contact Taylor Marcantel, RN at 337-234-7331. If you need assistance in finding a provider to administer vaccines for yourself, we will be happy to assist with that as well.

We have not had any further positive cases of COVID.  At this time, we are testing unvaccinated staff members twice a week. Our infection preventionist is monitoring the parish and state transmission rates regularly and will initiate changes to our testing plans as needed based on CMS / LDH guidelines.

We are setting up vaccination clinics for next week. Information will be sent via the facility phone alert system with dates and times.

The FDA and CDC have approved booster shots for all three COVID vaccines, and the Louisiana Department of Health released guidelines on Friday afternoon. All residents and staff in long term care are encouraged to take the booster shot. In the next couple of days, Taylor Marcantel, RN, ADON will be contacting resident representatives for those residents that are unable to give consent themselves. Our pharmacy provider will be coming to the facility to administer the COVID booster and flu shots as soon as consents are obtained. We will post notices as soon as we have an exact date and time. You may call the facility at 337-234-7331 if you have any questions.

The FDA and the CDC has approved the COVID booster for the Moderna Vaccine. We will be coordinating with our pharmacy to set up a vaccination date for residents to receive the flu vaccine and the COVID booster. We will send out additional information as soon as we have a date confirmed.  We will need to confirm with all residents and / or resident representatives that they would like to receive the COVID booster. 

We have not had any additional cases of COVID among staff members.  At this time we are only testing unvaccinated employees twice a week as per CMS & LDH guidelines.  We are continuing mandatory masking and daily screening of employees and residents for any symptoms of illness including temperature checks. 

At this time we have had no further positive cases of COVID. We will continue to test as per CMS / LDH guidelines. Our residents received the Moderna COVID vaccine at the beginning of the year. We are anticipating that later in the week, there will be updated guidance for the Moderna booster. We will notify families as soon as we receive more information. We are partnering with Institutional Pharmacy of Louisiana to provide our residents and staff with the COVID booster and the flu shots. Both the COVID booster and annual flu vaccines are recommended by our medical director. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated.

The first round of resident COVID testing was negative. We will test twice a week for 14 days or until no additional positive cases.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID.  We will begin outbreak testing for all staff and residents.  At this time we will be testing all residents and employees twice a week.  Mandatory masking remains in place for all employees and residents at this time.  We will continue to screen all employees and residents for symptoms of COVID and will post updates if there are any changes. 

We continue to be COVID free at this time. Mandatory masking and testing of unvaccinated employees per CMS & LDH guidelines are in progress. Flu season is fast approaching. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated. We will provide information when our pharmacy supplier gets the vaccines in stock.

We continue to be COVID free at this time. We are no longer doing outbreak testing and we are testing unvaccinated employees as per CMS and LDH guidelines. We have resumed communal dining for lunch time for all residents that would like to come out to dining room. We will be working with our pharmacy provider to schedule COVID booster shots and flu shots. We will notify families as soon as we have a date for vaccination clinics.

We have not a positive COVID case among staff or residents since 9/4/21. We will continue to screen all employees and staff daily for symptoms. At this time, residents will not have to test, but we will continue to test employees as per CMS and LDH guidelines. We have spoken with the state infection control office regarding visitation. We will be able to allow physical contact between vaccinated residents and their visitors. Masks must remain in place at all times and everyone must perform hand hygiene before and after. All visitation remains by appointment only. Thank you for your assistance in helping to protect our residents.

All resident testing this week has been negative and we haven’t had any additional employees test positive this week. We will continue to test residents and employees twice a week next week. We continue to monitor everyone for any signs of potential infection. COVID rates in our community are slowly starting to decline but adherence to infection control practices remain vital. Mandatory masking remains in place for everyone.

We have had another employee test positive for COVID. We will be testing residents and employees twice a week again this week. Mandatory masking remains in effect for all staff and residents when they leave their rooms. We encourage everyone to practice good infection control practices and to get vaccinated.

We are preparing to receive evacuees from hurricane Ida. We ask that everyone be patient as we work create space for our new residents.

We have not had a resident case of Covid in the last 21 days. We have been able to resume some activities with proper masking and social distancing. We will continue to test residents and employees twice a week until the parish positivity rate is less than 10%.

We are continuing to test staff and residents twice a week. All resident tests have been negative since 8/13/21. We continue to implement mandatory masking for all staff and for residents when they come out of their rooms. We have had numerous inservices with our staff on the principles of infection control practices over the past month. We continue to work diligently to ensure the safety and well being of all of our residents and staff.

We continue to operate without any issues at this time. Although we are not anticipating severe weather in Lafayette parish, we have activated emergency preparedness plan, and we are prepared in case conditions were to change. We will continue to monitor the weather closely and will post updates as needed. We continue to pray for those in the direct path of the storm and for first responders and emergency personnel. 

We plan to shelter in place for hurricane Ida. We have made preparations and have a generator that will run our facility at full capacity including AC. We also have a back up generator in place.  We have ample supply of food and water. We will continue to monitor the weather closely and post updates as things change. We will be utilizing our automated call system to send out messages with updates as well. We are praying for the safety of our state and all its residents in the way can be approaching storm. 

We had one employee in an ancillary department test positive for COVID and we have five out due to exposure in the community. We have tested all residents again this week. If there are no resident positive cases this week, we will resume inside visitation with proper masking for all visitors next week. We are implanting a new system that will send alerts to resident contacts via an automated phone call. There will be no need to respond to messages to the automated messages.

The first round of resident COVID tests this week has come back negative. We will test again on Thursday. 

We have not had a positive COVID result in 11 days. All residents and employees that have tested positive have recovered. We retested residents and employees again today and we will test again at the end of the week. Community transmission remains very high. Please continue to practice social distancing, masking, and hand washing. All visitation remains by appointment only.

All of the test for our residents and employees have come back negative this week. When will resume outside visitation for Hall A next week. If resident testing continues to be negative we will look to resume inside visitation the following week. We continue to work diligently to ensure the safety of our residents and employees. We are working with point click care to set up an automated call system so that updates can be sent out directly to resident representative. It is imperative that you keep your contact information up-to-date. If anything changes you should contact the social service Director so that she can update information in the computer.

The first round of employee and resident test results this week has been negative. We will test again at the end of the week. If there are no further positive resident test results in the second round of Hall A resident tests, we will look to schedule outside visitation for residents on that hall who are not in quarantine or isolation beginning next week. We are praying for that all who have been ill recover quickly and that everyone else remains safe and healthy.

We received resident testing results today and there was one resident that was positive. We currently have 4 residents in our COVID unit. All resident cases have been from Hall A.

We have not had any new positive test results on Wednesday or today. All residents were tested again today. We should have the results by tomorrow evening and we will post an update.  

We had 3 employees test positive for COVID today. No additional residents have tested positive. We will be testing residents again on Thursday. We ask that everyone be patient. Due to the number of employees that we have excluded from work, it is taking longer to answer calls and respond to messages especially in the afternoons and evenings. Resident care is a priority and we will respond to messages as soon as we can.

We have had four residents meet the criteria for discontinuation of isolation and were moved out of the COVID unit. We currently have three residents on the COVID unit and five employees out with COVID. We have tested all residents today. We will continue to monitor the community transmission and test twice a week.

We have had another employee test positive for Covid. We will be testing all residents and employees again on Monday. We will start scheduling outside visitation for those who are on halls B and C and those recovered from Covid. Masking and social distancing must be maintained throughout the visit. All visits are by appointment only and will be limited to 15 minutes due to the heat outside. All visitors should be advised that we do have active cases of Covid among residents and employees. There is a risk of exposure if you choose to visit.

We had three residents and one employee test positive for COVID today. The residents were moved to the COVID unit and placed in transmission based precautions. We will be testing all residents again on Monday. All resident cases have been from Hall A. Next week we will begin OUTSIDE visitation for residents from Hall B & C that are not in quarantine or that doesn’t show signs of illness. When we resume visitation it will be by appointment only and masking is required. We ask that social distancing be maintained at all times. It is imperative that no one that has been exposed to someone who is ill or has any symptoms at all not request in person visits.

We had one employee test positive for COVID today. Currently we have 4 residents on the COVID unit and two that are recovered. We have 3 staff members out on leave for COVID. We tested all residents again today. When we get the results of resident testing tomorrow evening or Saturday morning, we will be able to determine if we can resume OUTSIDE visitation. Messages will be posted on the website and Facebook once visitation resumes.

The first round of resident testing this week has been negative. We will be testing all residents again before the end of the week. There were no additional reported cases of employee positives today. We continue to screen residents and employees for symptoms and perform rapid point of care testing as needed. If there are no further resident cases, we hope to resume OUTSIDE visitation next week. Masking will be required for everyone regardless of vaccination status. Please continue to check our website and Facebook page for updates.

We did have an employee test positive for COVID today. Currently, we have 6 residents and 3 staff members that are positive for COVID. All residents that test positive are placed in the designated COVID unit and staff members are excluded from work until they meet the return to work criteria. State is here for an infection control survey. Masking is required for all staff and all residents that come out of their room. We currently have 94% of our residents fully vaccinated. We have one resident that has received at least one dose and 5% of our residents that are unvaccinated. If your loved one hasn’t received the vaccine, we encourage you to discuss getting vaccinated with them.

We currently have 6 resident and 3 staff members that are positive for COVID. We will be re-evaluating visitation after we receive all testing results this week. We can continue to do window visits and virtual visits.

We have not had any additional cases of COVID diagnosed over the weekend. All persons that are ill are being cared for in a dedicated COVID unit with transmission based precautions. We are testing all residents and all employees again twice a week this week. We will re-evaluate re-opening of in person outside visitation based on these results. We can continue to do virtual visits and window visits for residents. We will continue to post any new cases of COVID on our website page.

We have had two additional residents test positive today. We have moved the positive residents to the COIVID unit where they are being cared for by designated staff members. At this time visitation will reman virtual and window visits only. We will continue to post updates on our website regarding the status within the facility.

*** UPDATE ***

We currently have two active cases of employees with COVID and 6 active cases of residents with COVID. All residents that are positive have been moved to a separate COVID unit and are in transmission based precautions. We continue to test all employees and residents twice a week at this time and as needed for symptoms. In person visitation is on hold at this time. You may call to set up virtual visitation or window visits. All residents are encouraged to stay in their rooms at this time. 

We have had two residents test positive for COVID. They were immediately moved to the COVID unit and placed in isolation. At this time we are suspending visitation and all activities. We will continue to post regular updates on our website.

We have had another employee test positive for COVID. Since the pandemic began in March of 2020, we have had a total of 34 employees and 43 residents test positive for COVID. We have not had a resident case in 7 months. We continue to do testing for residents and employees weekly based on the current CMS and DHH recommendations. Masking, social distancing, and hand hygiene are imperative for everyone. Monitor for any symptoms and do not visit is you are ill or have been exposed to someone that is ill. Virtual visits and window visits are options for anyone who is unsure if they have been exposed or isn’t feeling well. We must all be diligent to protect our residents. Please check out the Louisiana Department of Health COVID site for more information on the COVID vaccine and immunization sites.

As per the governor’s recommendation, we will require all visitors regardless of vaccination status to be masked at all times during visit. We will post regular updates on changes that may occur to the visitation policy on our website.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID. We currently do not have any residents that are experiencing any symptoms. We are continuing to test all residents and employees weekly. At this time we are still allowing visitations, but adherence to infection control guidelines is imperative. If you are unable to maintain infection control practices, your visitation will be terminated. Do not visit if you are sick or have been exposed to someone that is sick within the last 14 days.

There was a report of a positive COVID case in one of our consultant workers. We will continue to do weekly testing on residents and employees. There has been significant increases in the number of cases within the community. We continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated. We continue to have visitation but it is imperative if anyone has any symptoms at all not come to visit.

We have updated our visitation policy to allow those under 18 to visit with certain restrictions. Children must be accompanied by an adult and adhere to all principles of infection control practices. For residents with private rooms, visitation can occur inside in the resident’s room. If the resident doesn’t have a private room, visitation will occur outside. It is imperative that children who have any symptom of an illness regardless of how minor DO NOT visit. If the child is unable to maintain proper infection control practices, the visitation will be canceled.

We continue to test all residents and employees weekly at this time. We haven’t had any further positive COVID cases during last week’s testing. We are updating our policy to allow children to visit. If the resident is in a private room, then they can receive children as a visitor in the room. Otherwise all children will have to visit outside. All visits must be scheduled in advance. All children are expected to adhere to all infection control principles. If they are unable to, you will be asked to leave. We ask that you be patient with us as we work to expand these guidelines for our residents.

We have had another employee test positive for COVID. The employee has no direct contact with residents, but as per protocol we will continue to test all residents and employees weekly until there has been no positive cases for at least 14 days.

We are continuing outbreak testing for residents and staff at this time, and we have not had any further positive results. We are continuing implement principles of infection control such as handwashing, masking, and social distancing for unvaccinated persons. The vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective even against the variant strains of the COVID-19 virus. We continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated. Please contact us if you need assistance in finding out more about COVID Vaccines.

Our first round of outbreak testing has come back negative for all residents and staff. We will continue to test all residents and staff weekly for 14 days. We are able to resume visitation at this time. We continue to stress the importance of maintaining infection control practices during your visits and we encourage everyone to get vaccinated to protect your loved ones.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID. We are testing all residents and staff as part of out break testing. Visitation will be suspended until first round of testing is completed. We are having an inservice on 6/28/21 with the Office of Public Health to discuss vaccinations with our staff. Continue to practice good hand washing and masking.

We remain COVID free at this time. We continue to monitor the parish positivity rates and test employees as per CMS and LDH guidelines. Everyone must remain diligent with masking, handwashing, and other principles of infection control to help protect our residents. We continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated. If you need assistance in finding a vaccination site, please contact Natasha Bourque, RN at 337-234-7331 and she can assist you.

We remain COVID free at this time.  We have been doing communal dining by halls during lunch times and have been able to have more group activities!  The residents are excited to be getting back into a “normal” routine.  The state of Louisiana is launching a Shot At A Million campaign.  Louisianans who have taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and are age 18 or older may enter to win one of four $100,ooo prizes and the grand prize of $1 million.  There are scholarship prizes for those between 12-17 who have been vaccinated.  You can register on line at ShotAtAMillion.com or by calling the hotline at 877-356-1511 beginning Monday.  We encourage everyone to consider getting vaccinated to protect yourself and our residents. 

We have started small group dining for lunch. We are alternating each hall daily at this time.  Although we have not been able to have a church service our residents have been able to receive communion from the Eucharistic minister!  We are expanding our activities to include larger groups while adhering to infection control principles.

We continue to COVID test employees as per state and federal guideline. We again encourage everyone to consider getting vaccinated. You can contact Natasha Bourque, RN if you need assistance in locating a vaccination site. 

We will complete outbreak testing this week.  We have not had any further cases of COVID at this time.  Parish positivity rates have increased in Lafayette and the surrounding areas.  We would like to continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated.  The vaccine has been found to be safe and effective.  You can find out more information about the COVID vaccine and the Emergency Use Authorizations at the following CDC link COVID-19 Vaccine EUA Recipient/Caregiver Fact Sheets | CDC

We will begin small group communal dining by hall next week.  Infection control practices will be maintained as outlined by the CDC, CMS, and LDH. 

We have had an employee test positive for COVID. We will do outbreak testing for all of our residents and employees. Since our first case was diagnosed in April of 2020, we have had a total of 28 staff members and 43 residents that have tested positive. We are suspending visitation at this time until we are able to conduct a round of resident testing. We continue to stress the importance of infection control practices and reinforcing that masking is mandatory in long term care. We will continue to post updates on our website.

We have not had any further cases of COVID.  Employees will continue to test per CMS and CDC guidelines, but residents do not have to test at this time.  Visitation remains by appointment at this time. This week is Nursing Home Week. Check out our Facebook page for some of the activities that are going on! 

We are currently performing COVID testing for all employees and residents weekly. We have not had any further positive cases since last update and we have resumed visitation.

The CDC has issued new recommendations for long term care in their Infection Control After Vaccination document. We will begin to expand activities and will look to resume communal dining in the near future once outbreak testing is complete.

We have had an employee in an ancillary department test positive for COVID.  This is the first case of COVID we have had since 1/4/21.  This employee doesn’t have any direct contact with residents.  We have initiated our outbreak protocol which includes testing all residents.  Visitation will be suspended pending the outcome of the first round of COVID  testing.  You may have  virtual or window visits with your loved ones during this time.  If testing results are negative, we will resume OUTSIDE visitation.  Again, we stress the importance of everyone following infection control practices with masking, hand hygiene, and social distancing.  We encourage everyone to get vaccinated.  If you need help getting scheduled for a vaccine please give the Natasha Bourque, RN, ADON or Debbie Candella, RN, DON a call at 337-234-7331 so we can direct you to available resources. 

We remain Covid free at this time. We have a partnership with Melancon’s Pharmacy to vaccinate any residents and employees that would like to receive the Covid vaccine. They are also taking appointments for anyone from the community that would like to receive a vaccination. You can call 896-8434 to set up an appointment. Vaccination and maintaining principles of infection control are the best ways to keep our loved ones safe.

We remain COVID free at this time. We appreciate everyone remaining diligent with infection control practices to help protect our residents.

We continue to be COVID free at this time. Mandatory masking and principles of infection control remain in place for all staff and residents. We continue to test all staff as per the state guidelines. For residents that are fully vaccinated, they are allowed to go out on pass without having to quarantine upon return to the facility. If your loved one didn’t receive the vaccine, we would encourage you to consider vaccination. The vaccine has been proven to be safe and effective, and fully vaccinated residents are able to safely have close physical contact with their loved ones. We hope everyone has a safe and blessed Easter holiday.

We remain COVID free at this time. We continue to test all employees weekly. Mandatory masking remains in place for all employees and residents when they leave their room. We are taking appointments for visitation on the weekends. All appointments must be made in advance, and appointments for the weekends should be scheduled by 4:00 PM on Fridays.

We remain COVID free at this time.  We have hired someone to help facilitate visitations.  She will begin training next week! Outdoor visitation remains the preferred method but residents are allowed to have inside visitation.  All visits remain by appointment.  At this time we continue to limit visitation to 2 visitors at a time and they must be 18 or older.  As we get our new employees trained and we are able to ensure that inside visitation is progressing without any infection control related concerns, we will revisit the age restriction for visitors. 

The Louisiana Department of Health issued a directive late Friday afternoon advising that nursing homes can fully implement the newly released CMS nursing home visitation guidelines. We are immediately implementing those guidelines for all of our outside visitations. 

All visitation will remain by appointment only. The new guidelines continue to recommend that all of the core principles of infection control be maintained.  It also states that outside visitation is preferred because it generally poses a lower risk of transmission due to increased space and airflow.  

The CDC defines a fully vaccinated person as one who is greater than two weeks following receipt of the second dose of the Covid vaccine. Residents who are fully vaccinated can choose to have close contact with their visitor while wearing a well fitting facemask and performing hand hygiene before and after contact. 

We are also working to implement processes to expand visitation to include inside visitation and weekend visitation.  We will post more information as those options become available.

We remain COVID free at this time. Although there have been new updates regarding visitation by the CDC and CMS, the state of Louisiana is still mandating that we maintain the current visitation policies. We are hoping to receive new guidance from the Department of Health soon. We will keep you updated as we receive more information. We have completed our three COVID vaccine clinics and 90% of our residents received the vaccine. We will coordinate with local pharmacies and the Office of Public Health to provide vaccines for new residents that are admitted to the facility.

We currently remain COVID free.  The CDC has issued new guidelines for people who are fully vaccinated in NON-HEALTHCARE settings.  While the new guidance does not directly apply to nursing home settings, it does apply to staff outside of work. Please note that CMS has NOT issued changes to any of their nursing home visitation or quarantine guidance, so existing guidelines remain in effect. We will alert you if there are any further changes.  

We remain COVID free at this time. We are having our third COVID vaccine on 3/8/21.

We continue to remain COVID free at this time.  As of this time there have been no changes in the infection control regulations.  Mandatory masking, hand hygiene, social distancing, and screening for symptoms remain in place.  We will have our final COVID vaccination clinic on March 8^th.

The weather is finally getting warmer and we were able to have socially distanced gathering today on the back deck. The residents enjoyed margaritas and chips with salsa.  We had some great music.  They all enjoyed getting out and getting a little sunshine. 

We remain COVID free at this time. Everyone has been getting a little restless being cooped up due to the weather. Today the Rotary Clubs of Lafayette and Youngsville blessed our residents with care packages and king cakes. Check out our Facebook page to see a few of the many smiles we were blessed with today.

Due to the very cold temperatures, we are encouraging all visitation to be virtual at this time. The comfort of the residents is our main concern. We appreciate your understanding in this matter.

We currently remain COVID free. We have completed our second round of COVID vaccines and the residents tolerated the vaccine very well. We continue to implement the core principles of infection control such as hand hygiene, mandatory masking, social distancing, and screening for symptoms of illness. We are currently testing employees once a week. COVID testing for residents is not indicated at this time. We have been able to re-introduce small group activities with social distancing.

We continue to be COVID free at this time.  Our employees continue to test twice a week.  We have restarted OUTSIDE visitation by appointment only.  Please call and speak to Laina or Sierra to schedule a visit.  We will be having our second Moderna COVID Vaccine on 2/8/21.  Even after residents and employees are vaccinated, masking and other principles of infection control will continue to be mandatory.  We have contacted the state infection control office and they are not recommending any changes to our current COVID visitation policies at this time.  There has also been increased cases of influenza reported in our community.  Please refrain from scheduling a visit if you are feeling ill or have been exposed to someone who has been sick.    

We have not had any new cases of COVID in 25 days and we have been able to resume outside visitation by appointment only.  Please contact Laina or Sierra at 337-234-7331 to set up an appointment.  The residents didn’t have to test this week, but we are continuing to test all employees twice a week.  The second round of COVID vaccines will be administered on 2/8/21.  We encourage everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated.

All resident tests for COVID were negative this week. All staff tests through Thursday have also been negative. We will continue to test all staff twice a week, and further resident testing will be dependent on any new active cases.

We had an infection control survey this week and had no deficiencies!

As long as we do not have anymore active cases of COVID, we will be able to re-evaluate our outside visitation. More information will be posted next week.

All testing last week for residents and staff were negative.  To date we have had a total of 43 resident cases and 26 employee cases of COVID.  We continue to follow principles of infection control including mandatory masking, hand hygiene, social distancing, screening of all employees and residents for symptoms, and testing for all staff twice weekly and residents weekly.  We continue to have only virtual visitation at this time due to high prevalence of COVID within our community and the recent cases at the first of the month.  We are encouraging all residents to remain in their rooms at this time.   We will continue to post updates to our website of any new cases of COVID that occur in residents or staff.  In the event that you have a loved one that tests positive, we will alert the resident representative immediately by phone. 

We will have our second vaccine clinic on Monday February 8^th, and Walgreens pharmacists will administer the second dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to residents and staff at this time.  If you didn’t consent for the vaccine during our first clinic, we encourage you to consider having your loved one vaccinated.   If you have questions regarding the vaccine, you can contact Natasha Bourque, RN, ADON or Debbie Candella, RN, DON.

We have not had any new positive cases of COVID since January 4^th.  We continue to test employees twice a week and residents weekly.  We also perform point of care rapid antigen testing for anyone that develops any symptoms consistent with COVID.  We had our first COVID vaccination clinic 1/11/21 and everyone tolerated the vaccine very well.  We encourage everyone to get vaccinated.  It is safe and effective.  We have posted the letter published by the Department of Health regarding the COVID vaccine on our Facebook page.  We continue to only have virtual visitation at this point due to the high prevalence of COVID within our community.  Please continue to be diligent with all principles of infection control. 

Attention family and friends: We are sorry to announce that we are having to suspend all in person visitation until further notice due to the influx of COVID cases in the community. As you know, this in only to try to keep our residents safe and healthy. Please do not hesitate to make a virtual visitation appointment by calling the facility.

We have had several new cases of COVID. We have had a total of 69 cases among residents and staff since the pandemic began. This week we have 6 new employee cases and 1 resident case. 

We will be having our first COVID vaccine clinic on Monday 1/11/21. We are encouraging all of our residents and staff to take the vaccine. Research shows the vaccines to be safe and very effective. We are attaching the Moderna FDA EUA for you to review. https://www.fda.gov/media/144638/download

We have had another employee that isn’t in direct resident care test positive for COVID. We continue to remain diligent in screening residents and employees all shifts to quickly identify any symptoms.

We have had a resident test positive for COVID. The resident was moved to the designated COVID unit with designated staff. We will continue to test all residents weekly or as directed by the Office of Public Health. The resident representative will be notified by phone IF a resident tests positive. We will not call for negative test results. Staff members will continue to test twice a week.  We continue to stress hand washing, masking, and social distancing for all residents and staff. We will post regular updates on the COVID status of our facility on our website.

We encourage everyone to review the information that was sent to resident representatives on the COVID vaccine and return it to the facility as soon as possible.

The following information on COVID vaccine has been mailed to resident representative.  Please return the consent form to Amelia Manor as soon as possible. 

The COVID-19 Vaccine is expected to be approved by the FDA in December 2020.  Below is some of the information from the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine website (All information copied directly from CDC).    The CDC website has the most up to date information on COVID vaccinations at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html.  Information released by the American Health Care Association on 12/9/20 stated the “FDA Emergency Use Authorization review of the Pifizer vaccine shows the vaccine is very effective including in elderly over the age of 65 and over 75 and in minority populations.”   “The vaccine appears to very safe with predictable reactions common to a vaccine stimulating the immune response to make antibodies.”

FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not give you COVID-19 None of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in development in the United States use the live virus that causes COVID-19. There are several different types of vaccines in development. However, the goal for each of them is to teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are a sign that the body is building immunity. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.  It typically takes a few weeks for the body to build immunity after vaccination. That means it’s possible a person could be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or just after vaccination and get sick. This is because the vaccine has not had enough time to provide protection.

FACT: COVID-19 vaccines will not cause you to test positive on COVID-19 viral tests. Vaccines currently in clinical trials in the United States won’t cause you to test positive on viral tests, which are used to see if you have a current infection.  If your body develops an immune response, which is the goal of vaccination, there is a possibility you may test positive on some antibody tests. Antibody tests indicate you had a previous infection and that you may have some level of protection against the virus. Experts are currently looking at how COVID-19 vaccination may affect antibody testing results.

FACT: People who have gotten sick with COVID-19 may still benefit from getting vaccinated.  Due to the severe health risks associated with COVID-19 and the fact that re-infection with COVID-19 is possible, people may be advised to get a COVID-19 vaccine even if they have been sick with COVID-19 before. 

FACT: Getting vaccinated can help prevent getting sick with COVID-19.  While many people with COVID-19 have only a mild illness, others may get a severe illness or they may even die. There is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you, even if you are not at increased risk of severe complications. If you get sick, you also may spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you while you are sick. COVID-19 vaccination helps protect you by creating an antibody response without having to experience sickness. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.

FACT: Receiving an mRNA vaccine will not alter your DNA mRNA stands for messenger ribonucleic acid and can most easily be described as instructions for how to make a protein or even just a piece of a protein. mRNA is not able to alter or modify a person’s genetic makeup (DNA). The mRNA from a COVID-19 vaccine never enter the nucleus of the cell, which is where our DNA are kept. This means the mRNA does not affect or interact with our DNA in any way. Instead, COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA work with the body’s natural defenses to safely develop protection (immunity) to disease. Learn more about how COVID-19 mRNA vaccines

Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine (from CDC website).  We understand that some people may be concerned about getting vaccinated once a COVID-19 vaccine is available in the United States. While these vaccines are being developed as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated. Below is a summary of the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination based on what we currently know. CDC will continue to post updates as more data become available.

COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19

• COVID-19 vaccines are being carefully evaluated in clinical trials and will be authorized or approved only if they make it substantially less likely you’ll get COVID-19.
• Based on what we know about vaccines for other diseases, experts believe that getting a COVID-19 vaccine may help keep you from getting seriously ill even if you do get COVID-19.
• Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, particularly people at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
• Experts continue to conduct more studies about the effect of COVID-19 vaccination on severity of illness from COVID-19, as well as its ability to keep people from spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.

The FDA is set to approve the first COVID vaccination within the next few days. Initial distributions will be for frontline healthcare workers in hospital settings and then nursing home staff and residents.  Vaccine doses have been purchased with taxpayer dollars and will be given to the American people at no cost.  The vaccine will require two shots to be effective.  The CDC and federal government are working with pharmacies to offer on-site COVID-19 vaccination services for residents and staff of nursing homes.  As part of this program, Amelia Manor has partnered with Walgreens to do a vaccination clinic at our facility. 

At this time, we do not have a date for when the vaccine will be available to us.  We are beginning the process of preparing for when the vaccine is available, and we are trying to identify all residents that would like the vaccine.  We will be mailing out information to the resident representatives and asking that you return it indicating if you would like to resident to receive the vaccine or if you are declining the vaccine.  We will continue to post updates on our website as more information becomes available.  The CDC website has the most up to date information on COVID vaccinations at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/index.html.  If you have questions, please contact Natasha Bourque, RN, ADON or Debbie Candella, RN, DON at 337-234-7331.

We have had two additional employees test positive for COVID. Neither were in direct care with the residents. To date we have had a total of 60 cases between residents and staff. We continue to test employees twice a week and residents weekly. The first vaccine for COVID is expected to be approved for use by the end of the week. We will continue to keep everyone updated as we receive information. We will be sending out a letter this week to all Resident Representatives to get further information on whether you would like your loved one to receive the COVID vaccine.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID. There have been a total of 57 cases between residents and employees. We continue to test all residents and staff twice a week.

We have had an employee test positive for COVID. We currently do not have any residents that are positive. Since April 4, 2020, there have been at total of 57 cases between staff and residents. Due to the high prevalence of COVID within the community, we are now testing residents and staff twice a week.

We are partnering with Walgreens to provide an onsite immunization clinic once the COVID vaccine is approved. We are not expecting the vaccine to be available for our residents and staff until 2021. Our medical director encourages all residents and staff to be vaccinated. We will be sending information to each resident’s designated representative as we learn more.

We did not have any positive cases among residents or employees last week. Due to the increased prevalence of COVID within our parish and surrounding communities, we are mandated by CMS and LDH to test twice a week. At this time we are allowing outside visitation only.  We will monitor the prevalence of COVID within our community and facility and update status on visitation accordingly. 
 
We have signed up with Walgreens to provide COVID vaccinations to our residents and staff when it becomes available. You will be receiving information on the vaccine via mail. We strongly encourage everyone to consider receiving the vaccination. 

Thessalonians 5:18, CSB: “give thanks in everything; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

Even though the holidays are being celebrated much differently this year, we are extremely thankful to have a wonderful community of residents, supportive families and dedicated staff members. We are wishing you all a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

All residents have tested negative for COVID during the weekly screening. There have been no new employee cases since last update. We want to encourage everyone to follow CDC HOLIDAY RECOMMENDATIONS which can be found on the CDC website.

We have had another employee test positive for COVID. That is a total of 15 employees that have been diagnosed since the pandemic began. Residents are being tested weekly and as needed any symptoms of COVID if they have any symptoms of COVID. Due to the current testing status within our facility, all visitation will have to occur outside or virtually.

To Our Residents and Family Members:

We are writing to you to clarify the Amelia Manor visitation policy.  All visits are to be arranged in advance, and they will be for a specified amount of time.  Visits will be conducted outside whenever possible.  Inside visits are only conducted when weather prevents visits from occurring outside.  In the event that the facility has an employee or resident that tests positive for COVID-19, NO inside visitation will be allowed until the facility is no longer conducting outbreak testing.  Amelia Manor will post updates regularly on our website in regards facility testing. 

Only two visitors are allowed at a time.  All visitors must be screened for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 prior to visit, and as per CMS and state guidelines, no one with any symptoms of illness is allowed to visit.  Symptoms of COVID can be mild such as allergy symptoms to severe including shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.  If you have any symptoms at all you should not schedule a visit. Also, if you have been in contact with someone that is ill, you should reschedule your visit. We can continue to arrange alternative visits such as video chats or window visits for you.  All window visits must occur through a CLOSED window.

There have been several instances in which visitors have been openly defiant of the principles of infection control thereby putting the resident at risk.  Your visit will immediately be terminated if you fail to follow proper infection control practices.  The following is a list of Core Principles of COVID-19 Infection Prevention directly taken from the CMS Memo.

• Screening of all who enter the facility for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 (e.g. temperature checks, questions or observations about signs or symptoms), and denial of entry of those with signs or symptoms
• Hand Hygiene (use of alcohol-based hand rub is preferred)
• Face covering or mask (covering mouth and nose)
• Social distancing at least six feet between persons

Please contact the facility to set up a time to visit with your loved one.  With the anticipation of increased COVID-19 cases and influenza during the winter months, we appreciate your assistance in helping to maintain the health of all of our residents. 

As of today we have had 15 confirmed employee cases of COVID and one case of a contract employee with COVID. All residents test from last week were negative. We will continue to test all residents weekly until there have been 14 days with no new positive cases. Updates will be posted on our website when there is a positive case in either staff or residents. Since this pandemic began, we have had a total of 41 resident cases. We have not had a resident with a positive COVID test since August 18,2020. We continue to work diligently to maintain infection control practices and would like to remind all visitors to refrain from scheduling a visit if you are feeling ill or have been exposed to someone who is ill.

We received notice today that one of our employees tested positive for COVID. Our last prior case of COVID was 8/18/20. As per CDC testing guidelines, we have tested all residents for COVID today. We continue to enforce universal masking for all staff and residents, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, and social distancing. In the event that a resident were to test positive, the facility will contact the resident representative by phone. We will not call for negative test results. We will continue to test all residents weekly until there have been at least 14 days with no new positive cases. All employee will continue to have COVID tests weekly.

We want to again remind all visitors that they must adhere to infection control practices. If you are feeling ill or have any of the following symptoms you should not visit at facility: Fever, Chills, Sore Throat, new or worsened cough or shortness of breath, Nausea / Vomiting / diarrhea, Nasal congestion or runny nose, body aches or malaise, a loss of taste or smell. The CDC has indicated that there may be increased cases of COVID as we head into the winter months. It is imperative for everyone to remain diligent in working to prevent infections.

We continue to remain free of COVID within our facility. We have been able to implement more communal activities, and the residents have enjoyed them. Check out our Facebook posts to see what’s going on!

The safety of our residents is a priority and we continue to implement the principles of infection control such as masking, hand hygiene, screening for illness, and social distancing outlined by the LDH and CMS. It is imperative that all visitors also adhere to these principles in order to help decrease the risk of exposure for the residents. We understand family’s desire to touch their loved one, but this isn’t allowed under the current regulations issued by CMS. Please respect the policies that have been put in place to help maintain resident’s safety.

We remain COVID free at this time. All staff members continue to test weekly.

Amelia Manor plans to shelter in place for Hurricane Delta. Our generator will run the facility at full capacity. We have been in contact with the Office of Emergency Preparedness and LDH to make them aware of our plans. We will continue to monitor the weather closely, and we will keep the resident representative notified if there are any changes. We will be posting updates on our website and Facebook throughout the duration of the storm to keep you informed of our current status.

There are currently no active cases of COVID-19 among our residents or staff. All staff continue to test weekly. We have been able to begin some small group activities such as bingo and a ladies tea party while maintaining social distancing.

We ask that all families that visit adhere to the policy on visitation. The guidelines such as social distancing and hand hygiene are in place to protect our residents.

We have begun administering the flu shot to our residents this week. Vaccinations are an important part of helping to prevent illness. We encourage all visitors to receive the flu vaccine this season unless contraindicated by your physician.

We continue to be COVID free at this time.  All staff continue to test weekly, but we are not required to test resident’s routinely at this time. 

As we open up for visitation, we want to stress the principles of infection control with all residents, staff, and visitors.  Handwashing, masking, and social distancing is imperative for everyone.  If you are feeling ill or have been exposed to someone that is sick, you are asked to refrain from visiting for at least 14 days.  All visitation is by appointment only at this time.  Please call the facility to arrange an appointment if you would like to visit your loved one. 

Flu season is quickly approaching.  We encourage everyone to receive the flu shot unless contraindicated by your physician.  If you are unsure about whether your loved you has consented for the flu vaccine, please contact Natasha Bourque, RN.  We will begin offering immunizations the first of October. 

All of our residents and staff continue to be negative for COVID at this time. We have been advised that 3 months after diagnosis the residents should be included in routine screenings.

THE FOLLOWING IS OUR VISITATION POLICY WHILE THERE ARE NO POSTIVE CASES IN OUR FACILITY:

Effective 9/24/20, each resident is allowed two visitors for outside visitation. When necessary, one visitor will be allowed indoors. Visitors must maintain a 6-ft social distance from residents and cannot have any physical contact. All visitors must bring and wear your own facemask, hand sanitizer and must be 18 or older. You will be screened upon arrival for any symptoms. Visitation will only be permitted during Monday-Friday, 9AM-7:30PM, by appointment only. All visitation will be in 30 minute intervals and supervised by a staff member.

All of our residents and staff continue to be negative for COVID at this time. We have been advised that 3 months after diagnosis the residents should be included in routine screenings. We will be discussing the following on Monday and reaching out to responsible parties once a plan is in place.

Updated Guidance for Nursing Facility Visitation:
https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-39-nh.pdf

Effective immediately, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) has updated its guidance for visitation in nursing facilities during the COVID-19 public health emergency.

We are to review and update policies for infection control and COVID-19.
While adhering to the core principles of COVID-19 infection prevention and control, communal dining and group activities may occur.

The core principles for infection control and prevention will be adhered to by all visitors. Outdoor visits can be held whenever practicable with certain limitations, by appointment and limited to so many visitors at a time.
Subject to certain limitations, facilities must accommodate and support indoor visits if there have been no new COVID-19 cases in the last 14 days, the facility is not currently conducting outbreak testing, and the parish positivity rate is less than 10%.

The following is the response we received when we contacted the state infection control office about follow up testing for residents that were previously COVID positive and visitation. 

“Yes, if the resident was infected more than 90 days ago, then they may be susceptible to infection again and should be quarantined for 14 days upon return to your facility. Things are constantly changing as new information is released, so unfortunately, visitors must be restricted, and residents must not leave the facility unless it is necessary. To my knowledge, if facilities would like to relax restrictions and have plans for doing so may call or email Health Standards to review the plans. Their contact information is 225-342-0138 or HSS.mail@la.gov.

Thanks,
Alexa Ramirez

As of this time, we have not received any additional guidance from the Louisiana Department of Health.  We have reached out to Health Standards to identify the process they are recommending moving forward. We will post updates on our website and Facebook page as more information becomes available to us. 

Debbie Candella, RN, DON

All of our residents and staff continue to be negative for COVID at this time. Currently we are able to suspend weekly testing for residents but will continue to test staff members. Previously residents that had already had COVID did not have to be part of our routine surveillance testing. We have be advised that 3 months after diagnosis the residents should be included in routine screenings. We have reached out to the State Infection Control Department for clarification. We will post an update when we receive a response. Even though the state will proceed to move into Phase 3 we are still not allowed to have visitors within the facility at this time. As soon as the Louisiana Department of Health issues directives in regards to visitation, we will notify families.

All resident and employee COVID tests this week have been negative.   We remain diligent about hand washing, masking and screening for signs and symptoms of COVID.  We are beginning preparations for flu season. As soon as our pharmacy supplier receives their supply of immunizations, we will begin vaccinations.  The CDC recommends everyone six months of age and older get vaccinated every flu season. We encourage all residents, staff, and family members to get vaccinated for the flu.  If you have questions about the flu vaccine, you can contact our Infection Preventionist Natasha Bourque, RN. 

We managed very well through Hurricane Laura without any incidents. We only had some small branches fall. We never lost power and all of the residents are doing well! We will continue to monitor the weather closely and post updates if our status changes. We have no new cases of COVID at this time. All resident and employee testing for this week has come back negative. We will resume testing for all employees and residents next week.

We are sheltering in place for hurricane Laura. Amelia Manor has never had to evacuate for a hurricane and we are not in a flood zone. We have a generator that will run the building at full capacity. We have plenty of food and water available. We have been in contact with state and local officials to let them know our plans to shelter in place. We will post updates on Facebook and our website to keep families informed of our status. In the event that something would happen that would necessitate an evacuation, we will contact you to provide an update.

As of this time there have been no new cases of COVID to report. We have performed COVID screenings for all residents and some staff this week. Further testing has been suspended due to impending weather conditions. We will resume testing once the threat of severe weather has passed.

As of August 20, we have had a total of 53 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Amelia Manor since our first case in April – 40 resident cases and 13 staff cases. We currently have 3 positive residents and 1 employee. As a reminder, we now have a secured COVID unit with a gated courtyard dedicated to any COVID positive residents. All residents and staff that have not had COVID-19, are tested weekly through the state designated laboratory. We will continue to work closely with the Office of Public Health to maintain testing protocols.

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones.

As of August 18, we have had 51 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Amelia Manor – 38 resident cases and 13 staff cases. We now have a secured COVID unit with a gated courtyard dedicated to any COVID positive residents. All residents and staff that have not had COVID-19, are tested weekly through the state designated laboratory. We will continue to work closely with the Office of Public Health to maintain testing protocols.

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones.

To date we have had 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Amelia Manor – 38 resident cases and 12 staff cases. In the event that a resident tests positive for COVID, the facility will notify the resident representative by phone.  All residents and staff that have not had COVID-19, are tested weekly through the state designated laboratory.  We are currently on round 13 of testing for residents and round 9 of testing for employees.  The turnaroundtime to receive testing results has improved significantly. We are currently receiving results within 48 -72 hours.  With the re-opening of schools, there is an expected increase in community testing which may affect the time in which we are able to get test results.  We will continue to work closely with the Office of Public Health to maintain testing protocols. 

As per OPH and CDC guidance, we are using the Symptom-Based or Time-Based Strategy for determining when individuals are no longer infectious.  We continue to implement mitigating actions such as active screening of residents and staff for symptoms of COVID-19, canceling communal dining and activities, practice social distancing, perform frequent hand hygiene, prohibit all non-essential visitors from entering the building, mandatory masking for all employees and masking for residents that leave their rooms.  We have worked with physicians within the community to increase the use of telemedicine visits when appropriate to help decrease the risk of exposure to our residents.  

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones.

Today, we are reporting two new positive COVID employee cases. So far, all resident’s results from this week’s testing have come back negative. Any new cases of COVID will be announced on the website and appropriate responsible party will be contacted. Masking remains mandatory when a resident comes out of their room. All staff and residents are screened daily for any possible symptoms and we continue to test both employees and residents weekly. We are continuing to follow the CDC and LDH guidelines for infection control.

Today, we are reporting another positive employee case and one positive resident case. We are testing all residents today and any new cases of COVID will be announced on the website. Masking remains mandatory when a resident comes out of their room. All staff and residents are screened daily for any possible symptoms and we continue to test both employees and residents weekly. We are continuing to follow the CDC and LDH guidelines for infection control.

It’s imperative we all continue to do our part – masks, social distance, and frequent hand hygiene.

Today, we have one new employee case to report. This makes a total of 9 employees since the start of testing. Currently, we have no known resident cases in our facility. We continue to monitor the health of our residents and employees and are testing weekly. We are moving doctor’s visits to telemedicine when possible to limit unnecessary exposure. We are slowly allowing our additional services, such as our podiatrist, back into the building. The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones. We have also implemented iN2l tablets that residents will have access to connect with the world around them, particularly with their family and friends.

It’s imperative we all continue to do our part – masks, social distance, and frequent hand hygiene.

We have no new cases to report from last week’s test results. We continue to monitor the health of our residents and employees. Our staff is tested weekly and residents tested when symptomatic or upon positive direct care staff case. We are moving doctor’s visits to telemedicine when possible to limit unnecessary exposure. We are slowly allowing our additional services, such as our podiatrist, back into the building. The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones. We have also implemented iN2l tablets that residents will have access to connect with the world around them, particularly with their family and friends.

It’s imperative we all continue to do our part – masks, social distance, and frequent hand hygiene

Since our last update, our COVID cases have not changed. Since April, we have had a total of 44 cases, 8 being employees and 36 residents.

We are excited to announce that we are rolling out a new program. We were granted 9 iN2L touchscreen tablets. iN2L is an innovative computer system, designed just for your loved ones in our care. These tablets are programmed for activities, games, therapy, reminiscing, music, virtual travel, and so much more. One of our favorite features of the iN2L system is that it provides an opportunity for our residents to connect with the world around them, particularly with their family and friends. A profile will be made for the resident and family & friend contacts will be added for easy access. You will be able to send messages, pictures, and virtual visit. You will still need to call the facility to set up a date and time for the visit. At that point you’ll receive a message from (970) 710-4625 with a link to connect. With your continued support, we know that this addition to our community is going to be a great success!

We have had two employees that are not in direct resident care test positive. All staff and residents are screened daily for any possible symptoms and we continue to test both employees and residents weekly. We are continuing to follow the CDC and LDH guidelines for infection control.

Amelia Manor is conducting weekly testing on all employees. Last week’s test results have shown that we have one employee who is COVID-19 positive. Since April, we have had a total of 42 COVID-19 cases in residents and employees. Currently, we have no known active resident cases. All employees and residents will be re-tested this week. Any new information will be updated to this site.

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones.

Today, our facility is happy to report that our third round of COVID-19 testing for employees and residents have come back negative. Since April, we have had a total of 41 COVID-19 cases in residents and employees. Currently, we have two staff members recovering at home and no active cases in residents. All employees and residents will be re-tested this week.

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones.

The total number of COVID cases among Amelia Manor residents and staff is 41. We haven’t had a positive resident case since 5/19/20. We continue to screen all residents and staff for symptoms and elevated temperature daily. Amelia Manor is conducting weekly COVID testing for employees and residents that have not had the virus. We utilized the Symptom / Time Based Strategy, as outlined by CDC/ LDH, to clear employees to return to work. All new cases of COVID will be announced on the website. Masking remains mandatory when a resident comes out of their room.

We have been fortunate to be the recipient of a grant through LEADER to receive 9 iN2L tablets. These are filled with interactive videos, games and puzzles. They are also designed to make virtual visitations with loved ones easier.

Thank you for entrusting us with the care of your loved ones.

We have two positive cases of COVID-19 in staff. We will be testing all residents again on Monday as precautionary measure and will continue weekly testing of all staff. We will be working with OPH and all employees have to follow the return to work guidelines outlined by LDH.

Dear Family Members,

Fighting the spread of the COVID-19 is our number one priority. We continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Today, our facility is reporting that we do have an active employee COVID-19 case in our facility. To date, we have had a total of 40 cases in residents and employees with 36 of those considered recovered. We continue to monitor the health of our residents and employees.

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials. We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones.

We have no active cases of COVID-19 at Amelia Manor at this time. To date we have had a total of 39 confirmed cases in residents and staff. We are performing weekly testing on our employees as per state guidelines. The first round of testing was negative for all employees. Universal masking for all employees and for all residents any time they leave their room remains in place. We continue to monitor all residents and staff for any symptoms of COVID-19 on a daily basis. Unfortunately due to the continued prevalence of COVID-19 in the community, visitors are still not allowed within the facility as per state guidelines.

All of our residents and staff with COVID-19 have recovered. There have been no new diagnosed cases since May 19th. We initiated testing of all employees this week and are awaiting results. We will be performing weekly employee screenings until further guidance received from LDH. Announcements will be made on website any time we have a new resident or staff member diagnosed with COVID. We will continue mandatory masking for all staff and stressing hand hygiene. We are still unable to have visitors in the building per LDH directives.

We have had no new cases since last reported. Of the 39 residents and staff that were positive, 35 are recovered.

We performed routine surveillance testing on all residents that have not had COVID and we are working with Omega Diagnostics and OPH to set testing for all employees.

We still are unable to have visitors in the facility. Families can call during business hours to make arrangements for electronic visitation.

Amelia Manor has 31 recovered residents as of June 3, 2020. We will continue to do screening through stated contracted lab and update as needed.

Tropical Storm Cristobal:
Amelia Manor plans to shelter in place with the recent updates on the storm. We will continue to monitor Tropical Storm Cristobal and will update families of any changes in our plan.

Dear Family Members,

Fighting the spread of the COVID-19 is our number one priority.  We continue to follow the guidelines set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Today, our facility is reporting that we do have active resident COVID-19 cases in our facility. No new cases have been identified since last reported. Thirty residents are considered recovered along with the staff. We continue to monitor the health of our residents and employees.

The “NO VISITORS AT THIS TIME” policy is still in effect per our Local and Federal Government officials.  We would like to remind you that we are happy to assist with virtual visitation calls so that you can visit with your loved ones. 

We continue to work with the Office of Public Health to do surveillance testing on all residents at Amelia Manor. We will continue to test residents that have previously tested negative at intervals advised by the OPH. The resident and the resident representative will be notified of any positive test results. To date we have had 39 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in residents and staff, and we continue to have people at varying stages of the illness from fully recovered to newly diagnosed. As per OPH guidance, we are using the Symptom-Based Strategy for determining when residents are no longer infectious. We continue to implement all mitigating actions listed in our previous posts and work with our local and state agencies to guide our treatment protocols. We will continue to keep the Amelia Manor Nursing Home community updated on all developments with updates on the facility website at least weekly and with each new confirmed COVID case in a resident or employee. 

To date we continue to have had 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in residents and staff, and 24 of the cases have recovered. As per OPH guidance, we are using the Symptom-Based Strategy for determining when residents are no longer infectious and are considered recovered.  We re-tested all residents that have previously tested negative on 5/19/20 as part of OPH recommendations for prevalence screening.  We continue to work with our local and state agencies to guide our treatment protocolsand to implement mitigating actions listed in our previous posts such as hand hygiene, social distancing, and screening of both residents and staff for symptoms. We will continue to post updates on all developments on the facility website at least weekly and with each new confirmed COVID case in a resident or employee. 

We continue to work with the Office of Public Health to do surveillance testing on all residents at Amelia Manor. We will continue to test residents that have previously tested negative at intervals advised by the OPH. The resident and the resident representative will be notified of any positive test results. To date we have had 38 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in residents and staff, and we continue to have people at varying stages of the illness from fully recovered to newly diagnosed. As per OPH guidance, we are using the Symptom-Based Strategy for determining when residents are no longer infectious. We continue to implement all mitigating actions listed in our previous posts and work with our local and state agencies to guide our treatment protocols. We will continue to keep the Amelia Manor Nursing Home community updated on all developments with updates on the facility website at least weekly and with each new confirmed COVID case in a resident or employee. 

As has been reported, there have been multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Amelia Manor Nursing Home. When the first case was confirmed on April 10, 2020, residents and their resident representative were notified by phone.  As soon as a case is suspected in residents, our team quickly notifies the proper state agencies as well as the resident, resident representative and staff. The affected individuals are receiving proper medical attention and are placed in transmission-based precautions as directed by CDC and the Louisiana Office of Public Health. Our team continues to implement all Louisiana Department of Health and CDC recommended protocols to protect our residents’ safety and wellbeing.  We are able to provide testing through the State Lab and MedComp Sciences with results typically within 48-72 hours.  We maintain frequent contact with the Office of Public Health and discuss any changing dynamics within our facility.  We provide daily reporting to the Louisiana Office of Public Health via the “Daily COVID Suspect Cases and Potential Outbreak Survey”.  We have contact every weekday with the VA and provide a detailed report of cases three times a week.  We will begin mandatory reporting to the CDC once full access to the reporting site has been established.   We are currently working in conjunction with the Office of Public Health to have every resident in the facility tested for COVID-19.  To date we have had 37 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in residents and staff.  We have people at different stages of the illness from fully recovered to newly diagnosed.  As per OPH guidance, we are using the Symptom-Based Strategy for determining when residents are no longer infectious.  We continue to implement mitigating actions such as active screening of residents and staff for symptoms of COVID-19, cancel communal dining and activities, practice social distancing, perform frequent hand hygiene, prohibit all non-essential visitors from entering the building, cohorting ill residents in area with designated staff, rescheduling of appointments, utilizing telemedicine visits when they can’t be rescheduled, and extending isolation precautions beyond the recommended guidance from CDC.  We will continue to keep the Amelia Manor Nursing Home community updated on all developments with regular updates on the facility website.

As has been reported, there are confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Amelia Manor Nursing Home. As soon as a case was confirmed, our team quickly notified the proper state and federal agencies, as well as residents, family members and staff. Our residents are receiving proper medical attention and our thoughts and prayers are with the them and their family. Our team continues to implement all Louisiana Department of Health-recommended protocols to protect our residents’ safety and wellbeing, including restricting non-essential visitors. We will continue to keep the Amelia Manor Nursing Home community updated on all developments. To learn how you can best protect yourself and your family from COVID-19, visit ldh.la.gov.

Effective immediately, the Louisiana Department of Health is directing and requiring all nursing homes in Louisiana to prohibit all non-health care related visitors for 30 days between the dates of March 12, 2020 and April 10, 2020 unless otherwise extended by written notice from the Department of Health. We are asking the general public and family members to refrain from visiting Amelia Manor. LDH and LNHA are keeping us updated with the Coronavirus outbreak. This new strain of the Coronavirus is causing major problems in elders with underlying health issues. Our main concern is the safety of our residents. We know that this will create some uneasiness and worry. Please feel free to call our facility at 337-234-7331 to arrange an alternative way of communicating with your loved one such as phone calls, Skype or Facetime. Regular updates will be posted on the Amelia Manor Nursing Home Facebook page and website AmeliaManor.com. Thank you for your help and understanding during this process.