I thought it might be helpful to share steps you can take to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. If you follow IDPH, CDC, CMS or any other healthcare government agency on Facebook, then likely you have seen these tips hundreds of times in the past month. Nonetheless, it never hurts to be reminded.
The first step in preventing the spread of Coronavirus is really a no brainer that we should be doing anyway to prevent other forms of sickness. WASH YOUR HANDS. How many times have you heard that in the last month? Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (that’s the “alphabet song” or one verse of “Happy Birthday”). It is especially important to wash your hands after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, going to the bathroom, before and after eating or preparing foods and when returning home from somewhere. Hand sanitizer can be used when you don’t have soap and water available to you.
Step two sounds so easy, yet it is one of the most difficult steps for me! Don’t touch your face – stop rubbing your eyes (get more sleep!), wiping your nose, and stop biting those nails! If I understand COVID-19 correctly (which I am not sure anyone does), the quickest way to contract it is to get it on our hands and then rub it into an opening on our face.
When you go out into public, CDC is now recommending that you wear a facemask. It is not appropriate to wear medical facemasks, or N95 masks as healthcare professionals need those for outbreaks.
There are lots of suggestions how to create cloth masks on the internet. Just make sure the material is tightly woven. Our research says that a dishcloth gives the best protection, but CDC says a piece of cotton works just fine. I would use a couple layers for good protection.
So, all of you trend setters out there, wear a mask! Right now (though I haven’t been there since the beginning of March), if you go to Dave’s you won’t see a lot of people wearing masks yet. Let’s make it the COOL thing to do!
Lastly – STAY HOME! Now, let me tell you, I am an introvert and the thought of a shelter-in-place order actually brought a little excitement to me. I must confess though, I’m a little sick of it! I’m ready to go to church again. I’m ready to go out to eat with my wife again, or make my weekly (who am I kidding, daily!) trip to Ace Hardware. I think, honestly, we are all getting a little sick of staying home, but it is important to keep this virus under control.
FAIRVIEW HAVEN PROTOCOL:
I would like to remind everyone that Fairview Haven is on a mandatory lockdown implemented by CMS on March 13, 2020. This unfortunately means that, unless absolutely necessary, residents are not allowed to leave Fairview Haven and visitors are not allowed into Fairview Haven. As the weather is improving and spring is here, it is very difficult for our residents to stay indoors (and for us to keep them indoors)! Therefore, residents are able to go outside in the courtyards at Fairview Haven and Serenity Villa. Residents are not able to be on the front patio at this time.
PLEASE do not use this nice weather to try and meet up with residents at Fairview Haven. Continue to communicate with your loved ones via phone calls, FaceTime, Skype, window visits and other creative ways. We are in the process of creating a way to do patio visits in the near future, but not at this time. Residents are allowed to venture away from the courtyard if they are accompanied by a team member who will ensure they maintain a safe distance from people in the community.
We would also like to address concerns that have recently been expressed by different people. How are we ensuring that team members are safe to be inside Fairview Haven? Naturally, we can’t guarantee that our team members are following all the guidelines we give them, but here are the guidelines we suggest. Starting on March 11, per CDC guidelines, our team members have been required to be screened upon entering Fairview Haven. Nobody with a temperature is allowed to work. If anyone has symptoms of COVID-19, they will be sent home and asked to consult their physician. We have strongly encouraged our team members to shelter-in-place per the Governor of Illinois' instructions. We understand that we can’t control what our team members do on their personal time, but trust they are taking this seriously and protecting themselves in order to protect your loved ones.
-Dave Blunier, Administrator
The first step in preventing the spread of Coronavirus is really a no brainer that we should be doing anyway to prevent other forms of sickness. WASH YOUR HANDS. How many times have you heard that in the last month? Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (that’s the “alphabet song” or one verse of “Happy Birthday”). It is especially important to wash your hands after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, going to the bathroom, before and after eating or preparing foods and when returning home from somewhere. Hand sanitizer can be used when you don’t have soap and water available to you.
Step two sounds so easy, yet it is one of the most difficult steps for me! Don’t touch your face – stop rubbing your eyes (get more sleep!), wiping your nose, and stop biting those nails! If I understand COVID-19 correctly (which I am not sure anyone does), the quickest way to contract it is to get it on our hands and then rub it into an opening on our face.
When you go out into public, CDC is now recommending that you wear a facemask. It is not appropriate to wear medical facemasks, or N95 masks as healthcare professionals need those for outbreaks.
There are lots of suggestions how to create cloth masks on the internet. Just make sure the material is tightly woven. Our research says that a dishcloth gives the best protection, but CDC says a piece of cotton works just fine. I would use a couple layers for good protection.
So, all of you trend setters out there, wear a mask! Right now (though I haven’t been there since the beginning of March), if you go to Dave’s you won’t see a lot of people wearing masks yet. Let’s make it the COOL thing to do!
Lastly – STAY HOME! Now, let me tell you, I am an introvert and the thought of a shelter-in-place order actually brought a little excitement to me. I must confess though, I’m a little sick of it! I’m ready to go to church again. I’m ready to go out to eat with my wife again, or make my weekly (who am I kidding, daily!) trip to Ace Hardware. I think, honestly, we are all getting a little sick of staying home, but it is important to keep this virus under control.
FAIRVIEW HAVEN PROTOCOL:
I would like to remind everyone that Fairview Haven is on a mandatory lockdown implemented by CMS on March 13, 2020. This unfortunately means that, unless absolutely necessary, residents are not allowed to leave Fairview Haven and visitors are not allowed into Fairview Haven. As the weather is improving and spring is here, it is very difficult for our residents to stay indoors (and for us to keep them indoors)! Therefore, residents are able to go outside in the courtyards at Fairview Haven and Serenity Villa. Residents are not able to be on the front patio at this time.
PLEASE do not use this nice weather to try and meet up with residents at Fairview Haven. Continue to communicate with your loved ones via phone calls, FaceTime, Skype, window visits and other creative ways. We are in the process of creating a way to do patio visits in the near future, but not at this time. Residents are allowed to venture away from the courtyard if they are accompanied by a team member who will ensure they maintain a safe distance from people in the community.
We would also like to address concerns that have recently been expressed by different people. How are we ensuring that team members are safe to be inside Fairview Haven? Naturally, we can’t guarantee that our team members are following all the guidelines we give them, but here are the guidelines we suggest. Starting on March 11, per CDC guidelines, our team members have been required to be screened upon entering Fairview Haven. Nobody with a temperature is allowed to work. If anyone has symptoms of COVID-19, they will be sent home and asked to consult their physician. We have strongly encouraged our team members to shelter-in-place per the Governor of Illinois' instructions. We understand that we can’t control what our team members do on their personal time, but trust they are taking this seriously and protecting themselves in order to protect your loved ones.
-Dave Blunier, Administrator
