- Good afternoon Fowler Family!
- COVID UPDATE:
- Dallas County reported 348 new cases yesterday and 2 more deaths
- The cumulative confirmed case count in Dallas County is 78,723including 1,002 confirmed deaths.
- There has been a 14% increase in the 18-22 age group in the past 3 weeks
- There has also been an increase in school age children
- Other data from the Dallas County Health and Human Services website
- 90% of confirmed cases were not hospitalized
- 0f the 10% who were hospitalized, 57% had underlying high-risk health conditions
- 31% diabetes
- 17% obesity
- 13% heart disease [CHF]
- 11% kidney disease
- 10% lung disease
- 7% cancer or immune-compromised
- Of the 1,002 who died:
- 63% male, 37% female
- Race ethnicity of confirmed deaths
- 46% Hispanic
- 26% White
- 24% Black
- 3% Asian
- Age
- 63% were over 65
- 33% 41-64
- 4% 18-40
- <1% 0-17
- The most positive data we have is regarding Dallas County’s positivity score.
- CMS tracks a positivity score in every county
- Long-term care communities in counties with a 10% positivity or more are in a red zone and required to test staff 2x/week – Dallas County has been greater than 10% up until this week and our staff has been tested 2x/week
- For the first time, Dallas County has dropped below the 10% – Dallas County is at 8.5% positivity which means our staff can go to 1x/week testing
- We are far from over. There are concerns in other states that are experiencing increases, primarily in younger age groups
- A new report from the CDC now shows people ages20 to 29 accounted for more than 20% of all confirmed Covid-19 cases between June and August.
- This increase in younger adults, generally preceded an increase in older adults by 8 days, suggesting younger adults are driving community spread
- This is important to remember as you spend time with family
- Warnings from experts have remained the same for months: wear a mask, wash your hands, social distance and avoid crowded places.
- VISITORS:
- On Tuesday, I shared that Gov. Abbott announced plans to expand visitation in long-term care facilities effective today, September 24, 2020
- The governor essentially lifted his Executive Order banning visitation for assisted living and skilled nursing communities leaving Health and Human Services [HHS] in place for oversight
- Yesterday, we received the guidelines from HHS for visitation in licensed areas
- As you can imagine, there are pages of detail and requirements that must first be met – in person visitation has not started at Fowler
- We are anxious to welcome our family members back to Fowler but there are significant requirements before visitation starts
- Window Visits and End of Life visits will continue and do not require Visitation Designation as described below
- Expanded Visitation Overview for Long-term Care Facilities [Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Communities] from Texas Health and Human Services:
- Facility must achieve Visitation Designation through application to the state based on current COVID status and other factors, which includes being COVID free for 14 days
- this is important – we can gain and lose designation, so it is critical we implement correctly and that we maintain our vigilance to remain COVID free
- There is no indication as to how long it will take the state to approve these applications
- Each resident may designate 2 Essential Caregivers who will be trained in PPE use and infection control; they must meet COVID testing requirements
- Essential Caregivers will visit the resident in-room, one at a time by appointment, using PPE, being screened, and escorted in and out of the room
- We are limited by regulation as to the number of visitors allowed in the building at any one time
- “Reopening is optional for facilities; those who feel they do not have the resources to re-open safely will not be mandated to open or allow for essential caregivers.”
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- This is a general overview – there is considerable detail involved with each step and requirement along with significant documentation of every process and every visit
- It will be imperative that our families exercise our Love Your Neighbor Basics as well – after 37 weeks, we cannot have COVID walk into our community and infect a resident
- We have gone to great lengths to mitigate the risk of COVID. It is imperative that we put as much thought into these next steps, as we did for our restrictions.
- DELIVERIES:
- A reminder: Only deliveries for residents in Pearl Nordan Care Center should be coming to the Administration Center at 1234 Abrams Road. Effective next week, deliveries for PNCC will be accepted Monday Wednesday, Friday, 9am-4pm. No more Saturday. Tomorrow is the last Saturday delivery time at the Administration Center for PNCC.
- FCA will continue accepting deliveries on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 9am-5:30 pm
- Jackson Living Center accepts deliveries daily
- UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Celebration of Life Service – Monday, 9/28, please join us virtually in honoring our Fowler residents who have passed away in the last quarter
- EAST DALLAS NEIGHBORHOOD UPDATE: Willis Winters Park – formerly Randall Park
- In the spirit of community, Fowler hosted a Virtual Information Meeting via Zoom this past Tuesday, moderated by Nicole Gann, Fowler president and CEO
- Those in attendance included spokespersons for and against the proposed park changes, neighborhood association representatives, Friends of Santa Fe Trail, DISD official, city council official, and Park Board officials
- We all learned new information which helps us have informed opinions
- Unfortunately, the recording of the entire Zoom call has a sound quality issue. Our issue has been elevated within ZOOM, but has not been resolved
- We are still working on a solution and will provide you with a resolution for access to the information presented
- One thing we learned was that the Park Department has implemented a new Request for Proposal process for consideration of all new projects
- The ideas regarding the park are new project ideas and will follow this new process which will include public hearings, studies, etc. Studies might include noise, parking and crime studies.
- As I have said before, Fowler supports the process; we support community involvement and being a good neighbor
- We have the largest Neighborhood Association in close proximity to this proposal and at some point, our feedback will be requested
- Meanwhile, we will continue to learn about the dream some neighbors have for the students and families of our East Dallas neighborhood and the concerns that are shared by others
- Once we have all the information, our opinions can be formed
- Meanwhile, if you are engaging on social media, remember – you speak for yourself, you do not speak for Fowler or for your neighbors.
- GREAT PLACE TO WORK SURVEY:
- The Great Place to Work Survey has ended – thank you to our team members who completed it
- We anticipate knowing in December if we achieved this designation for the third year in a row
- TRAINING – As part of our continued conversation regarding racism, we are engaging a consultant to lead us in Anti-Racism training. I will have more information at a later date, but I look forward for this opportunity for growth as individuals and as an organization. Our culture is a Learner culture. Our minds must always be open to learning and growing. As a team, we will move forward in relationship to our values – Love people. Pursue excellence. Make a difference.
- Make it a great day on purpose!
All COVID Updates are posted on our website – www.fowlercommunities.org/covid19/
COVID Hotline: Phone: 214-515-7184 • Spanish Speaking Line: 214-515-1385
Email: Covid19info@fowlercommunities.org
COVID-19 Mental Health Support Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week toll-free at 833-986-1919
