The Millstone Times June 2020

As We Age Monmouth Crossing Assisted Living: Getting through the Crisis By Pam Teel While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed much in our lives, CentraState’s commitment to improve the health and wellness of our community has not. “We are commit- ted and prepared to care for you in a safe environment,” stated Heleyne Gladstein, Administrator for the facility. As you know, the coronavirus is particularly dangerous to our elderly residents, who are your loved ones, and to the staff members who are the true heroes on the front line every day. We are committed to be transparent to all parties and will provide daily updates of COVID cases in our community to include both residents and staff members. Staff members who display symptoms are taken off of the schedule in accordance with all healthcare guidelines. Rest assured we are doing our very best to take wonderful care of your loved ones and promote their health and well-being and are committed to mitigation and containment. It has been a rough two months and we couldn’t have gotten through it without many of our devoted staff members staying on to do their jobs during the worst of the crisis. They have become our front line heroes despite the anxieties and fear that they all faced. We have also taken extra precautions to keep them safe during their shifts, and these include: • All staff are screened daily for fever and /or symptoms prior to starting their workday. • All staff at Monmouth Crossing has the PPE to include N-95 masks, gloves, face shields/goggles, gowns if assisting a positive COVID resident, and hand sanitizer. • All staff has been in-serviced on the importance of hand washing. (Residents are asked to wear a mask when a caregiver enters their apartment for their own health and safety) The Centrastate Healthcare system has taken many safety measures. We have put safe protocols in place for our patients and their families to prevent exposure to COVID-19 in our hospital, outpatient facilities and primary and specialty care offices. These practices will remain in place and more will be added as we prepare to resume performing non-urgent and elective procedures, in alignment with the state’s “The Road Back” principles for a safe resumption of social and economic activities. We remain in close con- tact with public health officials and follow best practices from the Centers for Disease Control and New Jersey Department of Health regarding infection control procedures in hospital and residential health settings. Our commitment to serve as a local leader in response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is unwavering. Some steps we have taken, from the Centrastate website, to keep our residents safe and healthy include: • Closing the main dining room and providing all 3 meals in the residents’ apartments. Residents will be isolated from other residents. • Implementing a strict non-visitation policy. Communication with your loved ones may be accomplished through telephone, email, skype/facetime, window visits. • Activities include incorporating rolling theme carts that will go door to door for residents for socialization and enjoyment. This is and has been a team effort from the start. The health and safety of the residents has always been and remains Monmouth Crossings number one priority. The admin- istration and the staff together have committed to doing everything possible to protect and care for their residents According to Ms. Gladstein, things are starting to look up. She is pleased to announce that they have had no new cases of either residents or staff since 4/27/20, and they are currently following the latest state mandate to test all residents and staff members by May 26, 2020. They are hopeful for a favorable outcome to these tests and hope to move towards a new state of normalcy.

www. TheMillstoneTimes.com 43