COVID-19 Information

To Our Residents, Family Members and Staff:

Update #48 | Dated: 10-16-20

We hope this update finds both you and your loved ones doing well. As promised, we want to update you on our plans to help keep our residents “Safe and Social” during the coming Holiday Season and winter months.

Throughout the pandemic, we have been balancing our efforts to keep the virus out of our communities while maintaining the health and wellness of our residents and staff which of course goes way beyond just sheltering in place. Below you will find an update on our latest plans and procedures as well as guidance from both the Department of Public Health (DPH) and Governor Kemp.

Holiday Plans:

Our teams, partnering across all of our communities, have been working tirelessly to ensure that we are able to continue to make this holiday season special in the midst of our “new normal”. With that, we recognize how important spending time with one another is during this holiday season. That is why we pushed to find creative and proven safe ways to continue our in-person family visits indoors. The details on the equipment we have purchased and the policies tied to indoor visits can be found below.

Along with continued visitations, our calendars are full of opportunities to celebrate the season as a community and in safe, socially engaging ways. Our plans include: local choirs performing outdoor concerts; residents caroling throughout our neighborhood settings; resident-led service projects have already started to support local organizations; we’re organizing traditional family Holiday celebrations based on residents’ traditions; and more to come.

With that, please check out our Facebook page to learn more about our vibrant, safe and social community.

As you start your holiday planning please continue to keep in mind what you and your loved ones can do to minimize your risk and the risk posed to your loved ones and neighbors. As a resource holiday planning guidance from the CDC can be found here. We are also here for you if you should want to talk through any of your holiday planning.

Update to Policies and Procedures:

• Visitation: We will continue scheduled in person visits for residents and loved ones in specially designed, large annex rooms as the weather cools. These rooms are specially equipped with top of the line air filtrations and surface cleaning technologies. That said, as the weather permits, outside visits are still the preferred option for visits as we have deployed heaters and additional seating to support these visits.
  • We will offer limited visitation timeslots separated by at least 15-minute cleaning buffers
  • There will be a limited number of visitors allowed in the room as dictated by square footage
  • All visitors who intend to have an indoor visit are recommended to obtain a regular COVID test
  • All visitors will be screened prior to entering the building and will be required to wear a mask at all times. Due to the fact masks must be worn at all times, there will be no eating/drinking during these indoor visits.
• Based on this new guidance, beginning November 2^nd, Sterling Estates of East Cobb will start scheduling indoor visitations from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nearly all visitation will be during these hours unless prearranged in coordination with our management team. If circumstances change, obviously visitation guidelines in specific areas may change quickly as well. Please reach out to the community directly regarding how to best schedule these visits.
• Activities: Our large indoor spaces afford us the ability to spread out and continue to safely conduct and participate in small group exercise classes, dining and engaging group activities throughout each of the DPH phases of reopening. More detailed plans tied to the DPH phased reopening schedule can be found here.
• Preparation for the flu season: Our staff and many residents are getting their flu shots through one of our preferred providers. Getting your flu shot this year is more important than ever! If you aren’t participating in our flu shot program please be sure to go out and get your shot as soon as possible to protect yourself, your family and your community.

Latest Guidance from the State:

• The DPH issued additional guidance for long-term communities (LTC) that outlines a phased approach for how to responsibly ease and strengthen restrictions for long-term communities. We have been working directly with the DPH and their teams of experts on this guidance for months now and much of what has been now communicated to all communities in the state has already been implemented at Sterling. This administrative order can be found here.
• Governor Kemp has again extended the Executive Order which details the steps the state is taking to empower a healthy Georgia in response to COVID-19. This order extends the shelter in place order for residents of Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities (our communities) through October 31^st. We fully expect that this order will continue to be renewed as long as there is still widespread infection of the virus in our state.
  • Sheltering in place means our residents should only prioritize essential/medical trips per the governor’s orders. 

We are excited for this next phase of responsibly defining our “new normal” and look forward to a wonderful holiday season.

The Sterling Estates Partners and Management Team

To Our Residents, Family Members and Staff Members:

Update #47 | Dated: 9-17-20

We hope this letter finds you and your loved ones doing well. With Fall upon us and Winter just around the corner, we wanted to update you on our planning and preparation for the change of seasons and all that follows.  

First, we couldn’t be more thankful that over the past 6 months we have been able to limit the impact the pandemic has had on our community through our policies, procedures, programming and use of PPE. We are proud of our staff as they continue to remain vigilant while in the community supporting our residents and while away from work with their own loved ones. Our team members remain committed to regular testing in line with the CDC, state and federal guidance. All of this to ensure we do all we can to keep our residents safe…and social!

We are happy to report that, at this time, we do not have any COVID positive residents or staff members with no one exhibiting or displaying any signs or symptoms of the COVID-19 virus.

With these changes of seasons comes the Flu season and maybe a “second wave” of the coronavirus. As such, we are in the midst of reviewing our current policies and procedures both internally and with our contacts at the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Our goal is to make sure that our communities are prepared to react to any complications that the seasonal flu may present or changes in COVID-19, all while maintaining the engagement activities, family visits and other socialization activities that our residents and their families rely on. This remains a priority for us as we know that these activities, especially family visits, are essential to our residents’ health and wellbeing. As we move towards finalizing our plans, we will share these updates with you.

That said, we continue to have ample supplies of PPE and have been able to setup additional supply chains to supplement our current PPE supplies. Just this month we purchased an additional 10,000 KN-95 masks and 20,000 surgical masks to go along with the supplies that we’ve already deployed.

Update on Executive Order:

Earlier this week, Governor Kemp again extended the Executive Order which details the steps the state is taking to empower a healthy Georgia in response to COVID-19. This order extends the shelter in place order for residents of Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities (our communities) through September 30^th. This executive order also introduced additional guidance from the DPH which details steps for how and when LTC facilities can ease policies and guidelines tied to the prevalence of the COVID-19 virus in each of our individual communities and larger counties. We will be including new phases of reopening in our updated policies tied to the change in seasons. 

As we were able to define our “new normal” this past Spring and Summer, we are confident that with your support and the partnerships that we have developed with our local experts, we will again be able to define our “new normal” this Fall and Winter whilst ensuring our residents remain both Safe and Social.

We will be back in touch regarding our updated policies and procedures soon. Thank you again and please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

The Sterling Estates Partners and Management Team

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What are you doing right now to prevent the spread of COVID-19?

• We have changed our visitor policy. No visitors are permitted in our community until further notice.
  • We will make limited exceptions in extreme or emergency cases. These must be expressly approved by the Executive Director. Anyone entering the community under these circumstances will be screened upon arrival.
  • Only essential health care providers, including home health, private duty, nursing services, physicians, physical therapy, and hospice staff will be granted access to the community once they have completed our entry screening procedures.
    • All of these caretakers will check in with the front desk, screened and will have their temperatures taken.
  • The assisted living building now only has one entrance as all secondary access points have been secured ensuring there is only one point of entry (still ensuring that the community meets all state safety codes).
  • Assisted Living residents are required to remain on community grounds, except for necessary medical care. And our Independent Residents are encouraged to limit their public exposure by staying on community grounds.
  • Deliveries of packages will be made outside the assisted living building and a staff member will accept them.

• We have changed our dining procedures.
  • To avoid close contact during meals, our main dining rooms will be closed for at least the next 2 weeks. Meals will be delivered to each resident moving forward.

• Any resident returning from a necessary medical appointment outside of the community will be required to stay in his/her apartment for 14 days upon their return and will be closely monitored.
• All residents are monitored daily for: fever or any other symptoms of the infection (body aches, dry cough, etc.).
• In following the guidance of our home health partners, all non-essential physical, occupational and speech therapies have been suspended at this time. These changes should also be communicated to you directly by your home health provider. Sterling will work directly with you and your loved one to offer necessary supports until those services resume.
• We have updated our activity plans and calendars to adjust for smaller group (under 10 people at a time) activities, more outdoor events, as well as utilize all available technology in order to ensure our residents remain safe but also engaged.
• We take all staff members’ temperatures 2x every day. If anyone has a fever or has cold-like symptoms, we do not allow them to

What happens if there is a confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus in the community?

• If there is a suspected or confirmed case, we will follow all CDC guidelines and work closely with the state and local departments of health. We continue to monitor all residents and staff members for illness and symptoms. If there are concerning conditions or symptoms to share about your loved one, rest assured that someone on the Sterling Estates team will contact you directly.
  • What this would look like:
  • Residents:
    • Residents must now remain in their apartments until further notice.
    • Residents’ temperatures will be taken twice a day.
    • We will continue to provide in-room meal services.
  • Staff:
    • All staff will wear a mask and gloves while in the community.
    • All companions will wear PPE (gloves, eye protection and mask) while providing care for our residents.
    • Staff members will receive symptom screenings two times a day, including a temperature check.

Will you tell me if there is a case of COVID-19 in our community?

• Yes. If we are made aware of a positive COVID-19 case by someone in your community, we will notify residents and their families.

Are you testing residents and staff for COVID-19?

• We know many of you are interested in making more COVID-19 tests available to members of our community. Local health officials are responsible for determining all COVID-19 testing protocols. We will continue to work with our county and state health departments. If they decide that broad testing is necessary and appropriate in a Sterling Estates community, we will fully support this effort and notify you that this is taking place.

Resident Illness

• How are you checking residents?
  • In assisted living and memory care, we are proactively monitoring the temperatures and symptoms of all residents. Residents in independent living are encouraged to contact the community care team to inquire about the symptoms to be looking for as well as ask about prevention best practices.
• What happens if a resident has symptoms?
  • We will assist and report to EMS any residents with cold-like or flu-like symptoms, including fever of more than 100.4°, coughing, or shortness of breath with contacting their physician for medical care.

Comments & Concerns

• Who do I call if I have a comment, concern, or complaint?
  • The first person you should call is your community’s executive director.
    • Fayetteville: Holly Woods 770-461-0039
    • East Cobb: Ann White 678-946-4445
    • West Cobb: Deana Harris 770-255-7000
  • We will respond to you as quickly as possible, but usually within 24 hours.

Community Entry

• Who is allowed in the community?
  • No visitors are permitted at Sterling Estates of West Cobb until further notice.
• What are your screening procedures for people entering the community?
  • There are no visitors allowed at this time. Our staff and Health care providers entering the community will be asked questions about possible cold-like symptoms, recent travel, and if they have been exposed to a known or suspected case of COVID-19 or work in another health care facility with a positive COVID-19 case. We also take everyone’s temperature to ensure they do not have a fever.
• Why are you closed to visitors?
  • As we monitor the spread of COVID-19 around the country, and understanding that this virus is most dangerous for seniors, we feel that an apartment quarantine is a necessary step toward keeping everyone safe.
• How long will this last?
  • The COVID-19 pandemic is an ever-evolving situation. We will lift the quarantine and restrictions when we feel it is safe to do so, and based on recommendations from agencies such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state departments of health.
• What are the exceptions to this policy?
  • We will make limited exceptions in extreme or emergency cases. These must be expressly approved by the community’s executive director. Anyone entering the community under these circumstances will be screened upon arrival.
• Will my private duty caregiver be allowed to enter the community?
  • Yes. Health care providers, including home health, private duty, nursing services, physicians, physical therapy, and hospice staff will be granted access to the community once they have completed our entry screening procedures.
• What if there is an emergency?
  • Emergency medical/fire services personnel are able to enter the community if needed. We will make limited exceptions in extreme or emergency cases for family members. These cases must be expressly approved by the community’s executive director. Anyone entering the community under these circumstances will be screened upon arrival.
• Can I visit with my loved ones outdoors but on the community grounds?
  • Because our communities are under quarantine and outside guests pose a risk of exposure to residents, we ask that you do not have in-person visits.
• Are there other ways that I can get to see my loved ones?
  • The dedicated teams at every community are equipped and ready to help facilitate phone call or even a virtual visit using services such as Apple FaceTime, Skype, or Zoom. We’d also love for you to send videos or other messages through community staff. Call and we will tell you how.
• Can I volunteer to help residents and the community?
  • Thank you for interest in sharing your time and talent with our residents. Because the safety of our residents and staff is our priority, we have placed all communities under quarantine and no visitors are allowed at this time. Please contact us via email our team will coordinate a way for you or your organization to help remotely.
  • We have already received many donated masks (over 200) from family members, staff and friends of the partners. These masks have been deployed for our staff to use along with their surgical masks. Thus allowing us to extend the useful life of our surgical masks.
    • That being said, if anyone else is interested in trying to make cloth masks to donate, instructions from the CDC can be found here. Please reach out directly to the community if you are able to help.

Resident Exit & Reentry

• Are residents allowed to leave?
  • We ask that you remain in the community in the interest of everyone’s safety. If you have an essential medical appointment, please let us know.
• Why are residents not allowed to leave their apartments if there is a confirmed case of COVID-19?
  • If there is a confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus with any of our residents or staff, as an added precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in our community, residents would be quarantined to their apartments for no less than 14 days since the first day of reported symptoms..
• Why are residents who live in cottages or freestanding homes not allowed into the building?
  • We are not monitoring the comings and goings of residents who live in cottages or freestanding homes. Therefore, we cannot allow them to enter the main community building.
• What happens if someone goes to the hospital and is ready to return to the community?
  • Residents who are returning from the hospital will be screened just like others who enter the community.
  • In following local and federal guidance anyone returning from a hospitalization will be under quarantine in their residence for 14 days.

Deliveries

• How do deliveries work?
  • Deliveries will be made outside the building and a staff member will accept them and take them to residents.
• Can I bring something to a resident?
  • Yes. We will follow our delivery procedure to have a staff member meet you at the entrance to accept your items and take them to the resident.

Personal Needs

• What if I need personal supplies? (Over-the-counter medications, soap, shampoo, etc.)
  • We recommend that a family member bring your items to the front of the community, where a staff member will accept them. We can help you set up an account with online grocery and pharmacy delivery services, such as Instacart, to order essentials.
  • We are also here to help, just let us know if we can pick anything up for you.
• Will the salon remain open?
  • No. The salon inside the community is temporarily closed.

Medical Needs

• How will I get to my doctors’ appointments?
  • We ask that you remain in the community in the interest of everyone’s safety. If you have an essential medical appointment, please let us know. We encourage you to use telemedicine if your physician offers that service.
• Can a family member pick me up for my doctors’ appointments?
  • We ask that you remain in the community in the interest of everyone’s safety. If you have an essential medical appointment, please let us know.
  • We are also here to help, just let us know if we can pick anything up for you.
• If I live in an independent living apartment, how do I pick up my prescriptions and over the counter medicines from the pharmacy?
  • We can help you set up an account with online grocery and pharmacy delivery services, such as Instacart, to order essentials
  • We are also here to help, just let us know if we can pick anything up for you.
• What if I need hospice care?
  • Health care providers, including home health, private duty, nursing services, physicians, physical therapy, and hospice staff will be granted access to the community once they have completed our entry screening procedures.

Dining

• How do meals work?
  • We will deliver all meals, snacks, and beverages to your apartment/cottage.

Staff

• How are staff screened?
  • We take all staff members’ temperatures every day. If anyone has a fever or has cold-like symptoms, we do not allow them to work until they are symptom-free.
  • We also screen all staff by asking the following questions:
    • Have you been out of the country? Which one(s)? ____________________
    • Have you been exposed to anyone with COVID-19 (Corona Virus)
    • Do you have a fever?
    • Have you been coughing?
    • Do you have any unusual muscle aches?
    • Are you experiencing any shortness of breath?
    • Do you have any loss of taste?
    • Where have you been outside of this building in the last 24hrs?

We will follow the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Administrative Order For Public Health (as of October 8^th 2020):

Visitor & Access Policy:

Limited visitors are permitted in our community until further notice.

• Scheduled indoor visits will follow the DPH guidance as seen below
• Only essential health care providers, including home health, private duty, nursing services, physicians, physical therapy, and hospice staff will be granted access to the community once they have completed our entry screening procedures.
  • All of these essential visitors will check in with the front desk, screened and will have their temperatures taken daily.
• The assisted living building now only has one entrance as all secondary access points have been secured ensuring there is only one point of entry (still ensuring that the community meets all state safety codes).
• Assisted Living residents are required to remain on community grounds, except for essential visits. Our Independent Residents are encouraged to limit their public exposure by staying on community grounds. Upon returning and as a precaution, residents will be screened and asked to wash their hands.
  • We will continue to update these shelter in place guidelines but as of 9/30/20 the shelter in place for LTC residents has been extended through 10/15/20.
• Deliveries of packages will be made outside the assisted living building and a staff member will accept them.

The following visitor plan will be followed per guidance from the DPH as conditions change in both our community and in the county.

​Procedures for indoor visits:

• Indoor visits will take place in specially designed annexed areas located in our main building
• Each of these rooms has a dedicated HVAC system which as been retrofitted with the Reme Halo system to continuously filter the air in the room
• Electrostatic foggers have been purchased and will be used for cleaning between visits.
  • There will need to be at least 15 minutes between visits in order to effectively clean all surfaces
• No more than 3 visitors at one time per resident
  • There can be no more than 10 individuals in a single room no less than 700 sq feet (including staff members)
• There will be a dedicated staff member to screen and check individuals in for inside visits
  • This is separate from the main assisted living entrance

Dining

• To avoid close contact during meals, our main dining rooms will be closed

Community Life

• Our staff is committed to maintaining as much of a normal life in the community as possible with a few temporary exceptions:
  • We have eliminated all group outings.
  • All group gatherings, such as book clubs and religious services, will be hosted by our staff or held via virtual means.
  • Transportation services are limited to necessary medical appointments only.
  • The salon will be closed until further notice.
• We have updated our activity plans and calendars to adjust for smaller group (under 10 people at a time) activities, more outdoor events, as well as utilize all available technology in order to ensure our residents remain safe but also engaged.
  • We continue to offer programming for our residents: from activities that are conducted outside to those in our buildings where there is at least 6 feet of separation (we even have a separation stick we use to remind everyone what 6 feet looks like!). We know how important this type of engagement is to our community.
• We have updated our care plans to include inquiring / assisting calling a loved one in order to help families stay connected.
• We are encouraging the use of more video calling tools (i.e. Facetime) so that both our residents and their loved ones can connect on a more personal level as we take our social distancing procedures to heart. We have even setup Facetime support tables where residents can come, and our staff can assist in setting up calls.
• If you or your loved one needs any additional support on setting up video calls, please reach out to the community directly and we will help coordinate.

Wellness Center

• Moving forward the main wellness center is closed to independent residents.

Cottage Residents:

• We implore all cottage residents to heed this guidance and only leave the campus for essential services (as articulated above).
  1. Essential Services include grocery shopping, medical or pharmacy visits.
  2. With that, we would love to help out on these errands as we are able. Please reach out and schedule with us.
• Moving forward, we ask that you not enter: the main assisted living building, the Hampton building and Stratford building.
  1. Please reach out to both the wellness and activities teams to better define what you can do in your homes.
  2. We can also provide you with personal workout equipment so as to allow you to continue to exercise in your own cottage.
• We ask that you follow applicable social distancing measures when not in your cottage, which includes maintaining a minimum of 6 feet of separation from other people.
• We recommend that you do participate in outdoor activities where the necessary safety precautions have been taken into account, including:
  1. Outdoor exercise classes
  2. Outdoor walking groups
  3. Gardening (where additional personal hygiene stations have been added)
• Coming soon to channel 961 various activities including: wellness classes, movies, guided activities and more

Independent Apartment Residents:

• No visitors are permitted in our community until further notice.
• Limit group gatherings within the building to under 10 people and follow all social distancing guidance.
• Stratford residents should no longer enter the Hampton building and Hampton residents should no longer enter the Stratford building.
  • We will be adding work out equipment to the Stratford building.
• Only leave the campus for essential services (as articulated above).
• We ask that you follow applicable social distancing measures when not in your cottage, which includes maintaining a minimum of 6 feet of separation from other people.
• We recommend that you do participate in outdoor activities where the necessary safety precautions have been taken into account, including:
  1. Outdoor exercise classes
  2. Outdoor walking groups
  3. Gardening (where additional personal hygiene stations have been added)
• Coming soon to channel 961 various activities including: wellness classes, movies, guided activities and more.

Engagement in Memory Care Neighborhoods

Our approach to caring for people living with dementia has not changed in light of COVID-19. We have dementia experts on staff who remain focused on ensuring residents living with dementia are receiving quality care and attention. While this care and attention may look a little different during this time, we are doing our best to keep everyone safe.

Rest assured we will do our best to keep creativity and meaningful moments up and loneliness down!

At Sterling Estates of East Cobb, we focus on giving you proactive and thorough communication. As always, we will update you with any changes to life in the community. If you have any questions, please reach out to your community’s executive director by calling the community directly.

Emory personal checker for COVID: https://c19check.com/start

Center for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2Findex.html

Georgia Department of Health: https://dph.georgia.gov

COVID 19 Health Data.Org: https://covid19.healthdata.org

Empowering and Protecting Your Family During This COVID-19 Pandemic, Dr David Price: https://vimeo.com/399733860

Executive Orders

Mask links

Cobb County Links

Staff Precautions

• Our staff are trained in proper infectious disease precautions and procedures, including the proper use of protective equipment, cleaning, and hand washing. We also provide ongoing training in these areas to keep everyone up-to-date.
• We take all staff members’ temperature every day. If anyone has a fever or has cold-like symptoms, we do not allow them to work until they are symptom-free.
• We ask all staff members who are sick to stay home until they are well.

Support for Staff

We are taking steps to support our staff during this time so that they can focus on their health and on taking care of residents.

• In the event of school closures, we will pay for staff members' child care expenses if needed.
• If a staff member does not have health insurance, we will pay for their costs of visiting a physician or urgent care to be tested and rule out any contagious illness.
• We don't want an empty paid time off (PTO) balance to stand in the way of staff members taking the necessary time off to get well at home if they are sick. If a staff member's PTO balance is empty, we will continue to pay them while sick with a contagious illness.

Staff letters

FAQ on Cares Act: https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-stimulus-package-questions-answers.html