News for the Concordia Family
Concordia Family Members:
I pray this letter finds everyone doing as well as can be expected during this time. I want you to know how much the staff truly appreciates your patience and positive feedback for the changes that we have had to adopt to help keep everyone at Concordia safe. I know these changes have been difficult on you and your loved ones as we have asked and required a dramatic shift in their daily activity. Please know that our staff continue to do our best to keep services going and find creative ways to help our residents make the best of this situation.
We also continue to stay updated on the latest information from the CDC, CMS, local and state health departments as well as our local, state and federal government. Our leadership team is spending most of our day listening to webinars and conference calls and reading information that we are provided from these various sources. There is an overwhelming amount of information being provided to us which has helped guide our decision making and daily
planning conversations. As this is an ever evolving situation it is important that we stay connected to the latest information so we can make adjustments as timely as possible. To that end, we continue to ask for your patience as we may have to continue to change procedures quickly even if they are contrary to a previous communication.
As we see the number of cases increase around Oklahoma County, it is important that everyone remembers to follow the information below that is being required for residents in senior living communities:
– Our residents are asked to stay in their apartment/room. The Governor of our state has issued an Executive Order with this requirement. Concordia staff are still available to run errands for our residents and help provide them with anything they might need. Any item that a resident needs to drop off for someone a staff member will bring it downstairs to the drop off location. It is critical at this time that everyone follows this guideline and residents don’t come down to the Concierge desk to ask questions or leave items.
– If residents would like to go for a walk outside that is still allowed. We are asking our residents to be mindful not to get on the elevator at the same time as another resident and not to be in close proximity in the hallways. As residents re-enter the building from their walk, we are reminding them to stay 6 feet apart from others who may be coming into the community at the same time. While on a walk, we ask residents to please stay 6 feet apart from others who are walking and don’t use this as a time to congregate outside. For residents in Health Services who need assistance walking, we will do our
best to provide a staff member to assist them.
– If a resident has an approved medically necessary appointment outside Concordia, upon return they must remain in their apartment for 14 days and allow staff to take their temperature daily and monitor them for any symptoms. During this 14-day time frame, residents need to remain in their apartment and not go outside for a walk.
– As reinforced by the Governor’s Executive Order, visitors are not allowed on Concordia property. At this time, we are still allowing families to drop off items at the main entrance. Families are not allowed on our property to visit with residents outside or through their doors or windows.
– We ask that everyone take the above policies seriously. In a recent call with the
Oklahoma State Department of Health, they stressed the importance of communities communicating the importance of this and doing whatever we can to enforce this-even if that means terminating agreements with residents who are not willing to comply with these necessary mandates that if violated will put everyone at Concordia at risk.
I know the tone of this letter probably sounds harsh and I wish that our situation was different and didn’t require this type of direct communication or such a drastic change in procedures.
I, like you, am looking forward to the day when these restrictions will be lifted and we can all be together again.
In the meantime, please continue to pray for each other, our staff, our residents, our families, our state, our country and our world. Even though we are apart, our act of prayer is something that can bring us together and is the most powerful and important resource that we have.
May God Bless You!
Danny Eischen
CEO
