Golden Years During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Coronavirus Graphic

Campus Updates

COVID Cases at Golden Years May 12, 2023

Residents	Independent Living	Assisted Living	Healthcare	Total
Active Positive Cases	0	0	0	0
Positive Cases Hospitalized	0	0	0	0
Team Members	Independent Living	Assisted Living	Healthcare	Serves Multiple Areas of Campus*	Total
Active Positive Cases	0	0	0	0	0

November 4, 2022

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, transparency has been key. Therefore, we wish to communicate changes with our policy for COVID-19 precautions and required regulations, this letter will share new updates for our healthcare and assisted living areas of campus.

CMS (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services) and the State Department of Health has begun to ease some of the restrictions for masking and testing as well as for quarantining residents. While we are excited to see these restrictions loosening, we want to communicate with you how we will continue to move forward on our campus.

As you may be aware, COVID-19 is still prevalent in our county, and the flu season has begun. Therefore, we will keep a high standard of vigilance to protect the health of the residents who live with us and the team members who work with us.

Masking. We ask all visitors, team members and residents to continue wearing masks when enjoying our public areas in healthcare and assisted living. When visiting inside a resident’s private room, we ask you to wear your mask however it is not required. Masks for residents are not a requirement when they are in their own room. If the resident you are visiting has a roommate, please protect each other by wearing a mask.
Screening In. Please continue to check in at the kiosk or sign in sheet as you have in the past. You will notice that the questions have changed so please read them carefully. This practice helps us should we need to communicate about a potential exposure in case of an outbreak on campus.
Testing. All team members who have a medical or religious exemption related to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirement which has been approved by Greencroft Communities will continue to test once a week. Any team member or resident who displays symptoms of COVID-19 will receive a test. If we have an outbreak, testing will follow state and federal requirements which may be more frequent.
Quarantine. Residents and team members who may have been exposed to COVID-19 but are not displaying any symptoms will not be required to quarantine. Residents and team members who have had an exposure AND have symptoms will be required to quarantine for the required days.

While it may seem like the holidays are too far away to think about, they are, in reality, not far away. In the new year, we plan to revisit these practices to determine how to proceed. Our priority is to keep your loved ones and our team members healthy and safe. We know you have that same wish.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions or reach out to our covidquestions@greencroftcommunities.org email address. We hope you enjoy this lovely fall season as we watch the green change into vibrant reds and yellows.

May God continue to bless us all,

Steve Schaaf
VP of Operations

November 2, 2021

Another resident in the nursing home has tested positive today. This does extend the time period that the nursing home will be in quarantine and closed for visitations, at this time the earliest we will reopen will be November 16th, pending no further positives. Thank you for understanding. We will keep you posted of any further developments.

October 1, 2021

Visitation in both buildings remains open – thank you for following the guidelines for safe visitation listed below.

Masks are required for all visitors, regardless of vaccination status. Please refrain from visiting if you do not feel well or if you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
All visitors will need to check in via the self-serve kiosks, which are located at the main entrance and each community entrance. If you are coming in after 4:30 or on the weekend, please resume using the community entrance for your loved one. If you need assistance, staff will be able to help you. The kiosk will ask you a series of questions and then will scan your temperature. It will then print a name badge for you to wear while you are in the building so that we know you were screened.
When you leave the building, please stop at the kiosk and check out; this process is very quick.
Visitation hours are open; you can come anytime.
Please be mindful of social distancing and limit number of visitors at a time to allow for this; we feel four visitors in a resident room is the most there should be at any given time.
Visitors do need to screen and then go directly to the resident room for visits. At this time, visitors cannot be in common areas or participate in meals or activities.

We will keep you apprised of any further developments. We are here to help if you have any questions.

August 20, 2021

As you may have heard, on Wednesday August 18, President Biden announced he is calling on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to require all nursing homes who accept federal reimbursement to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for team members. We recognize that this mandate will be met with mixed emotions. Some will be undoubtably relieved while others will be disconcerted and alarmed.

Since the COVID-19 vaccination availability, we have done our part to encourage all team members who are able to get the vaccine. We feel it’s the best way to maintain the safety and health of our team members, their families, and our residents. At the same time, in accordance with our CROFT values, we respect those who choose to think differently.

You may be asking what this mandate means? The answer is, we don’t know for sure. It appears we will receive communication as early as September. We ask for your patience as we await formal guidance from CMS and our state department of health with the policy and procedures. Once that is received, we will begin to process this guidance as an organization in conjunction with our team members

In addition, we are working with our state and national non-profit associations to advocate for team members who are unable to receive the COVID-19 vaccine due to religious beliefs and/or medical conditions. We expect these protections will be included in the mandate but feel it is vital for us to have our voices heard now.

Should you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself or another member of the leadership team. In addition, you may also email your concerns or questions to covidquestions@greencroftcommunities.org.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf
Vice President of Operations

March 19, 2021

I want to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on new directives given by the Indiana Department of Health (ISDH) following the recent recommendations that were put forth by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS). These new directives come as we acknowledge the first anniversary of the COVID-19 global pandemic. We are grateful for our county's continued lower positivity rate, although we realize that could change quickly. The new directives include the following areas:

Visitation: The new directives of ISDH concerning visitation programs (in COVID-19-free buildings and counties with a positivity rate of less than 10%) allow in-room visitation for all residents (Assisted Living and Healthcare). These new guidelines will begin Monday, March 22. We will continue our hours for family and friends' visitation. While the new directives indicate that outdoor visitation (as permissible by weather) is the preferred choice since it possesses a lower risk of transmission, in-room visitation will be allowed. Also, the new directives state that residents who are fully vaccinated may choose to have close contact (including touch) with their visitor while wearing a face mask and performing hand hygiene before and after.

All visitation (in both Assisted Living and Healthcare) requires an appointment; no walk-ins will be allowed. To set up an appointment, please call the following phone number between the hours of 8:30 am and 4:00 pm Monday – Friday. Appointments cannot be made outside of these hours.

for Healthcare: 260-749-9655

for Assisted Living: 260-749-6725

For all visitation (Assisted Living and Healthcare), the following guidelines must be followed:

Please always observe the social distancing of 6 feet. No physical contact can take place, except for the exception noted above.
When you arrive for your visit, you will first need to stop at the screening desk. There will be a set of questions (a COVID-19 screening form) that must be answered, and your temperature will be taken. Hand sanitizer will be provided and needs to be used before and after your visit.
Please bring a mask with you and wear it at all times during your visitation time. Visitation will not be allowed without the use of a mask.
Food and drink cannot be shared with your loved one during the visitation.
Only two family members will be allowed to visit each resident at a time. You must arrive on time for your visitation appointment.
Visitors will not visit other residents other than those identified upon arrival. For those visiting residents in their room / apartments, you will need to remain in the room at all times. The same is true for end-of-life visits in Healthcare.

If visitors pose a risk for transmitting COVID-19 to the residents, facility, and/or staff, we will request the visit to be canceled. Our visitation's success depends upon the cooperation of our visitors, so please adhere to the guidelines. If there is one positive case of COVID-19 among our residents and/or among two or more healthcare staff at any time following the beginning of visitation, then visitation will cease by order of the Indiana State Department of Health.

We want to remind you that our activities department can arrange a FaceTime call with your loved ones. If you are interested in scheduling a FaceTime call, please contact our activities department at 260-749-9655.

The updated directives that we recently shared with you will continue. Those residents needing to leave the building for medical visits (transported by either Golden Years staff or family/friend) will not need to quarantine for 14 days when they return. Residents can continue to participate in outings/excursions (for less than 24 hours) with family members and will not have to quarantine upon their return. Residents will need to check out when they leave and check-in in on their return.

We are grateful that we find ourselves in this place. We know that many of you with loved ones in Healthcare have wanted to visit them in their rooms. It has been a long year. As much as we need to continue to be vigilant, we look at the future with hope. I leave you with the following verse of hope and blessings:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

- Romans 15:13

Blessings,
Steve Schaaf
Vice President of Operations

February 10, 2021

With the pandemic still very much in our lives, we continue to keep our CROFT values at the forefront of what we do. Our values guide us in everything from how we treat one another to the decisions we make each day. As January has turned into February, we have completed the second and even third vaccination clinics for our residents and team members at each campus in the Greencroft system.

This news is exciting as it means that most of our residents have gotten their second dose of the vaccine and are on their way to developing the needed immunity to COVID-19. While the number of team members taking the vaccine was not as high as our residents, we continue to educate and encourage team members to take the vaccine. The COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory for our team members. We will continue to make this a voluntary action.

The vaccine is now available to more and more age groups in each state which will bring us closer to the level of immunity needed in order be able to make changes in our routines. We have heard from many of you asking when restrictions will be removed. Our answer is that we must continue to follow the same guidelines put forth by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and CMS (Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services) and our State Department of Health. We are unable to offer visitation until county positivity rates remain under 10% and we are COVID free for residents and team members. We wish that answer could be different. Truly, we do. We are happy to report that some of the Greencroft Communities’ campuses will be able to have visitations restored now that county positivity rates are below 10%. We celebrate the joy this brings to our residents and family members.

For the time being, we must continue to social distance, wear masks, keep washing our hands, and avoid gatherings until we, as a society, can reach a level of immunity which would make those actions less important. Trusted resources tell us that while even after the second dose of the vaccine, we can still contract COVID-19, and thus we can still transmit the virus to others. The vaccine may keep recipients from experiencing the severe symptoms of COVID-19 but not from transmitting the virus to those who have not been vaccinated. Therefore, we must adhere to the safety protocols we have in place.

We are thankful for the protection the vaccine offers to our residents as they have suffered the most severe of the effects of this virus. To know they have protection is a blessing. We continue to educate and answer questions for our team members and families so you may make an informed decision on whether to accept this protection for yourself when you are eligible.

Should you have questions specific to our campus, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Should you have questions about COVID-19 or the vaccine, please don’t hesitate to email covidquestions@greencroftcommunities.org.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf, VP of Operations

December 18, 2020

As Christmas Day quickly approaches, together we anticipate the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. This is normally a time for celebration with friends and family from near and far. This month, we are once again asking you to please think carefully prior to participating in any gatherings beyond your immediate household. Please look for other ways to stay connected with family and friends so that in the new year we can gather again as we once did. We ask this of you and our team members as well.

The news has been full of exciting stories about the COVID-19 vaccine. Just this week, hospitals around the country have begun vaccination of healthcare workers. For us, that means things will be happening quickly. Currently, all team members who have contact with our assisted living or healthcare residents can receive the vaccine at an area hospital, or they can wait to receive it on campus within the next few weeks. Preparation is underway for onsite clinics which will be run by Walgreens. We do not have specific dates as of the writing of this letter; however, preparations are already underway. We view this vaccine as the first step in helping us to slow and potentially stop the spread of COVID-19, with the hope of an eventual return to life as normal.

In addition to team members, our residents in assisted living and healthcare will be offered the vaccine in the first phase of the rollout. You might have heard from us already, or you will hear from us, regarding consent for your loved one to receive the vaccine if you are the responsible party or healthcare power of attorney. Our independent living residents are not eligible to receive the vaccine in the first phase. However, they should reach out to their physician to discuss when and how they may receive a vaccine.

The CDC has published a list of eight things you should know:

The safety of COVID-19 vaccines is a top priority.
COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you from getting COVID-19. Two doses are needed. (A second vaccine will be administered three weeks after the first).
Right now, CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccine be offered to healthcare personnel and residents of long-term care facilities.
There is currently a limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine in the United States, but supply will increase in the weeks and months to come.
After COVID-19 vaccination, you may have some side effects. This is a normal sign that your body is building protection.
Cost is not an obstacle to getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The first COVID-19 vaccine is being used under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Many other vaccines are still being developed and tested.
COVID-19 vaccines are one of many important tools to help us stop this pandemic.

We have begun educating our team members about the vaccine so they may make an informed decision. We have sent letters, provided fact sheets, and are currently conducting team meetings and one-on-one conversations to address concerns and answer questions. We are not requiring our team members to accept the vaccine. We are encouraging our team members to take the vaccine in order to protect our residents and one another.

While the administration of the vaccine will provide you and the entire community with an extra layer of protection from COVID-19, we will still continue to practice safety measures to prevent the spread of the disease. We encourage you to continue to wear masks outside of your residence, to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, to maintain social distancing and to avoid groups.

A COVID-19 vaccine FAQ page is being added to this website. This should be available early next week. We will share information regarding the vaccine from trusted sites. We have also established an email account, covidquestions@greencroftcommunities.org for anyone who may have questions about the vaccine or COVID-19.

The health and safety of our residents and staff continues to remain our top priority. Your care and safety practices during this pandemic are a true service to our campus and in the broader community.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have questions.

Sincerely,

Steve Schaaf Signature

Steve Schaaf
VP of Operations

Decmeber 8, 2020

We are sorry to have to stop all visitation at our community for the Healthcare and for the Assisted Living areas until further notice. We have updated regulatory guidelines from the Indiana State Department of Health that states even if the senior healthcare community is free from having any staff or residents who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, the Indiana County the community is located in must have an overall positivity rate below 10%. As of today Allen County does not meet that criteria.

We do recognize this is difficult for our residents and you but we must follow these regulatory guidelines. We will keep you posted on when we can resume the in-person visits.

In the meantime we would be glad to offer virtual visits, by using Skype, Facetime, or Zoom.

We ask you to still contact the main number 260-749-9655 for Healthcare or 260-749-6725 for Assisted Living during the hours of 9 am – 4 pm and the scheduler will take your request and pass along to the appropriate staff to schedule and confirm the date/ time of your video call with you.

Thank you again for your cooperation in helping us keep everyone safe and healthy through this pandemic.

Decmeber 4, 2020

We will be able to offer family visitations inside the nursing home, in our Chapel, starting Tuesday December 8, 2020. You will be directed to pull around the building to enter directly into our Chapel. You may park near community A - Cherry Park or Chestnut Place. Please note, your visit is limited to this area only, you are not able to go to individual rooms or communities at this time.

You must call at least 24 hours ahead of the day you wish to visit someone in Golden Years Long Term Care Health Center. The visitation is still a half-hour visit, with two visitors per resident at the times offered below:

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
10:00 – 10:30	10:00 – 10:30		10:00 – 10:30	10:00 – 10:30	10:00 – 10:30
11:00 – 11:30	11:00 – 11:30		11:00 – 11:30	11:00 – 11:30	11:00 – 11:30


1:00 – 1:30	1:00 – 1:30	3:00 – 3:30	1:00 – 1:30	1:00 – 1:30	1:00 – 1:30
2:00 – 2:30	2:00 – 2:30	4:00 – 4:30	2:00 – 2:30	2:00 – 2:30	2:00 – 2:30
		5:00 – 5:30
		6:00 – 6:30

Please call the main number 260-749-9655 to schedule your visit between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. Please note our nursing staff will not be able to schedule your appointment for visitation. Any call outside of these hours you will be asked to call back during these hours to make your appointment with the scheduler.

Please note: if the status of our community changes with any staff or resident testing positive for Covid-19 these visits will stop, per the State Dept. of Health.

Please note the meal times for each community and plan your visit accordingly:

Community A	Community B	Community C	Community D
8:45 AM	7:30 AM	8:15 AM	7:45 AM
12:15 PM	11:30 AM	12:00 PM	11:45 AM
5:15 PM	4:30 PM	5:00 PM	4:45 PM

Please do not visit if you are feeling ill or if you have potentially be exposed to COVID-19 within 14 days prior to your visit. We will have ½ hour times as before and will screen each visitor upon arrival. We ask you to remain vigilant with the guidelines to wear your mask over both mouth and nose at all times, remain 6 ft apart, and not eat or drink during your visit.

We thank you for your support of Golden Years staff and following these guidelines.

November 23, 2020

Dear Families,

If you have any decorations you would like to bring in for the holidays for your resident, we would be glad to help decorate the resident room or apartment since you are unable to.

Please feel free to bring the items to the drop off locations.

November 17, 2020

Each day brings new challenges to our campus as the pandemic, which we all thought would be over by now, continues to spread. These challenges are hard and sometimes even heartbreaking. We have done our best to provide for those who live with us and to help keep transparent communication with family members and our larger community. As we work through the challenges of team members and residents who contract COVID, we also help work through when COVID-19 hits our families and the families or our team members. It was not that long ago when many of us did not even know someone who had it. Now, it is harder to find someone who has not been impacted by COVID-19.

Right now, in our county, we are experiencing record high positivity rates. This means the spread of COVID is not under control. The area hospitals are reporting that their capacity is running out. We have been informed that one of the main contributors of this spread is small gatherings. Times when we all would feel OK about relaxing our guard and taking off our masks to enjoy our family or friends. It is understandable. We all wish to return to pre-COVID days.

With this information from our local hospitals and physicians, as well as the guidance we have received from the Indiana State Department Of Health (ISDH) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we are asking that if a resident has not had COVID-19 in the last 90 days, to please not leave the campus or take your loved one off campus, during this holiday season. This type of celebration with family or friends has the potential to be devastating to residents and team members on our campus. We know when weighing the risk of infecting your loved one against a holiday meal and fellowship, caution will prevail. If a resident has recovered from COVID 90 days prior to the holiday, then a visit during the holidays would be OK.

We understand that some of you may have already come to this decision on your own and for others this news will be difficult to read. We feel that way too. You are given two choices which are both hard to make. We are asking you to remain diligent in protecting your health and the health of your family.

Should you decide to leave or take your loved one out of healthcare or assisted living for the upcoming holidays, we will ask the resident to begin a 14-day quarantine upon return to campus. Please understand that this precaution is required by ISDH that will help us protect other residents on campus.

Please consider alternative ways to come together during this season. We continue to offer video calls as well as phone time and window visits. Cards and care packages from loved ones are always a treat for our residents.

As mentioned, each day does come with its challenges during this pandemic. Each day I take time to look for the good around me to keep me inspired. Most of the time, it comes from seeing the interactions between our team members and residents. The joy and laughter they share brings a smile to my face that just won’t go away. I pray you too can find the joy in each day God brings us.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf
Vice President of Operations
Golden Years Homestead

October 13, 2020

We will continue to test staff working in the Healthcare building weekly as Allen County is still showing a higher percentage (over 5%) of positive test results; however, we can resume our Visitation Schedule starting today. For our residents in the healthcare building we can again resume activities and community dining. For visits in the healthcare community please call 749-9655 during the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. to schedule your appointment time.

There has not been an interruption in visitations in the assisted living community you should continue to schedule a time for your visit by calling 749-6725 during the same hours.

September 21, 2020

Dear Resident and Family Members,

In following the guidelines to weekly test our staff in the healthcare we reported that we had one positive result in a staff member and also one positive result in a resident last week. We then did a different test and received negative results on both. We are thankful for that, but in an abundance of caution we will still follow the guidelines from the Indiana State Department of Health and the CDC and quarantine the resident and ask that the staff member self quarantine before returning to work. This means we will not be able to resume family and friends visitations yet.

We have now also received report of another staff testing positive. We will continue to weekly test all staff and residents in the healthcare community. All staff working will follow all personal protection protocals and again we encourage our staff to follow the guidelines when off duty of wearing a mask in any public settings. Once we have two full weeks without any additional / new positive test results we will be able to resume visitation. This is only for our long term care residents. Assisted living residents are still able to have visitors.

It also has been determined that the intitial quarantine period of 14 days is the best practice when someone new enters our community. So while we were hoping to offer a rapid test upon admission to allow our new residents the ability to avoid that quarantine period, we are being told that this is not really the safest course for everyone involved and we will follow the recommendation of a 14 day quarantine period.

As always, if you have questions do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you!

September 16, 2020

Since the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, it has been our goal to be transparent in our communication, so you know what we know. This is what our CROFT Values (Creativity, Respect, Openness, Fairness and Teamwork) calls us to do for one another.

We have always been prepared for when the virus would appear, not if it would appear. Even with our best efforts, we have experienced an instance of COVID in our healthcare center. As you know, we have one team member and one resident of the health care facility who have tested positive this week and have begun quarantining. With these positive cases, we began testing residents in accordance with guidelines we have from the CDC and Indiana State Board of Health. The results of the testing of all residents include no additional residents who have tested positive. If your loved one tested positive or had an exposure, you will have already received a phone call.

Early in the pandemic, we prepared a COVID unit so we would be ready when we needed to care for our residents. Any positive residents will be moved to the COVID unit. All team members are wearing full PPE when in close contact with any resident in our healthcare area. We will continue testing residents and team members as well as checking for signs and symptoms which can often be the first method for uncovering the presence of this virus.

We will continue to test staff weekly, also, residents of the health care facility will be tested weekly until at least September 30th. We have implemented shelter in place protocols and discontinued visitation and communal dining and activities until at least September 30th. We feel this is the best and safest course of action for the safety of your loved one(s).

As you can imagine, this is a time of high stress and anxiety for residents and team members. We know this is a difficult time for you as well. We ask for patience and grace in following up on questions as we will prioritize those who are most impacted. You will always hear directly from us if your loved one is impacted. We know God is with us and you as we all navigate this outbreak together.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us should you have questions. You can also find our daily updates on this website.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf
Vice President of Operations

September 4, 2020

As we continue finding our way through this pandemic, we have and will continue to follow the guidance of the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), our state regulatory agency and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). The guidance provided by these agencies is specific for healthcare providers like us to help provide for the health and safety of those we serve.

Now the federal government through the Department Of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has mandated that all “Facility Staff” which includes employees, consultants, contractors, volunteers, and caregivers who provide care and services to residents on behalf of the facility, must be tested for COVID per the frequency in the table below.

Routine Testing Intervals Vary by Community COVID-19 Activity Level

Community COVID-19 Activity	County Positivity Rate in the past week	Minimum Testing Frequency
Low	<5%	Once a month
Medium	5% - 10%	Once a week
High	>10%	Twice a week

*This frequency presumes availability of Point of Care testing on-site at the nursing home or where off-site testing turnaround time is <48 hours.

Therefore, as you see or hear of increased testing of our team members, please do not be alarmed. This does not necessarily mean there are signs and symptoms of COVID19 present. CMS is also sending point of care testing equipment and initial test kits to every skilled nursing facility in the country. We have not yet received this equipment but anticipate its arrival toward the end of September. Until we receive this equipment, Golden Years has secured test kits from a vendor who feels they can meet the less than 48-hour turnaround time.

At this time, testing will be at no charge to team members. The Federal Government has provided initial funding through the CARES Act. As always, should team members have signs or symptoms of COVID, our health insurance covers the cost of testing. Team members can still go to any testing location to receive a test. It will be vital for us to receive those results to validate with our state survey agency that testing was completed.

CMS has added regulation (42 CFR § 483.80(h)) which requires that the facility test all residents and staff for COVID-19. Noncompliance related to this new requirement will be cited at new tag F886 and the facility will face civil money penalty fines of up to $10,697.00.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call. Also, please do not forget to check this website that contains updates regarding COVID-19 and any changes at Golden Years.

Thank you for your continued support and patience.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf
Vice President of Operations

July 15, 2020

As we continue finding out way through this pandemic, we have and will continue to follow the guidance of the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH), our state regulatory agency and the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC). The guidance provided for these agencies is specific for us to help provide for the health and safety of those we serve. We would like to provide some clarity around the visitation policy on campus.

As the State of Indiana has followed the back on track plan to reopen the state, our reopening has been at a much slower and conservative approach since residents are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. A few weeks ago, we received guidance which allowed for outdoor visitations for residents and family members with certain protections in place. These protections include: screening of visitors, wearing a face mask, sanitization of the area between visits and 6 ft distancing. We have also made sure team members are available to assist residents as needed. The state is now moving to allowing indoor visitations as long as certain safety guidelines can be met.

We will offer indoor visitation times and locations starting on Monday July 20th. We have sent you and your family the specific information in an email regarding scheduling your indoor visits earlier today.

For our Independent living residents, we have recommended that they limit exposure and be cautious. Should they have visitors, try doing so outside, wear masks and socially distance. Some IL residents have felt comfortable having visitors into their homes. They are free to do so since they have their own living spaces. We have restricted use of the community center building / assisted living apartment building to minimize the risk for our Assisted Living residents from additional traffic into our community center. We will continue this policy until further guidelines from the CDC and ISDH allow the use of the amenities to these residents. We ask everyone to use their best judgement when weighing the risks and to make the decision carefully and as safely as possible.

We have attached for your information some of the safety precautions we will have in place for indoor visitation so you can feel comfortable with the process. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have questions.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf,
Vice President of Operations

We will be following the guidelines given to us by the State Dept. of Health and CDC:

All visits will be scheduled in half-hour long increments with two visitors per resident
Children will be allowed to visit and must wear a mask if over 2 yrs old – children should be able to maintain distance and not be disruptive to other family visits taking place nearby, children count as one of the two allowed visitors.
Remember – social distance must be maintained, children also cannot hug /touch or get close enough for photo’s to be taken
All visitors will be screened and we will take temperatures and record information on visitors, including children
Please cancel your visit if you are not feeling well or if you have traveled within the past 14 days out of the state, especially to an area in the country considered a “hot spot” such as Florida, Texas, or Arizona
If you have ever tested positive for Covid-19 you must bring documentation from your physician that you are no longer required to take transmission-based pre-cautions before you will be allowed to visit
If the resident is on isolation precautions, we will not schedule a visit
Visitors will agree to bring & wear a mask covering both mouth and nose at all times during your visit, including children over 2.
We cannot allow eating or drinking during the visits, as this requires the face mask to be removed
We cannot have items passed between family and resident, a staff member will take items from you, if you wish to bring and leave for the resident
You will need to remain in the area assigned and keep a 6 ft distance from the resident and each other, failure to do so may result in your being asked to leave
Visits will take place in our Activity Room and you will need to pull around to the side door –signs will be posted for you
We will ask you to use the provided hand sanitizer before and after your visit. All areas will be completely sanitized between visitors

We thank you for your support of Golden Years staff and following these guidelines.

June 30, 2020

We had a team member who had been positive, recovered and has now tested positive a second time. We have removed the recovered team member number as we feel this most accurately reflects our current cases. We are monitoring all residents at the beginning of each shift to catch any changes quickly. We will all you if your loved one may have been exposed. If you have not heard from us directly, your loved one did not have an exposure.

Thank you!

June 29, 2020

Residents have been enjoying outdoor visitation for our healthcare center and assisted liiving. We are joyful to see the smiles on everyone faces after each visit. Families and friends are able to schedule times to visit with residents outside. Face masks are required along with social distancing and sanitizing the area in between visits.

We have also completed our first round of staff testing by the state. We administered 141 tests and are now starting to receive results back this week. It can take between 3 to 5 days to receive the results. As those come back to us, we will report them in our numbers. So, do not be alarmed by the large numbers of tests being conducted. All nursing care facilities are conducting this testing by the state.

April 30, 2020

Throughout this pandemic, our goal has been and will remain to keep our residents safe and healthy. We strive to maintain a high level of communication, particularly at the beginning when expectations and procedures were changing rapidly. As each new guideline from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Indiana State Department of Health came out, we acted quickly to put those in place and kept you informed. We are proud of the resiliency of our team members to adapt quickly while maintaining the joy each day in providing for our residents.

The media coverage regarding nursing homes around the country has been disheartening. It’s hard to read and see that coverage when I see something vastly different each day here on our campus. The love and kindness between the residents and our team members is heartwarming and pure. The team members who work here are called to serve this ministry. It is our privilege to care for those who need it most and to safeguard their health. We appreciate the time our residents, families and our local community have taken to show us their appreciation. It has been heartwarming to see the support for our team members working every day. Thank you.

Due to the media coverage, the Indiana State Department of Health has asked long term care providers to provide daily updates to residents and/or responsible parties. Therefore, we will provide you with daily updates on the status of positive COVID-19 cases on campus, number of tests and the number of recoveries and deaths of residents and team members.

Each of the Greencroft Communities will have a slightly different method of contact. For our campus you will receive a daily email with the status of COVID-19 on our campus. For those without email, we will call/deliver the email copy to you each day. This communication will begin on Monday, May 4th.

At this time, we will only direct our daily communication to the designated resident or responsible party. We are unable to add additional family members to this communication process.

If you have questions please contact me, Steve, or ask for Lori Carson, Pam Grabbe, or Tricia Meyers at our main number at 260-749-9655. For Assisted Living please reach out to Jen Gonzales or Melinda Scott at 260-749-6725. You can also email us at info01@goldenyearshome.org.

We would also like to provide you with our Corporate Compliance Hotline number which is managed by an independent third party. Please use this number if you feel you are not able to get ahold of anyone on campus or if you feel that you have not been able to reach resolution with the team members on campus. This number is 1-800-211-2713.

You also have the option to call your local Ombudsman, Aisha LaRoche, who can be reached at: 260-469-3161. This individual is not an employee on our campus but can be a resource for you should you feel you have not been able to reach resolution with the team on campus or with our system office team members.

You may also visit our website to find current information about the status of COVID-19 on our campus as well as information on the steps we have taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 on our campus. Please visit: www.greencroft.org. You can direct other family members to this site to receive the same information you will receive daily.

Thank you again for the support and trust you have placed in us. We appreciate your prayers for our team members and residents as we also pray for your health and safety.

Sincerely,
Steve Schaaf, V.P. Operations, Greencroft Communities
Golden Years Homestead / Great Lakes Christian Homes

March 24, 2020

Yesterday, the Indiana State Department of Health has recommended that no resident be allowed to leave our healthcare or assisted living areas except for emergency medical services. If a resident and/or family does not comply, the facility may refuse to allow the resident back into the building because of the risk that they pose to others. Our Medical Director on campus supports this policy as well. Any time an assisted living or healthcare resident leaves our campus, they risk exposure to COVID-19. This policy does not apply to our independent living residents. However, the Govenor has implemented a stay at home order which restricts travel for non-essential reasons. Therefore, independent living residents should practice self isolation and restrict visitors from their homes.

While we understand that this is a difficult time to be apart from your loved one, it is for the protection of your family member as well as all the other residents on our campus.

Thank you for understanding and patience.

March 16, 2020

As a precautionary measure to protect our residents and in response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) we have canceled all public events on each of our campuses. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page and/or website for additional updates and information on when we will reschedule these events.

For additional information about the prevention of COVID-19, visit https://www.cdc.gov/…/2019-…/about/prevention-treatment.html.

We thank our visitors and residents for their cooperation with these temporary protocols and for your understanding as we work to ensure the safety and well-being of all who live in, work at and visit our communities.

March 13, 2020

As you may have already learned, the health care center and assisted living facilities are restricting visitors. This means that no visitors, even family, may enter the facilities except under emergency situations. Under those emergency situations, a screening process is in place which has been mandated by our state and federal agencies.

Entry doors are also restricted at this time. Our front lobby for assisted living and healthcare is the only entrance which will be open. In the case of an emergency, all doors do allow for exit.

Vendors may still enter under restricted protocols, as we will continue to need supplies to operate. As well, ancillary health care providers, such as the podiatrist, optometrist, etc. may enter the facility to serve our residents. The ancillary health care providers will operate under stricter controls however, to further our efforts to stave off viral infiltration.

We have implemented additional education with our staff, and we are closely tracking symptoms of employees who call in sick for a scheduled shift. Any employee exhibiting signs/symptoms of the flu or coronavirus will not be allowed to return to Golden Years Homestead until we are certain that the contagiousness is eliminated.

Several residents eat lunch and supper meals from the Assisted Living kitchen. During the pandemic, we will provide free delivery of these meals as a courtesy. Applicable charges for the meal itself still apply.

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we do what we must to protect your loved ones who call this ministry home.

May God Bless Us All during this difficult time.

Respectfully,
Steve Schaaf, V.P. Operations