COVID-19 Update June 4, 2020

The Erie Times News notified us of an ERRONEOUS posting on a website indicating that there have been 6 resident COVID related deaths at Sarah Reed. We want to assure you that this is a mistake.  There have been NO COVID related deaths at Sarah Reed.

At Sarah Reed to date, 1 nursing home resident tested positive, 4 nursing home staff tested positive, and 1 personal care staff member tested positive.   The resident is asymptomatic, and is quarantined in their private room.  The workers are quarantined at home.

We continue to follow guidelines and testing protocol recommended by the Erie County Department of Health and PA Department of Health.  The safety and health of our residents and staff remains our top priority.

Please call Karen Karle at 814-878-2611 for Nursing Home concerns, or Carey Mastrian at 814-878-2651 for concerns in Apartments, Personal Care or Zurn Pavilion.

COVID-19 Update 5/21/20

“An individual who worked in the nursing facility at Sarah Reed Senior Living has been diagnosed with COVID-19. This individual has not been in the facility for several days and is now quarantined at home. We have notified public health officials as required and are following procedures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health. We will begin testing protocol as advised.”

Update May 13, 2020

Last week, residents and responsible parties received an insert in the billing advising that Sarah Reed is using an automated phone messaging system called One Call Now. Effective immediately, Sarah Reed will use this system to share general information from our facility. Individual information related to any resident will continue to come directly from our staff. All remains well at Sarah Reed.

COVID-19 Update May 1, 2020

As the COVID-19 crisis continues we want to give you some updates. 

All remains well at Sarah Reed.  Visitor restrictions are still in place with all staff and necessary service providers continuing to be screened at the door.  All staff are wearing surgical masks, and residents have been provided with masks to wear while receiving care.  Communal dining and activities remain suspended, but staff are visiting residents and offering live streamed activities on our in-house TV channel.  Meals are being delivered to resident rooms.

We realize some restrictions in Pennsylvania are being lifted on May 8^th and for many, we are ready to put our guard down. However, our residents remain at risk and we will be adhering to DOH guidelines until we are advised differently. Now is the time to be the most vigilant to protect our residents and staff.

We will be contacting all families of residents who are mothers to set-up a time for you to see your Mom on Mother’s Day weekend.  We can schedule a Facetime or Skype call or a window visit.  Each visit will be 10 minutes and we will arrange a time with you so we can honor our mothers on their special day.

Thank you for your patience and continued cooperation!

COVID-19 Update 4/10/20

This marks the end of our 4^th week with visitor restrictions and limitations on communal activities and dining for our residents.  Our staff continues to provide activities via live streaming and Skype calls with family members.  Anyone wishing to arrange for a Skype call should contact Shirleen Dowd at 814-878-2631 to set up a convenient call.

Late last week, in accordance with CDC guidelines, our staff began universally masking while in resident areas. We have also provided masks to our residents to wear during care.  This process will continue until further direction is provided to us. 

Overall, our residents and staff seem to be adjusting well to this new “normal” at Sarah Reed.  We appreciate the continued support and kindness from our families.

Please contact us at 814-878-2600 with any questions. 

Update on Masking

Sarah Reed staff and essential visiting personnel continue to wear masks in all resident areas. At this time, the CDC suggests that residents cover their nose and mouth while staff are providing care. The CDC further recommends that residents wear masks only if they have symptoms of COVID-19.

However, given the challenge for many of our residents to hold a tissue to their mouth and nose, Sarah Reed has decided to provide surgical masks for all residents in RH and ZP.  Residents in RT and RM will be given cloth masks to wear when they leave their apartment.

We also wanted to thank our families for their continued support. We appreciate the kind words and goodies that have been dropped off for our staff. 

Visitor Restrictions Extended

The restriction on visitors to our facility will extend until at least April 30, 2020.

COVID-19 UPDATE 3/27/20

We continue to restrict all visitors to our facility.  Residents receiving end of life care are permitted to have visitors. Essential personnel, including staff, physicians, & vendors are being screened prior to entering our building. 

Since communal activities and dining here have been suspended, residents are enjoying live streaming programs from our chapel including “virtual bingo” and live music performances.  These activities are available to all our residents on Channel 8, Sarah Reed’s TV station.

Many of you have asked how you can help Sarah Reed’s residents and staff during these difficult and unprecedented times.  As such, we want to share information about an initiative by the Erie Community Foundation. Sarah Reed has applied to benefit from this grant. Visit https://www.eriecommunityfoundation.org/ for information on how to participate. This will not replace ERIE GIVES DAY in August.

 As always, donations made directly to Sarah Reed Senior Living are greatly appreciated, and can be made through the Giving page on our website http://www.sarahareed.org/giving/, or by mailing a check.  As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, all gifts and monetary donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and support during this difficult time.

COVID-19 UPDATE 3/20/20

We continue to restrict visitors to our facility at this time. A phone line with a recorded message with updates is available. It is 814-878-2788. You can also follow or like our Facebook page Sarah Reed Senior Living for updates. We are also collecting e-mail addresses so that we can contact families with updates. If you have not yet provided your e-mail and would like to do so, please contact DinaScribner@SarahAReed.org.

COVID-19 Update 3/19/20

Sarah Reed continues to learn more information about the COVID-19 virus on a daily basis.  We are taking many steps to keep our residents as safe as possible.

• Visitors continue to be restricted until further notice. We will contact our families and residents as we learn more information.  We have established a dedicated phone line at 814-878-2788 that will provide updates as we have them.
• Residents receiving Hospice services are permitted to have limited visitors for a limited period of time. Those residents who are near the end of their life may also receive limited visitors. These visits will be monitored by the nursing supervisor. 
• We had already suspended all communal dining in the nursing facility effective Sunday, 3/15/20.  As of Thurs, 3/19/20, all communal dining in Personal Care has been suspended.  Staff have met with residents in Reed Manor and Reed Terrace to arrange for delivery or take out of meals. 
• All outings on the van have been suspended as well. 
• As physician appointments arrive, we are individually contacting the physician office to inquire if they are still seeing patients.  If an appointment is not considered urgent, we have encouraged residents and their families to re-schedule.
• For those residents who prefer to have their families launder their clothes, we have arranged for families to pick up and drop off laundry in the front vestibule. 
• We are working on arranging for video calls with family members.  Please contact Shirleen Dowd, Activities Director at 814-878-2631 to make arrangements for a call.
• All staff, including the Activities department, is making regular visits to spend one to one time with residents. Staff is offering the use of puzzles, books and other activities.
• We have been using Channel 8, Sarah Reed’s in-house channel, to broadcast music programs, exercise class and the Rosary. A staff member is conducting these activities in the Chapel and a live feed is available to the residents. 
• We have observed family members approaching the windows of our residents so that they can wave hello! While we appreciate this, we would ask that the windows remain closed during this interaction. Additionally, we request that voices be kept to a minimum so as not to disturb the residents in close proximity. 
• For RT/RM/ZP residents, please direct questions to Carey Mastrian at 814-878-2651. For residents in RH, please refer to your social worker, Jeanne Espey at 814-878-2635 or Brittni Collins at 814-878-2636. 

Again, we thank you for your patience and understanding.